Go back to routeFrom the press of that time: “Everyone who comes to Panevėžys notices the lighting of the city streets. Even at midnight, you can nicely read a newspaper here. The streets of Panevėžys are even better lightened than Liberty Avenue or other central streets in Kaunas”.
Bank of Lithuania – decorated with a bas-relief of Vytis by Juozas Zikaras, the dome of the operation hall is held by 12 bronze atlases. Patient Insurance Funds building. Elementary School No 3 – at that time the most modern in Panevėžys. The sculptor Juozas Zikaras who came from Panevėžys district depicted a piglet on one of the first coins of litas he designed. Primary education was compulsory for children aged 7–12 in interwar Lithuania, and parents who did not allow children to attend school were fined. Panevėžys Bank is the second building of the Bank of Lithuania branch (the first one is in Kaunas), designed by Songaila. According to architectural historian Jolita Kančienė, today not enough attention is drawn to the maintenance of heritage buildings. “There is no such understanding that it is prestige, a continuation of the history, a preservation of memory”. From the press of that time: “Everyone enjoys the building of sickness funds but it is criticised due to its narrow windows, the building reminds the elevator or a gunpowder warehouse”. The folk band Raskila will be playing at the Panevėžys narrow gauge railway station.
Narrow Gauge station. Sugar factory. Polish Gymnasium (Special Education Centre Šviesa). Huge, multi-storey industrial mills were built in Panevėžys. Grain was transported from Ukraine, then processed and exported here. The operation room of the administrative building of the Panevėžys Sugar Factory (arch. Arnas Funkas) reminds the bank. According to historian Arūnas Astramskis, in interwar Lithuania sugar was a luxury good: not everyone could taste it, and those who could, used it in moderation. We will learn about the children from famous families who studied in Panevėžys Polish Gymnasium and we will also hear the history of a collection belonging to Valerijonas Straškevičius, an educator of this gymnasium and prominent entomologist. The contemporary paediatrician Liudvika Knizikevičienė will tell the story of her family: furniture and even pianos were made in the carpenter’s workshop managed by her father. Panevėžys ‘pipers’– a band of copper wind instruments Aukštyn will be playing in Panevėžys Narrow Gauge Railway Station. Minor Priest Seminary (K. Paltarokas Gymnasium). Cathedral of Christ the King. Panevėžys Girls’ Gymnasium (currently, Vytautas Žemkalnis Gymnasium).
From the press of that time: “The building of the Minor Priest Seminary is modern but not luxurious, it was not completed before the first Soviet occupation. The neo-baroque façade of Christ the King’s Cathedral was designed by the initiative of the Bishop K. Paltarokas. The interior is decorated with the works of the sculptor Juozas Zikaras, painter Jonas Mackevičius. As priest Kazimieras Jasėnas wrote in 1933, “That interesting temple has not only sacral significance but is also very valuable in terms of art. No other temple has ever shown so many Lithuanian motifs”. We will also get acquainted with the prominent personality of Bishop Kazimieras Paltarokas. According to historian Arūnas Astramskas, the bishop had great authority. The only bishop left in Lithuania after the war was followed by Soviet security. We will see and hear the exclusive pneumatic organ of Panevėžys Cathedral. Panevėžys Girls’ Gymnasium, arch. V. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, where Salomėja Nėris worked as a teacher. “The girls loved her very much, copied her manners and clothes too”, says Jūratė Gaidelienė, museum worker. We will visit Donatas in the house built by his father, the famous Panevėžys pedagogue and linguist Petras Būtėnas. 
