The Commemorative Bas-Relief Plaque, Dedicated to Vilhelmas Storostas-Vydūnas

Coordinates: 55.713706 21.128025

Object address: 15 S. Šimkaus st., Klaipėda, Lithuania

Municipality: Klaipėda

Initiated by the art club Guboja, a commemorative plaque, dedicated to Vilhelmas Storostas-Vydūnas, was placed and unveiled on the wall of the Stasys Šimkus Conservatory (15 S. Šimkaus st.). The sculptor is Sergėjus Plotnikovas.
In 1926–1927, Vydūnas worked as a pedagogue in the Stasys Šimkus Conservatory (then it was called the Stasys Šimkus School of Music). S. Šimkus’ first established school of music was in Klaipėda and was in operation from 1923 until 1939. The city’s first museum was also established in this building.
Vydūnas was born on March 22nd, 1868, in Jonaičiai, Šilutė district. Having graduated from the Ragainė Teacher’s Seminary, he worked as a pedagogue, taught in Kintai and Tilžė until 1912. However, due to poor health (inherited phthisis), he was allowed to retire early and took up creative work: published books, journals and delivered public lectures.
Vydūnas was quite knowledgeable in many fields of science and he audited a lot of lectures in the Universities of Halle, Leipzig and Berlin. In 1895, he established the Tilžė Lithuanian Singers Society and lead it for 40 years. He organised Lithuanian plays, concerts, and music festivals in Tilžė as well as in many other locations in east Prussia.
Vydūnas was an equally active member of other Lithuanian societies from eastern Prussia and the Klaipėda region and was the chairman of the Lithuanian Society Council of Prussia. From 1907, he started participating in the Lithuanian Science Fellowship. Vydūnas published several journals, such as Šaltinis, Jaunimas, Naujovė, and Darbymetis. He also cooperated with other Lithuanian periodicals from eastern Prussia and Lithuania.
Vydūnas was a member of the PEN club as of 1925 and an honorary member of the Lithuanian Writers’ Society from 1935. He was imprisoned during Hitler’s rule. In 1944, he was evacuated to the depths of Germany, along with other inhabitants of Tilžė. Vydūnas lived in Detmold, Germany from 1946. Cooperation with the press continued when Vydūnas joined the cultural activities of the evacuated Lithuanians from eastern Prussia and Lithuania. He wrote 12 philosophical works and more than 30 philosophical dramas and historiographical works.
Vydūnas died on February 20th, 1953, in Detmold and on October 19th, 1991, his remains were reburied in the Bitėnai cemetery.

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