The reconstruction of the building complex of the old horse post station in Jonava has been completed – new expositions are planned in the National Museum of the Jonava Cultural Center, the municipality reports.
The entire complex in the city center consists of three buildings – former stables, post office and wheelhouse. The art department of the museum is located in the central post office building, and the tourist information center of Jonava also operates here.
After the reconstruction, the former postal station wheelhouse has been equipped with an ethnography department, where various educations and activities, calendar holiday rites, traditional crafts and works are presented.
In the updated ethnographic exposition of the museum, there are exhibits of the culinary heritage of the Jonava region, textiles, wood carving, linen and wool processing tools, household utensils, and an impressive collection of thatched gardens.
The renovated spaces in the former stable are planned to be adapted for modern exhibitions, the municipality reports. “We want to bring here the latest modern exhibitions, virtual digital projects, various projections that would be changed and constantly updated,” says Jonavas district mayor Mindaugas Sinkevičius.
The entire complex of Jonava’s old post station is an immovable cultural asset, so the reconstruction of the buildings took place exactly according to the project coordinated with the Department of Cultural Heritage.
The construction of the barrel complex dates back to 1833-1835. It was an important element of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw tract (highway) infrastructure. The station served mail and cargo shipments as well as horse-drawn passengers.
This road was used by high-ranking passengers, civil servants, merchants and travelers from many Russian and Western European cities. in 1844 the post station had 25 horses, and in 1860 as many as 51 animals belonged to the post office.
Rest rooms for members of the tsar’s family and officials were set up here. There was a waiting room in the main building. Stables, fodder warehouses are equipped.
in 1905 a fire broke out in the city, which in 15 minutes covered the entire center of the town. The fire also severely damaged the post office complex. The post office complex most likely acquired its interwar appearance and current roof silhouettes after 1905. reconstructions made by the fire.
After the First World War, the post office ceased to function. Between the wars, the Jonava post and telegraph-telephone office was located in the main building. During the Second World War, the post office burned down again, especially the central building. After the war, the Jonava communications hub was located there.
in 1974 – 1991 the central district library of Jonava operated in the buildings, and since 1992 the Jonava Regional Museum was opened in the old post station. Since 2006, the Jonava tourism information center has been operating in the complex.
