Mikas and Kipras Petrauskas House
The house of brothers Mikas and Kipras Petrauskas is situated in Žaliakalnis, on the edge of the shadowy Ąžuolynas. This bright, attractive building, which is decorated with tulip motifs and reminiscent of the period of the First Republic of Lithuania, was built in 1924 according to a design by architect Aleksandras Golovinskis. The building has retained many of its authentic elements, such as the facade decoration, balconies and terrazzo staircase. The museum houses Elena and Kipras Petrauskas’ memorial apartment and a permanent exhibition, entitled State Theatre. Music that Brings Nation Together, a chamber music concert hall, and an educational space suitable for visitors of all ages.In 2023 the Mikas and Kipras Petrauskas House, along with the natural-urban framework of Naujamiestis and Žaliakalnis and the architectural monuments standing there, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Branch history
n 1924, the brothers Mikas and Kipras Petrauskas concluded an agreement with the Kaunas City Board, whereby they leased a plot of land on Žaliakalnis and began building a two-storey masonry residential house according to the design by engineer Aleksandras Golovinskis. The building’s structure and architecture was tailored to fit in with the planned semicircular square at the intersection of Vydūnas St. and J. Janonio St. The house was completed in 1925. The six-apartment building was heated by a central heating boiler room located in the basement. Behind the house there was a large courtyard, a garage, outbuildings, a large garden and a vegetable garden.
Opera soloist Kipras Petrauskas and his family settled on the first floor, where they lived until 1948. Composer Mikas Petrauskas and his son Adakris and, later, his second wife Ona and their daughter Protelė lived on the ground floor, while Adakris and his wife Salomėja Vilkaitė eventually moved into the attic. For a while, Elena Petrauskienė’s mother Paulina Žalinkevičienė and her sister Eugenija also lived in one of the apartments. The remaining apartments were rented out, and one of them was used by Lithuania’s first part-time educational institution, Kalbaneum (Savišvieta after 1938), founded by Vladas and Bronė Kateiva.
Following the change in the political situation in Lithuania in 1940, the Soviet government expropriated the Petrauskas house, but the family were given the right to use two apartments free of charge. The remaining apartments were occupied by new inhabitants. In 1970, a year after Kipras Petrauskas’s death, the Kipras Petrauskas Memorial Museum was established in the building. It took seven years to open its doors to visitors, having required: the eviction of the building’s inhabitants; the collection of exhibits for future exhibitions; the renovation of the abandoned building; and the adaptation of the living quarters to the museum’s needs.
In 2006 following interior and exterior polychrome analysis, the Kipras Petrauskas Memorial Apartment was reconstructed, restoring the building’s authentic elements including the facade decoration, balconies, terrazzo staircase and handrails. In 2023, M. ir K. Petrauskų namas, kartu su Naujamiesčio ir Žaliakalnio vietovės gamtiniu-urbanistiniu karkasu bei čia stovinčiais architektūros paminklais, pateko į UNESCO pasaulio paveldo vertybių sąrašą.
Museum Today
Today, the museum accommodates Elena and Kipras Petrauskas’ memorial apartment and a permanent exhibition, entitled State Theatre. Music that Brings Nation Together, a chamber music concert hall, and an educational space suitable for visitors of all ages. The museum’s events showcase musical, cultural and architectural heritage in a rich variety of ways. This historical venue hosts chamber music concerts, commemorations, book launches, educational activities and dramatised tour guides.
