Kaunas District Municipality
Kaunas District
Secret Soviet-era underground printing press and museum
Spaustuvės g. 2, Saliai village, Domeikava Eldership, Kaunas district
54.95947, 23.92233
30-45 minutes, with advance registration
year-round; visits must be arranged in advance
"ab" printing press, Andziulis underground printing press
"ab" Underground Printing Press: a Secret Beneath a Greenhouse
The "ab" underground printing press is in Saliai village near Domeikava, in Kaunas district. From the outside it looks like an ordinary homestead with a greenhouse, but under it lies a Soviet-era resistance secret - an underground press where literature banned by the occupying authorities was printed.
The entrance to the underground room was expertly concealed: in the greenhouse stood a sliding water tank, and beneath it stairs opened into the printing space. Because of this camouflage, the press remained undetected by Soviet security throughout its entire operation.
Andziulis, Bacevičius, and Secret Work
The press was installed and operated by printer Vytautas Andziulis and his associate Juozas Bacevičius. The name "ab" came from the first letters of their surnames and was chosen so it would not attract suspicion. Careful and dangerous work took place in a tiny underground room of only a few square meters.
The press operated in 1980-1990 and was never exposed during that decade. It is considered the only hideout of its type in Lithuania. According to the Vytautas the Great War Museum and Kaunas District Municipality, 23 titles were printed here, with a total circulation of about 138,000 copies - religious, patriotic, and Lithuanian literature that could not appear legally.
From Resistance to Museum
In the Soviet period all printing was controlled and censored by the state, so banned religious and national literature spread only through secret presses. The "ab" press was one of the most significant places of this activity, and its decade-long survival without arrest is an exceptional example of resistance.
After independence was restored, the press was preserved in its authentic location and turned into a museum, now a branch of the Vytautas the Great War Museum. In 2008 it was included in an international list of historically valuable Cold War sites, giving it significance beyond Lithuania as well.
How to Visit
The "ab" underground printing press can be visited only with advance registration because it is a small object in an authentic homestead. During the tour the secret equipment is shown and the history of underground publishing is explained; 30-45 minutes is usually enough.
During research, weekday visiting and free entry were listed, but opening times and conditions change. Check the Vytautas the Great War Museum website before traveling and arrange the visit by phone. The press is easy to combine with other historical sites around Kaunas.
