Vilnius Sports Palace

(our monument to human stupidity, bureaucracy and greed)

This is a building in the center of Vilnius. The construction works of it began in 1965 and has completed in 1971. The palace was designed by Eduardas Chlomauskas and his colleagues, has an unusual shape in the form of a wave or ship-shaped roof. The palace has long been one of main symbols of the city.

This building is made in brutal style. The palace can seat inside about 4400 spectators. Earlier, in 1966, a very similar sports palace was built in Minsk, Belarus.

Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery

The Sports Palace is located in the middle of the very old Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery. Cemetery have been operating since the 16th century, closed in the 18th century, and were destroyed during the Soviet regime times. The last monuments were demolished in 1955. Cemetery boundaries were reaffirmed in 2009, and the former car parking lot been removed from this territory. Before the cemetery was destroyed, the Soviets only allowed to remove only seven (7) remains.

By ~1990 The Sports Palace was one of the most important halls for basketball tournaments, and it was used for concerts, performances and other events. Many significant, important events of Lithuania took place in the Palace: in 1988, The founding congress of the Lithuanian Restructuring Sąjūdis took place here. The World and European Championships for various sports were also held in this palace.

In 2004 the Palace and the territory acquired by ŪBIG (Ūkio bankas Investment Group). UBIG demonstrated the inclination of the immediate destruction of the palace and building a new residential block. After permissions to do this were not granted, ŪBIG was showing almost no interest in the fate of the palace.

The stagnation of the building deteriorated, in 2008 The reconstruction would already have required about 35 million Euro. In that year, the palace was already named as an abandoned building, in which, due to emergency conditions, events were no longer organized.

In 2009 the crumbling roof structure already threatened to collapse. Same year, after numerous warnings, the Palace and its access were banned from exploitation due to violations of fire safety rules. Not withstanding all the prohibitions, the palace was at that time still used as a filming area. In 2010 The artists palaces were still used as an unconventional exhibition hall.

2013 In November, the VCO ROCK Music major event was held in the palace. Although the heating, sewerage, and fire protection systems were no longer operational at that time, the event was successfully organized. It is believed that many performers and viewers remember the significant events of both sporting and artistic events here, therefore many people came to see the building itself.

After the bankruptcy of the previous owner ŪBIG (Ūkio bank), the palace was planned to be sold at the auction sale. It was said that the renovation of the building is possible, although it is necessary to restructure it remarkably. Nowadays, cafes, auxiliary rooms, a conference rooms are important - all this was not planned at all or planned badly in this Soviet-era project.

2015 - After three unsuccessful attempts to sell at auction, in 2015.09.16 The state of Lithuania has redeemed the palace for 5.6 million Euro.

2016 - Palace House transformation plans were announced. Many elements of the main building are planned to be preserved. On the eastern side there is a planned tunnel-coupled extension, another bridge over the Neris river can be built.

2017 - The ongoing reconstruction of the palace was suspended due to an unclear contractor’s contract.
Mr. Meyshe Bairak (Head of the Kaunas Jewish Religious Community), presented to the State of Lithuania a petition of 39,000 signatures to refuse the reorganization of the palace and restore the Vilnius Jewish Cemetery. All signatures were collected online.

The future of this building still remains unclear.
(all pictures made in June 2017 by @onealfa)