Žirmūnai

Žirmūnai is the elderate in Vilnius city municipality, Lithuania. The old colloquial name of the oldest southern part of the elderate, former rural suburb of Vilnius, is Losiovka (a Slavic placename with no literal meaning, expressing the idea of a 'place of elks'). With a population of 47400 Žirmūnai elderate is the most populous city elderate in Lithuania.

Panorama of Žirmūnai from south

Geography

River trip in Neris River along Žirmūnai (Verkiai Regional Park)

Žirmūnai situated in a middle part of Vilnius, along the left bank of Neris River. It borders with Verkiai in north, Šnipiškės in west, and is separated from the Old Town and Antakalnis by Neris River. Despite the proximity of the city center, the Žirmūnai side bank of Neris River is in some parts covered with a strip of thick deciduous forest, in one place framing a covert backwater. Forest's largest northernmost part belongs to a botanical nature reserve within Verkiai Regional Park.

Development

Žirmūnai elderate embraces several historical suburbs of Vilnius City. In the southernmost part of the elderate, on the Neris River bank opposite Vilnius Castle Complex, the oldest Žvejai suburb documented in the oldest drawings of Vilnius has existed. Tuskulėnai, a former manor, was located opposite the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Antakalnis and Losiovka, the newest suburb, has existed further west since the 19th century. Today Žirmūnai is basically a residential microdistrict with a largest share of housing taken by obsolete Soviet style panel block appartment buildings. They were constructed mainly in 1960s to accomodate industry workers coming to the capital from other regions of Lithuanian SSR and Soviet Republics. Žirmūnai became the first microraion in Lithuanian SSR designed and constructed applying urban planning concepts established in the USSR at that time. It consisted of three residential and industrial parts centered around public facilities. Žirmūnai, especialy its middle part, is in need of extensive renovation due to wear of construction materials.

Žirmūnai elderate in Vilnius municipality

Žirmūnai includes Šiaurės miestelis (literary the Northern Town, named so due to its historical location north of the city), rapidly growing and one of the most prestigious residential and commercial microdistricts, which occupies the place of a former Soviet military base abandoned by the Red Army division in 1992.

Public facilities

The Tuskulėnai Manor (built in 1825, designed by Karol Podczaszyński in neoclassical style, now under restoration) with the Peace Park (Rimties parkas) containing a former mass grave of more than 700 KGB victims, executed from 1944 until 1947, is located in Žirmūnai. A columbarium containing their remains has been built and consecrated in 2004.

Žalgiris Stadium, two of the Vilnius' scarce open tennis courts (clay), as well as the Personal Identity Documents Centre under the Ministry of the Interior of The Republic of Lithuania, the facility producing all Lithuania‘s identity cards, passports, driver licences, temporary residence permits, are situated in Žirmūnai.