You may be wondering why I am posting a photo of an empty city square. Well, the reason goes something like this: Just one of the many fascinating things about Vilnius, Lithuania is that throughout the city there are numerous squares which were obviously designed to feature monuments or statues, but practically none of them actually have any. It turns out that after independence -- after "the Soviet days" -- virtually all off the Soviet monuments were torn down, leaving their former locations empty. It takes time, of course, to decide what should be erected in their place -- not to mention time to raise the necessary funds and to commission the works -- so most of the spaces have been empty for a few years and will continue to remain so for some time to come. It's an odd sight to the new visitor, but once you know the story it becomes a rather charming little aspect of this intriguing city.
During my exploration, I came across this puzzling little monument. I didn't pay much attention to it at first -- chalking it up as either a joke or some kind of tribute to something that I didn't know about -- but it's relative rarity as an actual, existing monument caught my attention and I decided to pursue it's origin and significance. As far as I could piece together, the egg appeared one day -- atop a pedestal elsewhere in the city -- and remained there for a few months. Apparently, people were unaware of its meaning or significance and proceeded to concoct all manner of stories about it. Then suddenly one day, a new statue appeared in its place and everyone understood. The egg signified that a new statue was being "incubated" and would soon arrive in this location. So, where you currently see the egg, you know a statue is on its way. The egg will then appear somewhere else in the city, and you will know that a monument is in the works for that location. How cute is that?
You may be wondering why I am posting a photo of an empty city square. Well, the reason goes something like this: Just one of the many fascinating things about Vilnius, Lithuania is that throughout the city there are numerous squares which were obviously designed to feature monuments or statues, but practically none of them actually have any. It turns out that after independence -- after "the Soviet days" -- virtually all off the Soviet monuments were torn down, leaving their former locations empty. It takes time, of course, to decide what should be erected in their place -- not to mention time to raise the necessary funds and to commission the works -- so most of the spaces have been empty for a few years and will continue to remain so for some time to come. It's an odd sight to the new visitor, but once you know the story it becomes a rather charming little aspect of this intriguing city.
During my exploration, I came across this puzzling little monument. I didn't pay much attention to it at first -- chalking it up as either a joke or some kind of tribute to something that I didn't know about -- but it's relative rarity as an actual, existing monument caught my attention and I decided to pursue it's origin and significance. As far as I could piece together, the egg appeared one day -- atop a pedestal elsewhere in the city -- and remained there for a few months. Apparently, people were unaware of its meaning or significance and proceeded to concoct all manner of stories about it. Then suddenly one day, a new statue appeared in its place and everyone understood. The egg signified that a new statue was being "incubated" and would soon arrive in this location. So, where you currently see the egg, you know a statue is on its way. The egg will then appear somewhere else in the city, and you will know that a monument is in the works for that location. How cute is that?
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