Old postcards Lithuania

The Soviet postcards of Lithuania gathered here cover four cities — Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai and Šiauliai — and most of them come as a set. The earliest is the Trakai set of 1962: the Island Castle (14th–15th centuries), the view from the keep, the castle ruins on the peninsula, Lake Galvė and its islets, sailing on the Trakai lakes. The photographs were taken shortly after the island castle was rebuilt in the 1950s–1960s. The same set also has everyday subjects such as the new post office and a boarding school.

The 1979 Vilnius set balances the Old Town against the new districts: a city panorama, views and fragments of the Old Town, a small house in its streets, Gorky Street (one of the oldest in Vilnius), the Sports Palace, the Palace of Art Workers, the sculpture “Lithuanian Ballad” and the new Lazdynai housing district.

Šiauliai is shown in 1973: the drama theatre, the Church of Sts Peter and Paul, Vytauto Street, Station Square and Victory Square, the bus station and Lake Talša. A 1981 multi-view card combines a monument to Soviet Army soldiers, the public library, Vilniaus Street and the same church. The Kaunas cards, dated 1974–1986, include the fort memorial and the musical theatre.

Only original Soviet postcards are scanned for this section, never reproductions, and more Lithuanian cards appear as digitisation goes on.