Antakalnis
15. INSTITUTE OF LITHUANIAN LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE (VILEISIS PALACE)
Antakalnis
The elegant floral motifs on the façade reveal their peculiar beauty in the interior of the building as well. You are welcome to visit and to explore what is probably one of the best surviving examples of the modern style in Vilnius.
The building of the Russian State Bank, which was built at the beginning of the previous century, remains the most luxurious of all banks built in Vilnius before World War I. On the outside, the visitors are greeted by a majestic six-column façade, which is guarded by the head of the Greek God of Trade, Hermes, who watches from above. The architect, Mikhail Prozorov, was an expert in metal and reinforced concrete structures. He adopted an innovative solution to cover the main hall of the bank with an elliptical reinforced concrete dome, and succeeded in covering a hall as large as 440 m² with no additional reinforcements.
The palace of the former Russian State Bank is a representational example of modern architecture that has been preserved, renewed and adapted for various changing needs. Currently, the palace houses the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Research Council of Lithuania.
