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by Rob Raeside, 15 May 2001
by Rob Raeside, 15 May 2001
See also:
Kaunas city flag (both sides) is based on images at <www.kaunas.lt>.
Virginijus Misiunas, 15 May 2001
Kaunas (interbellum capital): City flag seen on the old Town
Hall. The narrow top and bottom stripes were bright yellow,
in fact the same colour as the cross on top of the bull's
head.
Jan Mertens, 15 August 2003
Description of the flag of Kaunas city: The flag of Kaunas
city, designed by A. Lapienis, was adopted on April 19, 1999.
There is two type of Kaunas flag: representative, which is kept
in the office of Kaunas mayor and ordinary, which is used in
holidays, celebrations, hoisted by Municipality, City Hall etc.
Representative flag (dimension is 120x144 cm) consist of three
horizontal bands – golden, red, and golden. Front of the
flag is charged with silver wild ox. Back of the flag is charged
with silver symbols of Saint Nicolas, patron of the city:
bishop’s mitre, letter M, and three spheres. There is an
inscription "Mylekime teisuma" (Love justice) on both
sides of symbols. The cloth has golden-red cord edging on three
sides. The spear-head imprinted with the bronze head of wild ox
with cross and tied with golden-red cord.
Ordinary flag (dimension is 102x155) consist of three horizontal
bands – golden, red, and golden. Both sides of the flag are
charged with wild ox. Using of the flag is not regulated. The
ordinary flag is used to popularize the city and its symbols
among the visitors and the citizens of Kaunas. Description of the
flag based on text in Lithuanian from the official site of Kaunas
municipality (<www.kaunas.lt>).
Audrius Slapsinskas, 24 November 2003
More details on the history of the city are available on the
municipal website <www.kaunas.lt>.
Kaunas is today the second lagest city in Lituania, with 381,000
inhabitants (2001 census). The area of the municipality is 15,700
ha. The old city of Kaunas was built on the confluency of the
rivers Niemen and Neris. Ir was mentioned for the first time in
annals dated 1361. In the XIIIth century, a brick castle was
built to protect the city from the Teutonic Knights and the city
was fortified. In 1408, great duke Vytautas granted the city
municipal rights. Kaunas became a wealthy trade center and river
port, which traded with the cities of western Europe. In 1444,
the merchants of the Hanseatic League opened a counter in Kaunas,
which was active until 1532. During the XVIth century, the first
school, hospital and pharmacy were built in Kaunas. At the end of
the XVIth century, Kaunas was the best organized city in the
Great Duchy of Lituania. Unfortunately, the city suffered from
several disasters during the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries: the
Russians attacked the city in 1665; in 1701, the Swedes trashed
Lituania during the war against Russia; the black plague
devastated the city in 1657 and 1708; blazes trashed the city in
1731 and 1732. At the end of the XVIIIth century, business picked
up again in Kaunas, but was stopped by the Franco-Russian war in
1812. Napoleon's army trashed the city two times. The quick and
efficeint crossing of the Niemen is one of the most famous
episodes of the Napoleonic epic. The Oginski canal, linking the
rivers Niemen and Dniepr, was built at the end of the XIXth
century. The railway linking Germany and Russia was built in
1862, with a station in Kaunas. The first power plant was built
in Kaunas in 1898, which triggered the industrialization of the
city. However, the building of new fortifications around the
city, from 1882 to 1915, dramatically slowed down the economic
development of Kaunas. During the First World War, Kaunas was
successively occupied by the Lituanian Comunists, the Poles and
the Germans. In 1919, the Russians occupied Vilnius and the State
Council, the Council of Ministers and the other authorities of
the young Lituanian state moved to Kaunas. In 1920, the Poles
violated the Suvalkai agreement and occupied Vilnius. Kaunas was
proclaimed the provisory capital city of the Republic of
Lituania, being then the most important city of the country. In
1920, the Constitutive Parliament proclaimed the independence of
Lituania in Kaunas. during the independence period, Kaunas
developed: industry thrived, most boroughs of the city were
rebuilt; the first bus lines were opened in 1924 and water
conveyance was set up in 1928. This golden age ended with the
invasion and occupation of Lituania by Soviet Union in 1940.
After the Second World War, the capital city of Lituania was
transfered to Vilnius. The city, completely trashed during the
war, was rebuilt according to the Soviet rules. Most signs of the
Lituanian identity were suppressed. In 1972, Romas Kalantas
immolated himself in the public garden located near the National
Theater of Music of Kaunas in order to protest against the Soviet
occupation. The independence movement really started in 1988.
Ancient buildings were progressively rebuilt and the ancient
names of the streets were reestablished. The Soviet Army
attempted to suppress the independence movement in 1991 but
eventually leave the country.
The municipal website shows the municipal flag on <www.kaunas.lt/miestas/veliava/veliava.shtml>
as well as the evolution of the municipal coat of arms on <www.kaunas.lt/miestas/herbas/herbas.shtml>.
Unfortunately, the text on the latter page is in Lituanian only
and I have not been able to understand the details on the history
of the coat of arms.
The Current Coat of Arms of Kaunas was
designed in 1993 by R. Miknevisius, after medieval seals of the
city. The coat of arms is red with a white oxen bearing a yellow
cross between the horns.
The former 1969 Coat of Arms of Kaunas was
designed in 1969 by V. Banio. It is red with a white oxen
standing on a green terrace. The oxen looks much more mighty than
in the current version, more or less like an European bison. It
does not bear the cross, which seems logical since Kaunas was
then under Soviet rule.
The former former coat of arms of Jaunas was designed in 1935 by
J. Burbos. It is more or less similar to the 1969 coat of arms,
the main difference being the terrace, yellow instead of green,
and the oxen
bearing the cross.
Ivan Sache, 29 May 2004
.gif)
by Ivan Sache, 29 May 2004
69.gif)
by Ivan Sache, 29 May 2004
35.gif)
by Ivan Sache, 29 May 2004