Landmarks[edit]

Central Kaunas is defined by two pedestrian streets: the 2-km-long Laisvės alėja (Liberty Avenue), a central street of the city, lined bylinden trees, and its continuation, Vilnius Street, leading to the oldest part – Old Town of Kaunas. Some of the most prominent features in Kaunas include:

• Kaunas Castle, a 14th-century fortification;
• Vytautas' Church, one of the oldest churches in Lithuania and the oldest in Kaunas;
• St. Gertrude Church in Kaunas;
• Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, the largest Gothic building in Lithuania, with a late Baroque interior;
• St. George's Church, which was rumoured to have been turned into a dance studio during the Soviet Occupation;
• Pažaislis abbey, an impressive complex in Baroque style;
• St. Francis Xavier Church;
• Neo-Byzantine church of St. Michael the Archangel;
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eternal flame, and Statues of Lithuanian national renaissance figures are located in the Vienybės square in front of the War museum;
• Christ’s Resurrection Church with an unfolding panoramic view of the city;
• Kaunas Zoo, the only state-operated zoo in Lithuania;
• Kaunas Fortress, one of the largest defensive structures in Europe, occupying 65 km2 (25 sq mi), a 19–20th century military fortress, which includes a Holocaust site of the Ninth Fort;
• Kaunas Botanical Garden;
• Napoleon's Hill;
• Kaunas Synagogue;
• House of Perkūnas;
• Kaunas Town Hall and the square;
• Interbellum functionalism architecture complexes;
• Two funiculars – Žaliakalnis Funicular Railway and the Aleksotas Funicular Railway;
• Kaunas Mosque;
• Ąžuolynas Park and the valley of Girstupis River named after Adam Mickiewicz;
• Memorial Petrašiūnai Cemetery;
• Lithuanian open-air Ethnographic Museum displaying the heritage of Lithuanian rural life in a vast collection of authentic resurrected buildings is situated east of Kaunas on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir in a town of Rumšiškės;
• Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital;
• Kaunas Cultural Centre of Various Nations;
• Marine aquarium in the Mega Shopping mall.^[47]

Museums[edit]

Sculpture near Mykolas Žilinskas Gallery

Lithuanian Aviation Museum

Kaunas is often called a city of museums, because of the abundance and variety of them. The museums in Kaunas include:

• the War Museum of Vytautas the Great;
• the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, commemorating the work of the early 20th century avant-garde artist M. K. Čiurlionis who sought to combine painting and music into a single artistic medium;
• the Žmuidzinavičius Museum (best known as the Devils' Museum), which houses a collection of more than two thousand sculptures and carvings of devils from all over the world, most of them of folk provenance. Of particular interest are the Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin devils, together doing the dance of death over a playground littered with human bones;

M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum

• Lithuanian Aviation Museum;
• Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy;
• Historical Presidential Palace, displaying exhibits from the interwar period
• Kaunas Museum for the Blind;
• Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments;
• Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum;
• Sugihara house-museum;
• Communication History Museum;
• The so-called ab underground printing house was a part of the nonviolent resistance press during the Soviet times. Now it is the branch of Kaunas War Museum, located 8 km (5 mi) north of Kaunas in a small Saliu village, near the town of Domeikava. Although the AB printing house worked regularly, it was never detected by KGB.^[48] It was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of Lithuania in 1999.^[49]
• The apartments of some famous Kaunas natives, including Paulius Galaunė, Adam Mickiewicz, Juozas Grušas, Balys Sruoga, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Salomėja Nėris, Juozas Zikaras, Vincentas Sladkevičius have been turned into public museums.^[50]

Theatres[edit]

Kaunas National Philharmonic Society

Kaunas is notable for the diverse culture life. Kaunas Symphony Orchestra is the main venue for classical music concerts. There is an oldcircus tradition in Kaunas. There was established static circus in the Vytautas park of Kaunas in the beginning of the 19th century. The only professional circus organisation in Lithuania – Baltic Circus was founded in Kaunas in 1995.^[51] Kaunas theatres has played an important role in Lithuanian society. There are at least 7 professional theatres, lots of amateur theatres, ensembles, abundant groups of art and sports. Some of the best examples of culture life in Kaunas are theatres of various styles:

• Kaunas State Drama Theatre
• Kaunas State Musical Theatre
• Kaunas Pantomime Theatre
• Kaunas Chamber Theatre
• Kaunas Dance Theatre Aura
• Kaunas State Puppet Theatre

Parks and cemeteries[edit]

Napoleon's Hill

The city of Kaunas has a number of parks and public open spaces. It devotes 7.3% of its total land acreage to parkland.^[52] Ąžuolynas(literally, "Oak Grove") park is a main public park in the heart of Kaunas. It covers about 63 hectares and is the largest urban stand of mature oaks in Europe. To protect the unique lower landscape of Kaunas Reservoir, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park was established in the eastern edge of Kaunas in 1992. By the initiative of a prominent Lithuanian zoologistTadas Ivanauskas and biologist Konstantinas Regelis the Kaunas Botanical Garden was founded in 1923. It serves not only as a recreational area for public, but also serves as a showcase for local plant life, and houses various research facilities.

Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, and arts isPetrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas. It is also the burial site of some signatories of the 1918 Act of Independence. There are four old Jewish cemeteries within city limits.