- Place
- Kaunas City Municipality
- Region
- Kaunas
- Type
- sensory art installation
- Address
- 14 Nepriklausomybės Square, Kaunas
- Coordinates
- 54.89704, 23.92142
- Visit duration
- about 45-90 minutes, depending on the booked tour
- Best time
- only at a pre-arranged group visit time
Blind Installation, 21st-Century Catacombs
An exhibition that cannot be seen
The '21st-Century Catacombs' deliberately remove vision. Visitors descend beneath the Soboras and rely on hearing, touch, and smell in darkness. There are no conventional cases to inspect: movement, bodily reaction, and the relationship with an unfamiliar space become part of the artwork.
The installation has eight parts: Ford, Passage, Garden, First Threshold, Boundary, Second Threshold, Fragments, and Memory. Visitors move through hanging objects and elastic strips, touch changing surfaces, and read the space through sounds and scents. Information is available in ordinary signs and Braille.
A 2005 international project
The installation was created in 2005 during an international youth exchange project called '21st-Century Catacombs'. Its initiators were National Culture and Arts Prize-winning sculptor Robertas Antinis and the Kaunas University of Technology Students' Union. Objects made by participants from several countries were joined into one sensory journey.
The phrase 'museum for the blind' can mislead anyone expecting a conventional exhibition about blindness. This is an artwork designed to be experienced without sight, inviting sighted visitors to relinquish their usual orientation. One museum visit should not be treated as a simulation of every aspect of a blind person's daily life.
Why the Soboras basement matters
The installation lies beneath the monumental five-domed Garrison Church known locally as the Soboras. Construction began in 1891 and ended in 1895. The building has served as an Orthodox cathedral, Lithuanian garrison church, Soviet Sculpture and Stained Glass Gallery, and once again a Catholic church.
The enclosed basement intensifies the installation, but this is not an exhibition of historic burial catacombs. 'Catacombs' is the project's artistic title. Emerging into bright Nepriklausomybės Square creates a natural conclusion through contrast between darkness and the church's architecture.
Registration and safe visiting
LIMIS states that only pre-registered groups are admitted. Contact the listed numbers, including the Garrison Church at +370 37 226 676, to confirm a date, price, group size, and whether individual participation is possible. Even when the main church is open, that does not provide automatic access to the basement installation.
Before booking, tell the organiser about mobility, balance, enclosed-space, or sensory-sensitivity needs. Visitors navigate in darkness and touch objects, so follow the guide, move slowly, and avoid loose hanging belongings. Always confirm current conditions and prices with the official contact.
