PLACE ROTUŠĖŠ

Rotušės Square is the town hall square, dating from 1542 in a late Baroque style with classical and Gothic elements. In Soviet times, it became - and has remained ever since - the Wedding Palace. The pride of Kaunas, Rotušės Square is surrounded by former German merchant mansions from the ^15th and ^16th centuries, now renovated.

In the south-west corner of the square stands the statue of Maironis, Kaunas priest and precursor of the national movement at the end of the ^19th century.

At the southeast corner of the square, on Aleksoto 6, we'll see the Perkūnas house, an original example of secular architecture in late Gothic style, built on an ancient site celebrating the pagan god of Thunder. Also on view is the Church of Vytautas (Aleksoto 3), built by Franciscan monks in the early ^15th century. Also the Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy.

To the north of the square , near St. George's Church, stand the remains of the ^11th-century castle, often used as a venue for contemporary art exhibitions.

On Vilniaus Street , you can visit Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, with the tomb of Maironis, priest and poet, considered the founder of Lithuanian poetry. Gothic with touches of Renaissance and Baroque, dating from the ^17th century.

At thewestern end of Laisvės alėja is the park where, near the statue of Vytautas, student Romas Kalanta set himself on fire in 1972 to protest against Soviet occupation. A sculpture on the ground has been erected in his memory.