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The cultural heritage of modern architecture is a widely acknowledged phenomenon; however, unique urban landscapes that have witnessed a fundamental transformation in urban life in the 20th century are still underrepresented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In this paper the built urban heritage of Kaunas city (1919–1939) is investigated as an example of a modern urban heritage site with a problematic focus on defining the attributes of urban heritage, especially when intangible heritage values are added to the tangible built heritage. In this paper the attributes of modern urban heritage are discussed on the example of “Modernist Kaunas (1919–1939): Architecture of Optimism”, the nomination dossier for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Three groups of attributes are described using historical research and later discussed by applying the method of comparative analysis. The conclusion proposes that Modernist Kaunas can fill the gap by representing Eastern European modern urbanity and enhance the understanding of the modern global city by reflecting the metropolitan aspirations in modern Europe.

Straipsnyje aptariama XX amžiaus antrosios pusės industrializacija ir su ja susijusi modernizacija pokario Europoje bei sovietinėje Lietuvoje. Teigiama, kad nepaisant ideologinių skirtumų, ne tik gerovės valstybių. bet ir socialistinių respublikų kūrimo ekonominiu pagrindu tapo industrializacija. Straipsnyje remiamasi bendros septynių šalių muziejininkų parengtos kilnojamosios parodos „Svajonių fabrikai. Pramonė ir modernizmas Baltijos jūros regione 1945–1990 metais“ apibendrinimu. Estijos, Suomijos, Norvegijos, Švedijos, Latvijos, Danijos ir Lietuvos parodos „herojai“ – respondentai savo darbininkiškąjį gyvenimo kelią turėjo pasakoti laikydamiesi bendros šešių temų metodikos, kuri atskleidė jų kasdienio gyvenimo ritmą. Lietuvos svajones apie krašto modernizaciją reprezentavo elektrifikacija ir stambiausia 1960 metų industrinė statyba – Lietuvos elektrinė ir greta iškilęs naujas socialistinis miestas Elektrėnai. Visose tirtose šalyse žmonės kėlėsi gyventi iš kaimų į sparčiai augančius miestus, buvo industrializuojama ir urbanizuojama periferija, pramonės įmonės augo ir stambėjo, kaip ir gyvenamieji daugiabučiai, mokyklos, ligoninės ir prekybos centrai. Industrializaciją lydėjo statybos darbų reguliavimas, vartojimo prekių gamybos bei prekybos ribojimas. Daroma išvada, kad europiniame nagrinėjamo laikotarpio kontekste Lietuvą geriausiai reprezentuoja Elektrėnai kaip kompleksinis, autentiškas ir pilnai išlikęs sovietmečio industrializacijos objektas, išryškinantis gigantomaniją, tikėjimą mokslu ir progresu, visų gyvenimo sferų kolektyvizaciją. The paper examines the industrialisation of the Soviet Lithuania and the related modernisation in the post-war Europe and Soviet Lithuania. The author claims that, regardless of ideological differences, industrialisation became the economic basis for the establishment of welfare states as well as socialistic republics. The article is based on the summary of a travelling exhibition “Dream Factories. Industry and Modernism in the Nordic and Baltic countries in 1945–1990”, organised by museum workers of the seven countries. The “heroes”, i.e. respondents, from Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Denmark and Lithuania had to tell about their working life by adhering to the common methodology of the six themes, which revealed the rhythm of their everyday life. Lithuania’s dream about the modernisation of the region was represented by the electrification and the major industrial construction of 1960 – the nuclear power plan and the newly emerged socialistic city Elektrėnai. In all the analysed countries people moved from villages to rapidly growing cities, peripheries were industrialised and urbanised, industry companies were growing along with multi-apartment blocks, schools, hospitals and supermarkets. Industrialisation was accompanied by regulation of construction works, restriction of production of and trade in commodities. The author concludes that within the European context of the analysed period, Lithuania is best represented by Elektrėnai as a complex, authentic and fully preserved object of the Soviet industrialisation, which is peculiar for its gigantomania, belief in science and progress, and collectivisation of all fields of life.

The heritage protection system in Soviet Lithuania was considered particularly successful and advanced. However Lithuanian historiography has not yet examined how and why certain urban heritage concepts and protection systems developed. This dissertation explores the research problem in chronological order (1956–1992) and analyses in detail not only the ideas of urban conservation and value but also their expression in planning documents and the influence of practical factors on urban heritage concept. Local processes have been compared to international trends. Three levels of context have been defined: USSR, socialist countries and international / Western heritage protection. It has been revealed that Lithuanian achievements in urban conservation were well known in the USSR however they were influential in neighbouring countries to a much lesser extent than was claimed. Though the Lithuanian approach generally corresponded to international trends, they were loosely interpreted in practice. In Lithuania, two separate, even isolated models of protection and urban values were applied respectively on urban monuments of local and republican level. It has been concluded that neither urban heritage concept, nor its values were ever established and this is possibly the reason why after the restoration of Lithuanian independence this system lost its effectiveness.