History
Small Radziwiłł Palace
The Small Radziwiłł Palace was built in the 17th century.
It is believed to have been designed by Constantino Tencallo (early 17th century –1646), a Swiss-Italian architect from Northern Italy. Scholarly attention to the building began in 1981. Research shows that, following the fire of 1748 – after which the architect Pietro de Rossi carried out renovations – the palace belonged to the Radziwiłł family, though its earlier owners remain unknown. Archaeological studies have revealed tiles bearing the coats of arms of the Zalęcki, Tyzenhauz, and Radziwiłł families, as well as a decorative plate featuring the Naruszewicz family crest. Beneath the palace lie the basements of four Gothic buildings, with additional remains discovered in the courtyard near the former gates. The palace’s pilastered walls preserve traces of Gothic masonry, including windows, doorways, arches, floors, stoves, fireplaces, fences, gates, and paved surfaces.
Fragment of the palace
XVII a. pr.
1880 m. balandžio 20 d. projektavo architektas V. Gorskis (neįgyvendintas, kopija) Vilniaus regioninis valstybės archyvas
Until the 19th century, the palace was owned by the following members of the Radziwiłł family:
The Radziwiłłs were the most influential family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, guiding the state and political life from the 16th to the 18th centuries and playing a key role in the development of the arts. In the capital, they owned nine grand and elegantly decorated residences. One of these – the sixth – stood on Trakų street, opposite the Franciscan Church, and occupied a large plot extending to what is now Klaipėdos Street.
Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collection, Source: wikimedia.org
Jonas Radziwiłł
1612-1655
Volhynian Regional Museum, Source: wikimedia.org
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł
1669-1719
Volhynian Regional Museum, Source: wikimedia.org
Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł “Rybeńko.”
1702-1762
Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Source: wikimedia.org
Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł
1786-1813
Antonis Smuglewiczius (?).Vilniaus miesto teatro ložė. Projektas. Akvarelė. XIX a. pr., VUB RSS
Vilnius City Theatre at the Palace
In the spring of 1796, Dominik Morawski’s Vilnius City Theatre company continued performing at the Oskierski Palace. However, from the autumn of the same year, the company moved to the wing of the Radziwiłł Palace, newly renovated according to a design by the Vilnius architect Pietro de Rossi. The people of Vilnius also received a splendid curtain from the Sapieha Theatre in Dzyarechyn, depicting Diana Bathing with the Nymphs. The theatre space was now larger, accommodating around 1,000 spectators. Contemporary accounts, however, noted the rather low ceilings and uncomfortable boxes, which were positioned nearly at the same level as the stalls, making it difficult to see the stage clearly. Altogether, there were four storeys of boxes, with ten to eighteen boxes per row. The so-called “gallery” was not installed, as there was no arch to support it.
1796-1845
Miller – comic opera Two Sisters from Prague, or Confusion. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 14 September 1811.
Valentino Fiorovanti – opera Bucephalus, or the Village Singers. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 9 October 1819.
Author unknown, translated from French – comedy Beloved Grandfather; pantomime The Lovesick Harlequin; author unknown (Polish) – opera Two Words. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 21 December 1826.
Theatre Leaders
1796-1801 m. Dominik Morawski
1801-1805 m. Marcijana Korvel-Moravskan
Nuo 1805 m. Maciej Kazhinsky
1801-1805 m. Marcijana Korvel-Moravskan
Nuo 1805 m. Maciej Kazhinsky
Juozapas Kamarauskas. Vilnius. Old City Centre Plan. 1939 (T-12052), Lithuanian National Museum of Art
The Palace Housed Apartments, Shops, and a Pharmacy
When the theatre was closed, the building was adapted to house flats. In the 19th century, it also housed a pharmacy. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building underwent renovations, and outbuildings and residential wings were added in the courtyard. Following major renovations in 1965 and 1974, the ground floor lost its Classicist features. Part of the building belonged to the Youth Theatre, while the other part remained in residential use. At the end of the 18th century, the building accommodated the only theatre in Vilnius. From that period, only its plan and a portion of the Classicist façade survive.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Single-storey residential building in the courtyard.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Courtyard-facing façade of the northern wing along the street.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Southern courtyard wing, fragment of the northern façade.
XIX a. pab.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m. LCSA
Home of the State Youth Theatre
The State Youth Theatre was officially founded on 29 January 1965. Initially called the Theatre for Young Viewers, it later received its current name at the initiative of the company, gradually beginning its theatrical activities. At first, rehearsal spaces had to be prepared, and the Small Radziwiłł Palace on Vilniaus Street proved ideal for this purpose. A creative team had to be assembled, and a debut performance for the young audience of the capital needed to be chosen. All these tasks were entrusted to the director Aurelija Ragauskaitė, who immediately announced auditions. She succeeded in gathering and shaping an exceptionally strong company of actors from across Lithuania, a troupe that would make the theatre’s name renowned for decades to come.
Teatro plakatai
T.Jan „Mergaitė ir pavasaris“, 1970 m.
Director D. Tamulevičiūtė, Designer N. Merkuševas ir V. Fominas.
V. Palčinskaitė „Aš vejuosi vasarą“, 1968 m.
Director R. Ragauskaitė, Designer V. Gatavynaitė
W. Shakespeare „Romeo ir Džuljeta“, 1966
Director R. Ragauskaitė
May 27 d. The performance premiered on 27 May, marking the official founding of the State Youth Theatre.
May 27 d. The performance premiered on 27 May, marking the official founding of the State Youth Theatre.
1966-1981
M. Sakalauskas, 1990 m., LCSA
Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
The museum was founded at Vytautas the Great University in Kaunas in 1926, at the initiative of Balys Sruoga and Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius. In 1936, it was transferred to the State Theatre, and in 1957 became a division of the Museum of the Lithuanian Theatre Society (Actors’ House). From 1964 for nearly thirty years, it functioned as a department of the Lithuanian Museum of Art. In 1992, it became an independent museum. The first museum premises – then owned by the Society for the Protection of Monuments and Local History – were located in a late 17th-century building known as the Umiastowski Palace (Trakų St 2). In the early 1980s, a decision was made to adapt the Small Radziwiłł Palace for the museum. Following restoration works led by the project designer Gražina Juknevičienė, the museum moved into this building in 1995.
Declared a cultural monument in 2000
Nuo 1996
Fragment of the palace
Fragment of an exhibit
Fragment of the palace
History
History
XVII a. pr.
Small Radziwiłł Palace
Fragment of the palace
The Small Radziwiłł Palace was built in the 17th century.
It is believed to have been designed by Constantino Tencallo (early 17th century –1646), a Swiss-Italian architect from Northern Italy. Scholarly attention to the building began in 1981. Research shows that, following the fire of 1748 – after which the architect Pietro de Rossi carried out renovations – the palace belonged to the Radziwiłł family, though its earlier owners remain unknown. Archaeological studies have revealed tiles bearing the coats of arms of the Zalęcki, Tyzenhauz, and Radziwiłł families, as well as a decorative plate featuring the Naruszewicz family crest. Beneath the palace lie the basements of four Gothic buildings, with additional remains discovered in the courtyard near the former gates. The palace’s pilastered walls preserve traces of Gothic masonry, including windows, doorways, arches, floors, stoves, fireplaces, fences, gates, and paved surfaces.
1880 m. balandžio 20 d. projektavo architektas V. Gorskis (neįgyvendintas, kopija) Vilniaus regioninis valstybės archyvas
Until the 19th century, the palace was owned by the following members of the Radziwiłł family:
The Radziwiłłs were the most influential family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, guiding the state and political life from the 16th to the 18th centuries and playing a key role in the development of the arts. In the capital, they owned nine grand and elegantly decorated residences. One of these – the sixth – stood on Trakų street, opposite the Franciscan Church, and occupied a large plot extending to what is now Klaipėdos Street.
Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collection, Source: wikimedia.org
Jonas Radziwiłł
1612-1655
Volhynian Regional Museum, Source: wikimedia.org
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł
1669-1719
Volhynian Regional Museum, Source: wikimedia.org
Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł “Rybeńko.”
1702-1762
Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Source: wikimedia.org
Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł
1786-1813
Antonis Smuglewiczius (?).Vilniaus miesto teatro ložė. Projektas. Akvarelė. XIX a. pr., VUB RSS
1796-1845
Vilnius City Theatre at the Palace
In the spring of 1796, Dominik Morawski’s Vilnius City Theatre company continued performing at the Oskierski Palace. However, from the autumn of the same year, the company moved to the wing of the Radziwiłł Palace, newly renovated according to a design by the Vilnius architect Pietro de Rossi. The people of Vilnius also received a splendid curtain from the Sapieha Theatre in Dzyarechyn, depicting Diana Bathing with the Nymphs. The theatre space was now larger, accommodating around 1,000 spectators. Contemporary accounts, however, noted the rather low ceilings and uncomfortable boxes, which were positioned nearly at the same level as the stalls, making it difficult to see the stage clearly. Altogether, there were four storeys of boxes, with ten to eighteen boxes per row. The so-called “gallery” was not installed, as there was no arch to support it.
Miller – comic opera Two Sisters from Prague, or Confusion. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 14 September 1811.
Valentino Fiorovanti – opera Bucephalus, or the Village Singers. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 9 October 1819.
Author unknown, translated from French – comedy Beloved Grandfather; pantomime The Lovesick Harlequin; author unknown (Polish) – opera Two Words. Polish Actors’ Company. Vilnius Theatre, 21 December 1826.
Theatre Leaders
1796-1801 m. Dominik Morawski
1801-1805 m. Marcijana Korvel-Moravskan
Nuo 1805 m. Maciej Kazhinsky
1801-1805 m. Marcijana Korvel-Moravskan
Nuo 1805 m. Maciej Kazhinsky
Juozapas Kamarauskas. Vilnius. Old City Centre Plan. 1939 (T-12052), Lithuanian National Museum of Art
XIX a. pab.
The Palace Housed Apartments, Shops, and a Pharmacy
When the theatre was closed, the building was adapted to house flats. In the 19th century, it also housed a pharmacy. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building underwent renovations, and outbuildings and residential wings were added in the courtyard. Following major renovations in 1965 and 1974, the ground floor lost its Classicist features. Part of the building belonged to the Youth Theatre, while the other part remained in residential use. At the end of the 18th century, the building accommodated the only theatre in Vilnius. From that period, only its plan and a portion of the Classicist façade survive.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Single-storey residential building in the courtyard.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Courtyard-facing façade of the northern wing along the street.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m., LCSA
Southern courtyard wing, fragment of the northern façade.
M. Sakalauskas, 1976 m. LCSA
1966-1981
Home of the State Youth Theatre
The State Youth Theatre was officially founded on 29 January 1965. Initially called the Theatre for Young Viewers, it later received its current name at the initiative of the company, gradually beginning its theatrical activities. At first, rehearsal spaces had to be prepared, and the Small Radziwiłł Palace on Vilniaus Street proved ideal for this purpose. A creative team had to be assembled, and a debut performance for the young audience of the capital needed to be chosen. All these tasks were entrusted to the director Aurelija Ragauskaitė, who immediately announced auditions. She succeeded in gathering and shaping an exceptionally strong company of actors from across Lithuania, a troupe that would make the theatre’s name renowned for decades to come.
Teatro plakatai
T.Jan „Mergaitė ir pavasaris“, 1970 m.
Director D. Tamulevičiūtė, Designer N. Merkuševas ir V. Fominas.
V. Palčinskaitė „Aš vejuosi vasarą“, 1968 m.
Director R. Ragauskaitė, Designer V. Gatavynaitė
W. Shakespeare „Romeo ir Džuljeta“, 1966
Director R. Ragauskaitė
May 27 d. The performance premiered on 27 May, marking the official founding of the State Youth Theatre.
May 27 d. The performance premiered on 27 May, marking the official founding of the State Youth Theatre.
M. Sakalauskas, 1990 m., LCSA
Nuo 1996
Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
The museum was founded at Vytautas the Great University in Kaunas in 1926, at the initiative of Balys Sruoga and Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius. In 1936, it was transferred to the State Theatre, and in 1957 became a division of the Museum of the Lithuanian Theatre Society (Actors’ House). From 1964 for nearly thirty years, it functioned as a department of the Lithuanian Museum of Art. In 1992, it became an independent museum. The first museum premises – then owned by the Society for the Protection of Monuments and Local History – were located in a late 17th-century building known as the Umiastowski Palace (Trakų St 2). In the early 1980s, a decision was made to adapt the Small Radziwiłł Palace for the museum. Following restoration works led by the project designer Gražina Juknevičienė, the museum moved into this building in 1995.
Declared a cultural monument in 2000
Fragment of the palace
Fragment of an exhibit
Fragment of the palace
