Surprise Tour

Last Wednesday I dropped by the Seimas (Parliament) building because I had heard there was an exhibit about Romas Kalanta in the foyer.  I assumed that the foyer would be open to the public, which was not the case.  The guard at the entrance didn’t quite know what to do with this foreigner asking to see the exhibit inside the parliament building.  He called a couple different people who came and talked to me.  The last person to come was one of the parliamentary historians.  He not only authorized my entrance through security and took me to see the exhibit, he also gave me a personal tour of the building.  The building was built in the early 1980s for the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.  I got to see the original chamber where the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet declared independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990.  I also saw the new modern parliamentary chamber.  The original building has amazing stained glass windows with Soviet symbolism.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take photos because an event was going on in that space.  I found out later that the Seimas is only open to the public on Fridays.

In the original parliamentary chamber where Lithuanian independence was declared on March 11, 1990

 

Painting of Vytis, symbol of Lithuania, in Seimas chamber

 

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