Juozas Gruodis House
Since 1932, on the verge of Žaliakalnis, there has been a small house resembling a Lithuanian manor adjacent to the Eiguliai Mound, where the Lithuanian composer, conductor, and educator Juozas Gruodis and his wife Stasė lived. Designed by the famous inter-war architect Feliksas Vizbaras, the house attracts the eye not only beause of its architectural elements, but also due to its unique surrounding landscape. The memorial rooms commemorating the sole owners, the composer and his wife, reflect the most important moments of the couple’s life and tell the story of Juozas Gruodis as a musician.
Branch history
This rectangular, two-storey wooden house, designed by Feliksas Vizbaras, was the home of composer Juozas Gruodis and his wife Stasė for 16 years. Following the musician’s death, Stasė Gruodienė lived alone in the large house for more than two decades. In 1967, a music library was established here and the composer’s study was turned into a memorial room, and in 1974, thanks to Gruodienė’s efforts, the Juozas Gruodis Memorial Museum was established as a branch of the Kipras Petrauskas Memorial Museum. Since 2013, the museum has been one of the five branches of Kaunas City Museum.
The two-storey wooden house has four main rooms open to visitors. Each floor contains two spaces: a memorial space and one for exhibitions. The exhibition premises tell the story of the Gruodis family’s life and interests, as well as the most important aspects of the composer’s professional life. he memorial space on the ground floor is the couple’s living room, which used to be brimming with life and was where guests were received, while the first floor’s memorial space is the musician’s room, always filled with sunlight, with a small balcony. The building’s authentic layout also includes auxiliary rooms, such as a small kitchen with two rooms for maids and a bathroom. Today, these rooms are used as the museum’s administrative premises. The bathroom contains a metal enamelled bathtub, harking back to the composer’s own time, and the kitchen also has a metal enamelled sink.
Visitors to the Juozas Gruodis House have the opportunity to learn about the composer’s years of study, his professional and creative activities, and Stasė and Juozas Gruodis’ personal life, captured in photographs and notes. Affirmation cards, which reflect his expectations, will help visitors to get in touch with Gruodis’s personality. Stasė, the wife of this talented man, who always stood by his side, is an integral part of the house. Her surviving notes, which are on display in the museum, testify to the fact that she was an excellent hostess, as well as being a warm, patient and curious person; and the works of art she created with her own hands attest to her diligence and meticulousness. Perhaps the most impressive exhibit available for the museum’s visitors to admire is the collection of figurines, folded out of candy paper by Gruodienė herself.
