Over two days, "Open House Vilnius" attracted nearly 43,000 visits

The open architecture weekend Open House Vilnius, held in Vilnius for the eleventh time, attracted nearly 43,000 visits. Last weekend, more than 50 sites opened their doors to the public, including 4 green urban spaces. The program also featured meetings with city creators, artistic activities, and performances.

The organizers are pleased that, despite having fewer sites in this year’s program, the number of visitors increased.

“We feel a great and constant interest in our festival from visitors. The rather cool weather did not deter people from exploring architecture. This inspires the whole team to continue promoting architectural culture, to seek new spaces that we can open to the public. We are also grateful to all the building representatives for their openness and enthusiasm in creating a wonderful atmosphere for visitors,” said Solveiga Buoželytė, head of the Open House Vilnius project.

This year, the festival program featured more than 50 sites, including 11 newcomers and a new addition to the festival — 4 green urban spaces.

According to the organizers, the most visited newcomers this year were Stepono sodas and the Antakalnis Trolleybus Depot, as well as ISM University of Management and Economics (former Vilnius Central Post Office), the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, and Kilo Health office (formerly V. Šopenas Brewery).

The tours in green urban spaces — Bernardinai Garden, Sei Shin En Japanese Garden, Business Garden Vilnius complex, and Naujamiestis district — attracted more than 1,000 visits. The meetings with city creators, organized for the second time this year, received twice as much attention compared to their first edition, also drawing over 1,000 visits.

The tours were led by volunteer guides, who are an integral part of the event’s success. This year, nearly 500 volunteers contributed to the festival.

“Our event’s success relies on the efforts of our volunteers. Without their initiative and commitment, this project would not be possible. We value everyone who decides to dedicate even several months of their time to our festival — we appreciate those who return year after year, as well as those joining for the first time,” said S. Buoželytė.

The open architecture weekend is organized by the Architecture Fund. Open House Vilnius is part of the Open House Worldwide network, which unites more than 50 cities around the world. The festival is also part of the Open House Europe cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union. The event is partially funded by Vilnius City Municipality and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.