At the end of the 19th century, when there were perfect possibilities for industrial development, three beer factories already existed in Kaunas: “I. B. Volfo“, “Engelman“, and “Bliumental“. Their names and capital were not Lithuanian. At the beginning of the 20th century, two more beer factories, “Ragutis“ and “Vienybė“, partly joined the market. Even though the braveries severely suffered during World War I, they tried to renew and expand their work. “Bliumental“ was an exception as it completely stopped its work. Finally, in 1922, the bravery “Ragutis“, governed by rather known politicians of that time, replaced it. Unfortunately, “Ragutis“ also stopped its work after the joining of “Volfo” and “Engelman” braveries in 1928. For stopped activities, “Ragutis“ got compensation from “beer syndicate“ and a certain amount of money from the competitive bravery “Volfo-Engelman”. The influence of M. Yčas, the head of the syndicate and one of the most influential shareholders, should also not be forgotten. In 1940, all braveries in Kaunas were nationalized. They were joined into one company under the name of “Ragutis“ in 1967. This use of the firm name “Ragutis” still creates misunderstandings for many people who think that the company has always been the same bravery.

The aim of this article is to review the activity of the fellowship of Latvian students “Sidrabenia” at Lithuanian (from 1930 Vytautas Magnus) university in 1927-1938. In the first half of the 20th century, when Kaunas became the capital city of Lithuania, the composition of its citizens became rather variegated. Latvian students’ fellowship “Sidrabenia”, which activity crossed the borders of university, left its own mark in the history of Kaunas. The fellowship “Sidrabenia” had all formal lineaments necessary for university corporations, its own attributes and symbols representing the ethnical Latvian culture. This Latvian organization accepted the Republic of Lithuania as its own state: although all members of the fellowship were Latvians ethnically, they had the status of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. During the first years of its activity, the fellowship participated energetically in the work of all other Latvian organizations of Lithuania and played a leader’s role during their structural reorganization. Such initiative was determined by the fellowship’s participation in academic life and its cooperation with the legation of Latvia in Kaunas. From the very beginning of their establishment, the fellowship “Sidrabenia” encountered difficulties because of the small number of members and had to ask for permission from the leadership of university to pursue the work. This fact was the main reason of the fellowships’ closure in 1938. The organization became a part of Balts’ students union “Baltija” and thus lost its legal independence.

2006 m. akademinė bendruomenė minėjo iškilaus Lietuvos istoriko Adolfo Šapokos 100-ąsias gimimo metines. Tai progai pažymėti 2006 m. vasario 13–14 d. Kaune vyko gausūs renginiai. Vasario 13 d. Vytauto Didžiojo universitete prie V. Biržiškos skaityklos buvo atidaryta šiam jubiliejui skirta paroda. Vasario 14 d. Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto patalpose, kuriose įsikūręs Humanitarinių mokslų fakultetas, atidaryta Adolfo Šapokos vardo auditorija (K. Donelaičio g. 52, aud. 508). Kiek vėliau, tą pačią dieną, minėjimas persikėlė į istorinę Lietuvos Respublikos prezidentūrą Kaune, kur vyko šiai sukakčiai skirta konferencija „Lietuvos prieškario istoriografija: Adolfo Šapokos karta“.

Vis populiarėjančius kaunistikos tyrimus papildė Vytauto Didžiojo universitete 2006 m. lapkričio 7 d. apginta Rasos Varsackytės disertacija tema Kauno miesto ir bažnyčios kultūrų sąveika XVI a. pabaigoje – XVIII a. pabaigoje (mokslinis vadovas – prof. dr. Zigmantas Kiaupa). Kaip gynimo metu pažymėjo doc. Jolanta Karpavičienė, autorė, disertacijos objektu pasirinkusi XVI a. pabaigos – XVIII a. Kauną – nevienalytę bei socialiniu, etnokonfesiniu, kultūriniu, urbanistiniu požiūriais segmentuotą, taip pat ilgainiui kitusią erdvę – analizuoja ne pavienius jos komponentus, o šių dinamišką koegzistenciją Baroko ir Apšvietos epochų kaitos, taip pat sociopolitinės, ūkinės bei kultūrinės Abiejų Tautų Respublikos raidos kontekste.