Like elsewhere in the world, the Nemunas and Neris rivers have been known to flood.  Kaunas, where these rivers meet, was flooded 16 times between 1877 and 1950, when the Soviets dammed the Nemunas east of the city as part of a huge hydroelectric scheme – thus creating a small inland sea Kauno Marios. We are exploring the city – in five groups, each accompanied by an artist from Laundry – working with students at the Art Institute at Vytauta Magnus University in Lithuania, in search of Wonders. My group arrives at the confluence of the two rivers as dusk falls, and consider our ‘finds’.

On the other side of the Neris, we can see the old industrial areas, looking silent and abandoned, to all intents and purposes, old Five Year Plans gone awry. Behind us, there is a park with a 13th century castle and by the side of the Old Town, streets of graffiti and empty buildings. Along the Nemunas, on the other side of the Aleksotas bridge a hundred or so fishermen are gathered (and one fisher-woman) in one small spot, drinking, reminiscing, fishing. The bridge itself is perhaps a Wonder, as it once known as the bridge that took 12 days to cross – due to the difference between the Julian Calendar in use on one side of the river and the Gregorian calendar in use on the other. The Red Stars that once adorned the bridge have been removed and replaced by blue light sabres that Luke Skywalker would be proud to possess. Past the bridge, further down the Nemunas, you will find the Acropolis, a huge shopping mall, big enough to enclose traditional buildings. It’s a little bit of Disneyland with good shoes and stylish shops and no-one in character – unless they are adopting their ‘I am Lithuanian’, ‘I am Polish’, ‘I am Russian’ identity. At night, and from a distance, the lights on its façade make it look like a ocean liner at berth by the water’s side. Before returning to our workshop space, we go down into the crypt of St. Gertrudes, where there is a candle shrine – and it is the warmest place we have found today and it is tempting to fall asleep on the steps. 

In St. Michael the Archangel there is a very different kind of experience awaiting us. Standing at one end of Laisvės Alėja (Freedom Avenue), the church was built in 1891 and functioned as the garrison church for the Tsarist army. It was used as art gallery ‘in Soviet time’ (an expression we hear at least 37 times in one day) and returned to its original use in 1991. Here the artist Robertas Antinis (Jr) has created an installation in the bowels of the church – a one way journey through the catacombs in total darkness. We go in pairs, down a circular metal staircase into the depths, but the caretaker is still nervous – he has had people freak out half way round, when it is to late to turn back. I find myself closing my eyes even though I can’t see anything. I soon lose my companion and I finally emerge on the other side in front of four people who entered the catacombs before me. The curator of the project admits that she has only gone in a few metres before she decided to turn back. She explains how the artist has had a particular interest in working with blind people through his sculptural work. Another wonder perhaps.

The Wonders of Kaunas project is documented on the cultural animation site. The Art Institute are working on a publication for April 2008. Until then you can find out interesting facts about Kaunas at PocketGuide.