Kablys | Former Palace of Culture for Railway Workers

Currently known as “Kablys” (The Hook), the building is best recognized for its distinctive architectural feature – a hook incorporated into its facade. However, this unique and peculiar detail was not originally planned for the project.

During the Soviet era, almost every larger city was required to have a railway workers’ cultural palace, and Vilnius was no exception. The current building was constructed in 1958 as the Palace of Culture for Railway Workers based on a typical socialist classicism project.

The palace hosted dances and film screenings, had a café, and a theater. It is said that the most enjoyable dance evenings in Vilnius took place here, second in popularity only to the Trade Union Cultural Palace, which stood on Tauro Hill.

In 1994, in the middle of the pediment, in place of the former Soviet Union emblem, “Kablys” (The Hook) a grand sculpture by Mindaugas Navakas was installed. It intended to be a temporary sculpture, yet it became so ingrained that it remained to decorate the building to this day as an object with additional significance, due to which the building itself began to be called “Kablys” (The Hook).

Today, it is one of the most important and largest alternative culture centers in Vilnius, still preserving its cultural function, where parties continue until dawn, as originally intended for the building.