The article reviews the information about Kaunas and other towns of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17* century on the basis of cosmographic, travellers' memoirs and the information presented by a popular French newspaper „La Gazette". The first part of the article gives information about the most frequently visited and described Lithuania's regions. The second part explains how Kaunas' geographical situation was perceived by foreigners and how differently the city's name was used by them. The majority of travellers who came to Lithuania from Kraków, Warsaw, etc. aimed to visit Vilnius. Consequently, this place got most attention while other cities and towns of the Grand Duchy were scarcely mentioned. Nevertheless, we came across some descriptions concerning Gròdnò, dated by the end of 17th century, when joint Seyms of the Republic used to meet as well as Trakai and Tartar villages round Vilnius. Therefore the readers could have formed the impression that Lithuania was mainly inhabitated by Tartars, and there were only few towns, i.e. Vilnius, Trakai and Gròdnó. Though some authors named Gródnò as one of the most beautiful cities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the prevailing opinion was that it was a miserable place not suitable for the joint meetings of the Polish-Lithuanian Seyms. All other places and regions, which were far away from the main road leading from Polish capitals to Vilnius, were not mentioned. Kaunas, which was relatively far away from Gròdnó-Vilnius road, was not an exception. Despite the fact that this city, situated alongside two main Lithuania's rivers, was an important economic centre, it was little known to Western Europe. Most often it was mentioned that it is situated on the confluence of two rivers - Nemunas and Neris. Throughout the whole 17th century it was called differently by Western authors, e.g. „Lawna" or „Kiow".[...]

In the 18th century, Enlightenment ideas were spreading in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including Kaunas City. The changes were reflected not only in the city reform laws but also in the decrees which bore national significance. Public rhetoric more frequently addressed the “good order” and “overall welfare.” The changes, which were inspired by broader state reforms, were reflected in such areas as new constructions or public order protection: from the city guards to a militia unit, stricter fire performance regulations, and regulations of trade in the city. The present article focuses on the changes in public order protection in Kaunas, fire protection, and trade, which demonstrate that society was changing taking into account the challenges of the time. The processes are reflected in the protocols, acts, and books of financial accounts of Kaunas Magistrate meetings. The magistrate decrees, which enforce the changes, illustrate the everyday life of the city.

Straipsnyje yra analizuojamas Vermachto karių ir karininkų laisvalaikis Kaune 1941–1944 m., remiantis vokiečių kalba ėjusio bei daugiausia į vokiečių tikslinę grupę orientuoto dienraščio „Kauener Zeitung“ publikacijomis. Vokiečių įgulos Kaune laisvalaikio užsiėmimai bei jo praleidimo vietos yra suskirstytos į dvi dalis. Pirmajai grupei priklauso tokios pramogos bei įstaigos, kuriose vokiečiai linksminosi tautiniu atžvilgiu (sąlyginai) homogeniškoje aplinkoje (vokiečių užeigos, „Soldatenkino“, „Soldatentheater“, sportiniai užsiėmimai). Antrajai grupei yra priskiriami tokie laisvalaikio praleidimo būdai bei vietos, kuriose neišvengta lietuvių ir vokiečių sąveikos (bendros užeigos, bibliotekos, sportiniai renginiai, koncertai). Toks principas pasirinktas, siekiant nustatyti, remiantis V. Tininio moraliniu kolaboravimo aspektu, ar galima įžvelgti lietuvių kolaboravimo su vokiečiais apraiškų, pastariesiems leidžiant laisvalaikį. Dienraščio analizė leidžia daryti išvadą, kad lietuvių menininkai, prisidėję renkant lėšas vokiečių Karo žiemos paramos organizacijai ar kitomis aplinkybėmis linksminę Vermachto karius bei karininkus, tokiu elgesiu prisidėjo prie okupacinio režimo legitimacijos ir skatino remti (pirkti bilietus į jų koncertus, už kuriuos lėšos buvo skiriamos minėtai organizacijai) vokiečių karo mašiną. Dėl šios priežasties tokiems veiksmams apibūdinti darbo autorė yra linkusi vartoti priešingą kultūrinės (pasyviosios) rezistencijos analogiją, t. y. kultūrinio (pasyviojo) kolaboravimo terminą.

Straipsnyje „Maišto kultūra Kauno literatų bohemiškosios savimonės kontekste 1919–1940 m.“ analizuojama keletas būdingiausių Pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos literatų maišto raiškos formų: opozicijos valdžios politikos ir visuomenės atžvilgiu, konfliktai literatų bendruomenės viduje bei maištas kaip kovos prieš nuobodulį ir rutiną priemonė.

Atkūrus Lietuvos nepriklausomybę mokslinėje spaudoje buvo pateikta nemažai istorinių duomenų ir tarpukario Kauno universitetinės inteligentijos kultūrinės veiklos vertinimų, šios informacijos analizė sudaro galimybę nustatyti mokslo asmenybių ir jų nulemtų bendruomenių indėlio į kultūrinio tapatumo raišką požymius. Straipsnyje siekiama susisteminti istoriografijos žinias ir atskleisti esminius Kauno universitetinės inteligentijos kultūrinės raiškos visuomenėje vertinimų ypatumus.

Kaunas was a provisional capital of Lithuania in 1918-1940. Foreign embassies were located in the centre of the town and acted as representatives of cultural and political life of their own countries. The embassies of France, the USSR, Italy and Great Britain were especially noted for their cultural work. The French diplomats J. H. G. Padovani, R. Ristelhueber and G. F. C. Dulong had very close ties with the Lithuanian-French Society. These diplomats were honorary members of the Society; in addition, many other famous people belonged to the Society, A. de Bastard, B. Biržiškienė, L. Bour, V. Daugirdaitė-Sruogienė, S. Girdvainis, A. Giuntz, V. Gustainis, L. Karsavinas, A. Merkys, L. Prou, M. Riomeris, R. Schmittlein, and R. Vincent among them. The diplomatic corps and the members of the Lithuanian-French Society gave lectures and concerts and organized exhibitions and balls. The English diplomat T. H. Preston staged two ballet performances at the Musical Theatre of Kaunas. The Embassy of the USSR organized exhibitions and reviews of Soviet films; sometimes the Embassy gave private concerts and organized film reviews for selected groups of society. No doubt, the work of foreign embassies and cultural societies was very important for the history of Kaunas.

In the middle of the 16th century on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania an administrative-territorial reform was carried out. The whole state was divided into 'vaivadijos', and these units were then divided into smaller administrative districts, called 'pavietas'. This reform was the first to define precisely and to separate the territory boundaries of pavietai and vaivadijos. Unfortunately, when a piece of land was ascribed to one or another pavietas, this was not marked on the maps. After the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania in 1569 and the first division of the Republic in 1772, the boundaries of the Grand Duchy were changed. In the first case the Grand Duchy lost southern territories, in the second it lost the vaivadijos of Vitebskas and Mstislaulis. The northern part of Polockas vaivadija and the eastern part of Minskas vaivadija were annexed by the Russian Empire. That is why the existing state of distribution did not satisfy the requirements of reality any more. In the autumn of 1791 a new territorial distribution statute of the Republic was adopted by the Parliament. From the 23 pavietai that existed in the Grand Duchy new 34 pavietai were formed. The reform touched the pavietas of Kaunas as well: from its territory an additional pavietas of Prienai was formed. Later, the parishes of Virbalis and Naumiestis, which previously belonged to the Duchy of Samogitia, were attached, and this changed the boundaries of Samogitia and Trakai vaivadija. We have to note that this reform, as well as many others that were adopted by the Seym, was short-lived.