Kaunas starts the tenth season of the Heritage Program with record numbers | Business

For a more beautiful city

“Heritage Program is pleased with its results every year, but these will be special. The people of Kaunas submitted a record number of applications, and the city planned really solid financing. Owners just need to sign contracts and start work. We want to implement as many of them as possible.

It doesn’t matter if it’s exceptional objects in the UNESCO territory, the architecture of the old town or the beautiful trees of Žaliakalnis, every renovated building contributes to a more beautiful, more beautiful city”, said Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis about the success of the Heritage Management Program.

Kaunas City Municipality has set out to finance a total of 62 objects this year: 41 of them are newly received applications, and another 21 projects have been decided to be extended from 2023. It is planned to allocate almost 2 million euros for the renovation of buildings in the Old Town and the center of Kaunas, the installation of entrances for disabled people and decorative lighting, the elimination of emergency threats and the preparation of management projects. euros.

The vast majority of approved projects are exclusively interwar residential houses and apartment buildings in UNESCO territory, even 6 wooden buildings in Žaliakalny. Historic objects in the old town will also regain their authentic facade colors.

Good examples are “contagious”

The curators of the heritage management program notice that good examples inspire and motivate – more and more Kaunas residents, after seeing the beautiful houses of their neighbors, are also concerned about their own property.

For example, last year, after starting to manage Vilniaus st. For the building numbered 30, this year even two applications for houses nearby were received. The situation is the same on Karalias Mindaugas Avenue: the apartment building that was called out due to the emergency condition of the balconies followed the example of the neighboring house and plans to start maintenance of the facade.

“Every year we keep increasing the revolutions. The program is improved every year to meet the expectations of the population. As its appeal grows and the city’s funding strengthens, we receive a corresponding feedback – more and more applications. This is a big win for the city, heritage and Kaunas themselves. The city becomes more beautiful in a complex way, the unique architecture becomes more prominent and everyone can see even better why Kaunas earned the title of UNESCO World Heritage. Every Kaunian can become a part of this change,” said Saulius Rimas, head of the Cultural Heritage Department.

He reminds that the Heritage Management program annually welcomes both natural and legal persons who manage heritage buildings in the Old Town of Kaunas, Naujamiestis, Žaliakalnis, and the UNESCO territory protection zone.

Finances up to 75%. who are you

Partial financing from the city budget is provided for renovation of facades, adaptation of objects for the needs of the disabled, installation and design of decorative lighting. Up to 50 percent can be allocated to the management of brick buildings, and even up to 75 percent of wooden buildings. the value of works.

If the color and material of the decoration are not changed during the maintenance of the facades, residents can participate in the program even without a technical project and construction permit, when this is provided for by the Construction Law.

The initiative of the Kaunas municipality to renovate gray and dilapidated heritage buildings started in 2015. 197 building owners took advantage of the city’s support to fix their property. So far, Kaunas has allocated about 4.7 million for this. euros.

You can find out more about the Heritage Management program here.