Kaunas - Perkūno namas

A settlement existed at the confluence of two large rivers, for many centuries, before Kaunas was first mentioned in written sources in 1361. At that time a brick castle was constructed. Only a year later the castle was captured after a siege and destroyed by the Teutonic Order. It was one of the most important victories of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th in Lithuania. The castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century.

In 1408 Kaunas was granted city rights by Vytautas the Great. Kaunas began to gain prominence since it was at an intersection of trade routes and a river port. In 1441 Kaunas joined the Hanseatic League. By the 16th century, Kaunas had a public school and a hospital and was one of the best-formed towns in Lithuania.

In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the Swedish Army. Fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732. After the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon´s armee passed through twice, devastating the city both times.

When In 1862, a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Imperial Germany was built, Kaunas was a significant railway hub.

As WWII began, about 30,000 Jews were living in Kaunas, comprising about 25% of the city's population. Only very few survived the war.

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The Gothic "House of Perkunas" was originally built by Hanseatic merchants and served them from 1440 to 1532. Then it was sold to the Jesuits, who established a chapel there before the church of St. Francis Xavier was built (see above).

The ruined house was rebuilt in the 19th century and served as a school and theater. At the end of the 19th century, it was renamed "House of Perkūnas" when a figure was found in one of its walls, which was interpreted by the historians of the time as an idol of the pagan Baltic thunder and sky god Perkūnas.