| Abstract [eng] |
In 2009 Vilnius is publicized as European Cultural capital. It means that our country lives an active cultural life. It’s like a present to us symbolizing that Lithuanians understand their history, culture and heritage; that they know how to save and use it for esthetical, financial, cultural or other purposes. Object of this work – technical heritage, specifically street lighting and water supply equipment in Vilnius. This is a range of small technical heritage directly related with domestic daily life that means no attitude for saving it like a worth thing. It’s not only nowadays problem. Domestic life attributes like lanterns, street lamps, water pumps, water towers, water wells and etc. has never been saved as cultural heritage as it was used constantly. Only becoming history known by the archival documents and iconography, domestic equipment sometimes attains attention. Paradoxical, but only when we have almost nothing left, we try to save it. At the moment we have 12 Vilnius water supply and street lighting objects written into Cultural heritage register – Verkiai manor lantern poles, 1 water pump, 4 water towers, 5 water mills and Vingriai spring reservoir. It’s a little number of technical heritage left, but it shows that we do remember it and somehow try to keep it for future. At the moment all the water towers, water pump and Pučkoriai water mills are saved only by not letting them to demolish. Today these objects give no any information. Better situation is with the water mills. Most of them are specialized for different purposes. Different situation today we have with historical street lighting as a characteristic part of Vilnius old town. Soviet period illuminators are gradually replaced with “historic” ones (seeming XIX – XX centuries). It helps to create cozy historic atmosphere but at the same time very often confronts with existing old architectural styles. For example: ornate gas lanterns can’t interflow with flat gothic walls. Street lighting equipment changed with the alternation of fuel, not by change of architecture styles. Street lighting history in Vilnius begins in 1817, by the first archival document, explaining about these days oil lighting problems. Second very important date in lighting history – 1864. It was a year when ornate gas lighting by building gas factory has com to the city. Street lighting equipment changed a lot not only by fuel, but by decorative details and all over metal using in construction. Only at the 1903 when power station was build and electricity use outrivaled other fuels lighting system has changed a lot till nowadays. Luminaries on high metal poles were used in spite of lanterns, till the 1968, when the idea to use historic street lighting become to reality. Almost 400 hundred years due to favourable relief of the location, the spring water flowed through wooden pipes to the reservoirs and ponds designated for public use, also to some houses of the noble. The first evidence about the use of spring water for water supply in Vilnius goes back to year 1501, when Alexander, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, gave as present to the Dominican monks the Vingriai springs that were the property of the monks by the middle of the 19th century. With development of the city and constant lack of water in the middle of the 19th century municipal authorities started considering the need of centralised water suply and construction of new waterworks. Water supply was based on the artesian well and was designed for the population of 350000. Because of lack of the money, only in 1913-1914, water supply network of more than 30 km was constructed and the pump house completed. 1916 – is to be considered the beginning of the centralized water supply of Vilnius. A part of old Vilnius water supply system is alive today and represents today by the frequent use of water pumps not only for domestic use but even as decorative element. |
