The new district of Baltupiai sprang up almost 50 years ago on the slopes of a grass-covered hill. In the lower part, near what is now Kalvarijų Street, only a small portion of the demolished village has survived. The new residents began to form their own chapters of Baltupiai’s history, while the village that gave the district its name remained on the sidelines. 

The old village of Baltupiai was quite typical of the Vilnius area, but one circumstance set it apart from others. The Dominican friars who ruled the area around Baltupiai for 340 years were responsible for this, by establishing the Stations of the Cross (the Vilnius Calvary), which determined the unique development of Baltupiai. Religious feasts and pilgrims flocking to Kalvarija transformed village life. By the time the expansion of Vilnius reached these districts, a great deal of water had flowed down the Cedronas Stream.

In this exhibition, together with the residents of Baltupiai, the museum tells the stories of two very different parts of the district, old and new, as well as the history, the people and the natural features that connect them. We invite the residents of Baltupiai to share their thoughts and memories about their district, and to get to know their current and former neighbours, and we invite other visitors to discover and fall in love with Baltupiai. 

Baltupiai. From Cedronas to betonas continues the Vilnius City Museum’s series of research and exhibitions dedicated to supposedly uninteresting districts of Vilnius: the first exhibition Maybe to Viršuliškės? invited to explore the district of Viršuliškės, the second – Krasnucha. The District That Doesn’t Exist? – the area around Savanorių Avenue.