Wandering Hours in Vilnius (Wanderstunden in Wilna)

In the years of World War I, the Press Department of the German army published propaganda literature about the residents of the occupied country, its history and culture. In 1916, the Berlin art critic and theoretician of expressionism Paul Fechter (1880–1958) and the theatre critic Monty Jacobs (1875–1945) published the book Wandering Hours in Vilnius under the pseudonym Paul Monty. Referring to the city plan as chaotic, the authors of the guide invited randomly walking along the streets, discovering Christian temples and Jewish neighbourhoods, and from the Old Town wandering to the suburbs and environs. The vividly written guide is brimming with emotional impressions.

In 1917, the guide titled Vilnius, a Forgotten City of Art was published. Its author was professor Paul Weber (1868–1930), the head of the Jena City Museum. Appointed a conservator of Lithuanian cultural monuments, he worked in Vilnius between 1916 and 1918. Based on the periodisation of the city’s history, Weber presented the development of architectural styles from Gothic to Classicism through monuments. It was the first view of Vilnius from a professional art historian.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.

In the years of World War I, the Press Department of the German army published propaganda literature about the residents of the occupied country, its history and culture. In 1916, the Berlin art critic and theoretician of expressionism Paul Fechter (1880–1958) and the theatre critic Monty Jacobs (1875–1945) published the book Wandering Hours in Vilnius under the pseudonym Paul Monty. Referring to the city plan as chaotic, the authors of the guide invited randomly walking along the streets, discovering Christian temples and Jewish neighbourhoods, and from the Old Town wandering to the suburbs and environs. The vividly written guide is brimming with emotional impressions.

In 1917, the guide titled Vilnius, a Forgotten City of Art was published. Its author was professor Paul Weber (1868–1930), the head of the Jena City Museum. Appointed a conservator of Lithuanian cultural monuments, he worked in Vilnius between 1916 and 1918. Based on the periodisation of the city’s history, Weber presented the development of architectural styles from Gothic to Classicism through monuments. It was the first view of Vilnius from a professional art historian.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.