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Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports

Basketball venues in LithuaniaIndoor arenas in LithuaniaSports venues in VilniusVolleyball venues in Lithuania
Sportorumai
Sportorumai

Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports (Lithuanian: Sporto rūmai) is an indoor arena in Vilnius, Lithuania. The venue was opened in 1971. It was deemed unsafe and closed in 2004. Plans to reconstruct the venue received significant opposition from the Jewish community as the site is located on the grounds of the oldest Jewish cemetery in Vilnius. The arena was capable of holding 4,400 spectators. It was primarily used for volleyball and basketball. In October 1988, the arena was the site of the Inaugural Congress of Sąjūdis, the Reform movement which led Lithuania in achieving independence from the Soviet Union. It was also the site of the public funeral of 13 Lithuanians killed by Soviet troops at the Vilnius Television Tower during the January Events of 1991. The arena is emblematic of Communist Modernism. It is one of the few remaining sports arenas in this architectural style. Two other examples are the Hala Olivia in Gdańsk, Poland, and the now destroyed Volgar Sports Palace in Tolyatti, Russia.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports
Rinktinės g., Vilnius Šnipiškės

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N 54.690833333333 ° E 25.291111111111 °
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Vilniaus koncertų ir sporto rūmai

Rinktinės g. 1
09234 Vilnius, Šnipiškės
Vilnius County, Lithuania
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Jewish cemeteries of Vilnius
Jewish cemeteries of Vilnius

The Jewish cemeteries of Vinius are the three Jewish cemeteries of the Lithuanian Jews living in what is today Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, which was known to them for centuries as Vilna, the principal city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. Two of the cemeteries were destroyed by the Soviet regime and the third is still active.The oldest and the largest Jewish cemetery was established in the 15th century in Šnipiškės suburb, now in Žirmūnai elderate, across the Neris River from the Gediminas Tower. In Vilna Jewish culture, the cemetery was known as Piramont. It was closed by the Tsarist authorities in 1831. It was destroyed by the Soviet authorities in 1949–50 during the construction of Žalgiris Stadium. The Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports (Lithuanian: Koncertų ir sporto rūmai) was built in 1971 right in the middle of the former cemetery. In 2005, apartment and office buildings were built at the site. The project was condemned by international Jewish organizations and resulted in a motion being passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, condemning Lithuania for its "failure to protect the historic Jewish cemetery in Vilnius." In August 2009, the Lithuanian government reached an agreement with Jewish organizations on the boundaries of the cemetery and granted it protected status. Buildings already on the site will not be demolished.The second cemetery was located in Užupis. It was active from 1828 to 1943 or 1948. It was also destroyed by the Soviet authorities in the 1960s following the destruction of the Great Synagogue of Vilna. Tombstones from the two old cemeteries were used for staircases in various construction works around the city. Currently a memorial constructed of them marks the location of the former entrance to the cemetery. Moreover, there are plans to build a monument in place of the old cemetery in Užupis. The new Jewish cemetery was opened in Šeškinė district near Sudervė Cemetery. Some graves of famous people, including that of the Vilna Gaon, were relocated to the new place from the old cemeteries before the destruction. Currently it has about 6,500 Jewish graves.

Vilnia
Vilnia

The Vilnia (also Vilnelė; Belarusian: Вільня, Vilnia [ˈvʲilʲnʲa]; Polish: Wilejka, Wilenka) is a river in Belarus and Lithuania. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas, at the Belarus–Lithuania border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624 sq. km. For 13 km, its flow marks the Belarus-Lithuania border, and the remaining 69 km are in Lithuania until it flows into the Neris River at Vilnius. Eventually, its waters, via the Neris draining into the Neman River, flow into the Baltic Sea. Its confluence with the Neris lies within the city of Vilnius, and the river's name was probably the source of the city's name.Springs along the Vilnia's length contribute to its flow. A series of wells accessing the river's groundwaters, drilled in the early 20th century, remained a major source of potable water in the city into the late 20th century. The name of the river derives from the Lithuanian language word vilnis ("a surge") or vilnyti ("to surge"). Beneath it stands the Indo-European root wel-/wl- meaning "to roll", "to spin". Vilnelė, the diminutive form of the original hydronym Vilnia, came into popular use in Lithuanian and in Soviet times largely replaced the latter because of Polish language influence — Poles translated Lithuanian name of the river with such diminutive form (Wilenka). In an effort to restore the upstream migration of salmonids in the basin, a fish ladder was constructed on the Vilnia in 2000.