Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

About

The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences is housed in a special building: the building of the former State Bank of Russia. This bank was the most splendid of all the banks built in Vilnius before the First World War. A branch of the Bank of Poland took over the palace in 1921, and since 1958 it has been used by the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.

This building is an example of an architecture that is emphatically representative, stable and luxurious. The building’s architecture uniquely combines the styles of historicism and modernism, and the eclecticism of its interior is truly fascinating. It retains many authentic details, such as the marble staircase, handrails, armrests, chandeliers, doors and furniture in the office of the President of the Academy of Sciences.

The building’s architect, Mikhail Prozorov, was considered an expert in metal and reinforced concrete structures, and his expertise is reflected in the building’s architecture. The architect applied a reinforced concrete vault of elliptical diameter, which had not been used in Vilnius before, to the overlay of the bank’s operations hall, and used it to cover an area of 440 m2 without any additional supports. Such an architectural solution was a novelty at the time and had not been used in Lithuania before.

To this day, the building is considered to be a representative example of modern architecture, and one of the best preserved authentic interiors and exteriors in Vilnius.