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The main thoroughfare of Kaunas' New Town (Naujamiestis) is Freedom Avenue (Laisves aleja), a broad pedestrianized shopping street running east from the Old Town, which, bizarrely, was declared a no-smoking zone during the 1990s. At the junction with L. Sapiegos the street is enlivened by a bronze statue of Vytautas the Great , which faces the City Garden (Miesto sodas) where, on May 14, 1972, the 19-year-old student Romas Kalanta immolated himself in protest against Soviet rule. Kalanta's death sparked several days of anti-Soviet rioting, and today he is commemorated by a memorial stone in the gardens. Towards the eastern end of Freedom Avenue the silver-domed Church of St Michael the Archangel (Igulos baznycia) looms over Independence Square (Nepriklausomybes aikste). Originally an Orthodox church built for the tsarist garrison in the 1890s, this neo-Byzantine structure is now Catholic, its bare interior a reflection of the fact that it was an art gallery for most of the Soviet period. The striking modern building in the northeast corner of the square is one of the best art galleries in the country, the Mykolas Zilinskas Art Museum (Mykolo Zilinsko dailes muziejus; Tues-Sun: summer noon-6pm; winter 11am-5pm, closed last Tues of every month; 3Lt), which houses a fine collection of artifacts from Egypt, Renaissance paintings from Italy, Chinese porcelain, and Lithuania's only Rubens. Kaunas celebrates its role in sustaining Lithuanian national identity on Unity Square (Vienybes aikste), at the junction of S. Daukanto and K. Donelaicio, a block north of Laisves. Here a monument depicting liberty as a female figure faces an eternal flame flanked by traditional wooden crosses, with busts of prominent Lithuanians from the nineteenth century between the two. Overlooking all this is the Military Museum of Vytautas the Great (Vytauto Didziojo karo muziejus; Wed-Sun: summer 10am-6pm; winter 9am-5pm; closed last Thurs of every month; 3Lt; English leaflets available), with a display that covers local archeological finds and Lithuanian military history. Behind the museum at Putvinskio 55 is the M.K. Ciurlionis Art Museum (M. K. Aiurlionio dailes muziejus; Tues-Sun: summer noon-6pm; winter 11am-5pm; closed last Tues of every month; 3Lt). The collection has a large display of pre-1940 Lithuanian art, but its raison d'etre - and one of the highlights of Kaunas - is the section dedicated to Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875-1911), Lithuania's best-known artist. During his short career (his most significant works were completed during the first decade of the twentieth century) Aiurlionis created a unique body of work, producing enigmatic mystical paintings influenced by the French Symbolists, many of them featuring Lithuanian folk motifs. Kaunas has a second unique art collection nearby in the A. Zmuidzinavicius Art Museum , Putvinskio 64 (A. Zmuidzinaviaius k-riniu ir rinkiniu muziejus; Tues-Sun: summer noon-6pm; winter 11am-5pm; closed last Tues of every month; 4Lt). Better known as the Devil's Museum (Velniu muziejus), this houses a vast collection of devil figures put together by the artist Antanas Zmuidzinaviaius. Though most of the images are comic, there's also a sinister representation of Hitler and Stalin as devils dancing on a Lithuania composed of skulls. Heading east down Putvinskio brings you to the 1930s funicular railway (funikulierius) which climbs up to the Zaliakalnis district to the north of the city centre, allowing views across the rest of the city (0.50Lt). Near the upper terminal is the Church of Christ's Resurrection (Prisikelimo baznyaia), a striking 1930s modernist edifice with a very tall white tower. Used as a factory warehouse during Soviet times, the church is currently undergoing long-term restoration. Before World War II Kaunas, like Vilnius, had a large Jewish population . Nearly all were killed during the war and little remains to remind of their presence. From medieval times, Kaunas' ghetto was in Viljampol3 (then known as Slobodka) on the opposite side of the Neris to the Old Town. After 1858 restrictions on where Jews could live were eased, and many moved into other parts of the city. When the Nazis arrived the Jews were forced to return to Viljampol3. The city's sole surviving synagogue is at Ozeskienes 17 in the New Town and the ruins of two more are at Zamenhofo 7 and 9. To find out more about the fate of the Jews of Kaunas head out of town to the Ninth Fort Museum (Devintojo Forto Muziejus), Zemaiaiu plentas 73 (daily except Tues 10am-5/6pm; 14Lt to see all three parts), housed in the tsarist-era fortress where the Jews were kept while awaiting execution. You can get there by driving out of town on the Klaipeda road, or by taking bus #23 or #35 from Sv. Gertrudos just north of the Old Town.
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