A new residential complex is planned to be built on plot 126 the project proposals of which have been submitted to the Vilnius City Municipality for publication in the block designed on a plot of 499 hectares The block of residential houses will consist of six 5- and one 8-story buildings It is planned to equip 24 rooms for commercial activities on the first floors of the buildings The vision of the project is implemented by the architectural studio "313 architects" which won a closed invitational architectural competition last fall "The main idea of ​​the project is to divide the plot into two quarters The architecture of the buildings will repeat this concept - the orderly volumes of the perimeter building are "broken" into two parts a regular rhythm of windows and balconies will be used and the facades will be diversified with "cuts" Predominant height of buildings in the block is expected to be 5 stories with an accented 8-story building in the northwestern part of the plot where active activities will be concentrated - children's playgrounds and sports fields and the courtyards between the houses will become spaces for quiet rest and greenery," says Realco manager Julius Dovidonis the company will also take care of infrastructure solutions for the quarter - in addition to private spaces public spaces will be created for residents and the territory will be planted with perennial plants "We have planned to install two public spaces: one in the eastern part and the other in the western part of the plot The first space will be a lushly landscaped green square that will provide access to the commercial spaces on the first floors Another square-park style space will be dedicated to quiet relaxation and will be abundantly planted with trees and shrubs We are planning to design and equip the neighboring streets with a separate transport communications project where we will provide bicycle and pedestrian paths 392 underground and 20 surface parking spaces will be installed in the quarter - one fifth (20%) of all parking spaces will be reserved for electric cars Underground bicycle storage and storerooms are also planned in the block and bicycle sheds are planned to be installed in the yard space which will also include bicycle repair stations with the necessary equipment the plot is built with storage and other structures cozy houses for future residents will be created The company made the decision to invest in the development of this area seeing its potential: new modern residential quarters with commercial premises are being developed around it where various service providers are established and all this increases the value of the area in the eyes of buyers The new quarter in Pašilaičiau micro-district will be built next to the "7 vakarai" project completed by the company With Justiniškės st. The public can get acquainted with the project proposals of the planned quarter Vilnius city municipalities on the website.  reproduction and distribution are permitted only with the written consent of UAB "Naujosios medijos grupė" The 200-square-metre flower garden near an ordinary block on Taikos Street Šeniauskienė confirms that people come to admire the flowers from all over Lithuania “People come to visit their relatives and make sure to visit this garden They talk to me and I always ask them where they come from,” says the woman Šeniauskienė started installing the flowerbed nearly 15 years ago She was living on the ground floor of her apartment bloc and was not happy with the “wild shrubbery” she was seeing through her windows Then I saw that I could do more and more,” she laughs unlike any of the other apartment blocks.” Kristina admits that there are several other gardens in the neighbourhood dominated by Soviet-era concrete panel buildings but she believes that hers is quite unique You won’t find it anywhere else,” she says she has been bringing boulders to build intricate flowerbeds Most of the stones come from various construction sites I’d show up with the wheelbarrow,” Kristina laughs I was told that they were burying them back in the ground So I would ask them to put it aside for me They’d joke: What are you going to do with them Šeniauskienė needs the stones to shape the “flower cakes” that have become to define her garden “I make something and then I look out of the window to see if people stop then I come up with something more interesting something more elaborate to surprise them,” says urban gardener of Justiniškės “One day I opened Google Maps and there it’s tagged – Kristina’s garden my yard has been a well-known and visited destination.” The first filling stations with limited imported goods in Vilnius paper towels imported from Finland for Stikliai Restaurant and automatic payment terminals which have once been a cutting-edge technological innovation: these are but snippets of the colourful history of Neste reflecting the cultural changes in Lithuania spanning three decades Motor oil and chewing gum at filling stations Neste corporation was one of the first foreign investors in Lithuania. In 1991, Litofinn Service, the joint Lithuanian and Finnish company was incorporated thus laying the foundation for the establishment and development of Neste Lietuva “The first filling station network in Lithuania was developed by the Lithuanians and the Finnish we had much to learn from our Finnish partners later we were the ones to share our experience,” says Ringaudas Steikūnas now serving in the position of Baltic Network Development Manager The first Neste filling station opened in Lazdynai Neighbourhood of Vilnius City back in November of 1992 It was the most modern western-type filling station in Lithuania and had both a café and a store Ringaudas Steikūnas recalls that drivers were not the only customers of the first filling stations Many curious people found their way here to purchase imported goods have a cup of coffee or try a new sandwich or a burger “Almost all the goods at our stores were imported from Finland which was a rarity in Lithuania during those times People would come to our filling stations to buy motor oil and other car maintenance products as much as Finnish chocolate chewing gum and canned drinks,” says Ringaudas Steikūnas the first Neste stores served their customers through security windows People could pay for their purchases in one of 16 easily converted currencies in the local Lithuanian talonas (the temporary currency of those times) Openings of new filling stations would attract large crowds with live concerts and animators dressed as the Moomins legendary characters in a series of books by Swedish and Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson The establishment and maintenance of filling stations meeting the western standards was an unseen phenomenon in Lithuania back then As soon as the customers of the filling stations noticed paper towels and plastic garbage bags being used in the rubbish bins the latter soon became a coveted commodity “Upon special request from the managers of Stikliai Restaurant we had supplied them with garbage bags and paper towels from Finland for a while because these goods were not available anywhere in Lithuania back then,” says Ringaudas Steikūnas to bring the real Santa Claus straight from his native Lapland to meet the children in Lithuania “As one of the first foreign investors in Lithuania we believed our operations to involve a higher mission than simply selling fuel We are proud to have shown an example of good practice and socially responsible business in the newly restored independent Lithuania The joy we have gifted the children by bringing Santa Claus was just a part of our mission,” says Ringaudas Steikūnas The birth of the era of self-service filling stations The development of self-service filling stations in Lithuania has been one of the most successful strategic decisions of the company Self-service filling stations and automatic payment terminals were introduced in Neste stations back in 1997 The Lithuanian drivers were introduced to the novelties step by step only three filling stations offered the choice of automatic payment terminals The customers still had the possibility to pay as usual at the filling station store Kaunas residents witnessed a unique occasion: the first fully self-service filling station in Lithuania was opened at Jonavos Street automatic payments were an unheard-of innovation People would bring their whole families and children to show them this new technology We had people queuing up next to the self-service terminals wishing to try it out and the drivers often had to wait for more than half an hour,” says Ringaudas Steikūnas all Neste filling stations were renovated into self-service filling stations Neste has as many as 76 self-service filling stations in Lithuania A revolutionary novelty of filling up first and paying later was introduced in Lithuania along with the first Neste filling stations The Neste cafes also introduced the Lithuanians to the novelties in cuisine a pizzeria operating next to Neste at Šilutės Plentas in Klaipėda started baking pizza in special ovens in 1993 one of the first burgers in Lithuania were offered in the filling station at Ukmergės Street in Vilnius Various innovations were constantly introduced to increase customer comfort Neste Lietuva was one of the first filling station network in Lithuania to start using electronic price signs releasing their own payment cards and establishing terminals for refilling screen wash The Finnish filling stations were also the first to start using green electrical energy made of renewable resources Neste was the first filling station in Lithuania to receive international quality management environmental protection and safety certificates we think that many of the services offered at filling stations are casual and ordinary; yet We would not have been able to achieve all of this if not for the significant input of our employees and the trust of our customers,” says Markus Lindkvist Neste Lietuva was the first to offer Lithuanian drivers fuel with multifunctional additives Lithuania became the first country apart from Finland to sell the new Pro Diesel fuel the first fuel in the world that complies with the strict requirements of Category 5 of Worldwide Fuel Charter Lithuania got introduced to yet another novel product developed by the Finnish corporation diesel from renewable resources known as Neste MY Renewable Diesel This fuel is produced of 100% renewable resources such as food and other industrial waste and residues continuous innovations and introduced novelties contribute to the customers of Neste filling station network being able to purchase high quality fuel quickly the Finnish corporation has lived through a significant transformation having come to a decision to change the direction of its operations This also brought about the changes in the name of the company Neste Oil changed its name to simply Neste The word ‘oil’ meaning the raw oil no longer reflected the vision of the company which seemed to focus more and more on producing fuel from renewable resources “The former oil processor in terms of the local market Neste is now known as one of the biggest producers of diesel made from 100% of renewable resources are constantly working in the fields of scientific research They have developed renewable fuel for road transport and aviation sectors and are looking for new ways to use plastic waste as a resource in the production of fuel chemicals and new generation plastic products the company is among the top four most sustainable companies in the world the consumers voted Neste trademark to be the most sustainable trademark in the fuel category in Lithuania Neste has committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035 the corporation plans to implement renewable and circular solutions and thus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 million tons annually by 2030 along with its customers which had walked a long road of changes within the last three decades the upcoming 30 years will bring more swift changes Translated by MP Translations Agency in Kaunas The Fabijoniškės neighbourhood stood in for Pripyat but other locations around Vilnius also feature in ‘Chernobyl’: another Soviet-era neighbourhood Justiniškės the former KGB headquarters now turned into the Museum of Occupation and Freedom Fights the Ministry of the Interior Culture House the Architecture Faculty of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University former government guest house and other locations the series' production team spent 60 out of 88 shooting days in Vilnius which lies about 500 kilometres from the real Chernobyl looks to use the show's popularity to attract tourists interested in seeing the filming locations the head of tourism and business promotion agency Go Vilnius says that there has been a spike in interest from tourists and foreign media The agency is putting effort into making use of the ‘Chernobyl's’ popularity “We are actively promoting Vilnius in foreign media and social networks as the world is discussing the content of the series,” Romanovskienė says Vilnius tourism website has a page dedicated to ‘Chernobyl’ a municipal agency promoting the capital as a filming location is planning to present a proposal to tourism agencies on how they could organise Chernobyl-themed tours “The Vilnius we see in the series is not our classical touristy Vilnius that most foreigners are used to It is one of the many faces of our capital city alongside other surviving historical layers,” says Vilnius Film Office head Jūratė Pazikaitė “Multiplicity and multiculturalism are the strengths of Vilnius,” she adds “Which is one of the reasons why the city is increasingly interesting to world-class filmmakers.” Over the last four years, they included the makers of ‘Catherine the Great’, another HBO series starring Hellen Mirren, the BBC's ‘War and Peace’ and others Read more: Filmmakers discover Vilnius: Lithuanian capital 'played' Chernobyl and mid-century Tokyo to congratulate Vilnius on its historic 700th anniversary And not only to the Time Portal that will open in the evening in the Cathedral Square but also all day long,” Vilnius City Municipality wrote on Facebook on Tuesday and passengers will be surprised with gifts “Trolleybus 7 on the route Pašilaičiai-Justiniškės-Žvėrynas-Stotis will be decorated Vilnius Public Transport will present 700 passengers with 700 sweet moments,” the message said The trolleybus starts tomorrow at 10:10 at the Stotis bus stop,” it added Vilnius starts celebrations of its 700th anniversary on Wednesday with a programme featuring a festival of lights a special exhibition of a copy of Grand Duke Gediminas’ letter and the unveiling of a monument Vilnius municipality has chosen two dates for the main anniversary events: January 25 when Vilnius was first mentioned in historical written sources The main message of the anniversary program is Vilnius: 700 Years Young Vilnius’ mayor and vice-mayors are signing “A Dedication to the Vilnius of the Future” in the Town Hall The event will be followed by a Vilnius flag-raising ceremony in the square in front of the municipal building Vilnius: 700 Years Young event will kick off the fifth Vilnius Light Festival and a copy of Grand Duke Gediminas’ letter inviting European merchants and craftsmen to Vilnius will be on display in the Gediminas Castle Tower from Wednesday A monument entitled Mandates of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas to Vilnius and Lithuania to be unveiled in the Grand Courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the afternoon January will also see a variety of events dedicated to the anniversary who ruled Lithuania in the early part of the fourteenth century he sent out a series of letters to cities in Europe that contained the first surviving mention of Vilnius farmers and clergymen from all over the world some residents of the Justiniškės district of the capital experienced a power outage a representative of the Energy Distribution Operator (ESO) the electricity supply was disrupted at around 16.03:XNUMX p.m around 16.40 consumers were without electricity at around 4:XNUMX p.m Power supply is planned to be restored within the next couple of hours municipal heating will be switched on gradually starting with Fabijoniškės Baltupiai and Grigiškės on Monday and Tuesday central heating will be switched on in the districts of Antakalnis and from Wednesday and Thursday – in the districts of Paneriai Vilnius will be using low-sulfur fuel oil for heating this year senior officials of Vilnius Municipality earlier said that this measure would help keep households’ heating bills at last year’s level and projected that a monthly heating bill for a 50-square-metre apartment in a renovated and a non-renovated block of flats might reach 33 euros and 55 euros Kaunas Municipality claims that households in Lithuania’s second-largest city will be paying up to one-fifth less for heating compared to average bills across the country Panevėžys and Šiauliai started supplying district heating to households in the beginning of last week Klaipėda will kick off the heating season later due to higher temperatures and the local authority of the port city yet has to make decisions on the issue The project proposals indicate that the block-specific open parking lots Underground car storage is being designed for the building and its roof would be used for the needs of residents and visitors In order to soften the urbanized environment flower beds with greenery are planned both on the first floor and in the inner courtyard "The projected building aims to contribute to Riga st Paving formation: the volume is designed to be maximally high the street facade is aligned with the adjacent building The planned building aims to create a common residential complex and separate public and private spaces Commercial premises are also planned in part of the building (on the first floor) which should contribute to the overall vibrancy and polyfunctionality of the quarter The facade of the apartment building's street would be enlivened with a terrace and railings," the project proposals say about the future building teenage gymnastics and children's playgrounds are planned Representatives of the public can submit their proposals by e-mail until January 10 [email protected]. The public hearing of project proposals will be held on January 11, at 16.00:XNUMX p.m., during a remote video session. Link to session here. Vilnius city municipality also informs that the projects presented for public consultation have not yet received the approval of the municipality - specialists make decisions after evaluating not only project solutions