Barbarians in the ‘City of Poets’. The Modern Movement in the Public Architecture of Vilnius in the Interwar Period

Abstrakt

The purpose of this paper is to present the process of penetration of modernist avant-garde ideas into the public space of interwar Vilnius and the role played by the architects of the younger generation – the graduates of the Faculty of Architecture of Warsaw University of Technology. Vilnius gained independence as part of the Second Polish Republic. It was perceived as a mysterious ‘city of poets’, the cradle of Polish Romanticism and a picturesque ‘city under the clouds’ whose enchanting landscape included numerous historical buildings. This somewhat mythical image of Vilnius, captured in Jan Bułhak’s mood-setting photographs, has influenced a rather conservative attitude towards modern architecture. The community of architects, formed around the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Stefan Batory University and supported by local art historians, represented a current of conservative traditionalism promoting the idea of following historical patterns. The first modernist projects aroused vehement objections and people spoke of a so-called ‘factory form’ spoiling beautiful Vilnius. Despite the critical approach of the local community, the ideas of the modernist movement found resonance mainly in Vilnius’ public architecture in the 1930s. The most important projects included the halls of residence of the Stefan Batory University, the building of the Bank of National Economy, the headquarters of the Social Insurance Institution, the primary school in Lipówka, the complex of buildings of the municipal cooling plant, as well as the new pavilions at the Northern Trade Fair. At the same time, the preserved designs of buildings planned for construction in the coming years indicate that the forms of functional modernism became firmly rooted in the architecture of Vilnius in the 1930s. They show ambitious and interesting urban concepts, including the buildings of the bus station, the Social House, the school complex at Tartaki Street in Vilnius, and the public school at Subocz Street. Those projects were mostly created by the graduates of the Faculty of Architecture of Warsaw University of Technology (e.g. A. Forkiewicz, I. Heilman, K. Biszewski), many of whom decided to pursue their careers in Vilnius. An important role in promoting the idea of modernism in Vilnius was played by Romuald Gutt who headed the newly established Urban Planning Studio. He created a team of co-workers, with S. Bukowski, J. Kobzakowski and L. Dąbrowski to name a few, who quickly became involved in the city’s social life. The paper presents selected works and also non-implemented conceptual projects that show the process of penetration of the ideas of the modernist movement into the public architecture of Vilnius in the 1930s.