House of the Signatories
Encyclopedia
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n historic landmark in Pilies Street
Pilies Street
Pilies Street is one of the main streets in the Old Town of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is rather a short street, running from Cathedral Square to the Town Hall Square....
, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, where on February 16, 1918, the Act of Independence of Lithuania
Act of Independence of Lithuania
The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...
was signed by twenty members
Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania
The signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania were the twenty Lithuanian men who signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania on February 16, 1918. The signatories were elected to the Council of Lithuania by the Vilnius Conference in September 1917 and entrusted with the mission of...
of the Council of Lithuania
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...
.
The building was first mentioned in writing in an edict issued in 1645. The house changed owners several times during the 17th and 18th centuries, and after major fires in the 18th century, it underwent a reconstruction and the third floor was built. In the late 19th century, Kazimierz Sztral renovated the building in a Neo-Renaissance style after a project by a Russian architect Alexiey Polozov. The second floor has decorative sculptures symbolizing agriculture and fishing. The third floor acquired two male busts. Mr. Sztral opened the famous "Biały Sztral" café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, which operated until 1939. The cafe was named "White Sztral" (or "Sztrall") to distinguish it from four other cafes owned by Kazimierz Sztrall, including "Zielony Sztral" (Green) and "Czerwony Sztral" (Red). The cafe, frequented by local high society
High society (group)
High society refers to a category of people deemed to have greater social status or prestige, and their related affiliations, social events and practices which together define a group variously referred to as "Society" or high society. Such groups are defined by certain key events and cultural...
, was immortalised by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński in his Vilnian Elegies.
Although closed down following the Lithuanian takeover of the city, it was soon reopened and housed the "Ksantypa" cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
run by artists who fled from Nazi-occupied part of Poland, among them Janusz Minkiewicz
Janusz Minkiewicz
Janusz Minkiewicz was a Polish writer, translator, journalist and satirist.Born in St. Petersburg, he graduated from the faculty of philosophy of the Warsaw University. Active in various journals, he was considered one of the heirs to the Skamander group of poets...
, Mieczysław Szpakiewicz, Stanisława Perzanowska
Stanisława Perzanowska
Stanisława Perzanowska was a Polish actress, director and professor at the Warsaw Dramatic School, from which she graduated in 1919. Immediately she started working for the Warsaw-based Teatr Reduta. She also collaborated with Teatr Ateneum of Warsaw and Teatr Polski of Vilna...
, Marta Mirska
Marta Mirska
Marta Mirska was a stage name of Alicja Nowak-Rejnigier , a Polish singer popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Her distinctive alto voice became popular in Poland immediately before World War II. After the war she published a number of records for the Poznań-based Mewa label and then the Polskie Nagrania...
and Światopełk Karpiński
Światopełk Karpiński
Światopełk Karpiński was a Polish poet and satirist, brother of architect Zbigniew Karpiński. He graduated from the School of Political Sciences in Warsaw where he was trained as a diplomat...
. As such it operated until the second Soviet occupation. The cafe was re-opened in 2000.
Prior to 1918, the upper floors were used for rentals. The Lithuanian Relief Committee operated out of the building during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In one of the Committee's offices on the third floor, on February 16, 1918, the twenty members of the Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania
Act of Independence of Lithuania
The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...
, reestablishing Lithuania's independence. Afterwards the house was adapted to the needs of various Lithuanian organizations, as well as continuing to serve as a residence.
Soon after Lithuania regained independence in 1990 from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the house was dedicated as a museum, and opened to the public in 2000. Since 2003 the museum has been a branch of the National Museum of Lithuania
National Museum of Lithuania
The National Museum of Lithuania , established in 1952, is a state-sponsored historical museum that encompasses several significant structures and a wide collection of written materials and artifacts. It also organizes archeological digs in Lithuania....
. Annual commemoration ceremonies of the independence are held in the House of the Signatories on February 16.