Evangelikų (liuteronų ir reformatų) antkapiniai paminklai Rasų kapinėse - istorijos šaltinis

LTRemiantis istoriografija, archyviniais dokumentais ir ikonografine medžiaga rekonstruojama ant Pamėnkalnio kalvos Vilniuje XIX a. pradžioje įsteigtų evangelikų (liuteronų ir reformatų) kapinių, uždarytų XX a. antrojoje pusėje, istorija, atskleidžiamos suniokotų šiose kapinėse buvusių antkapinių paminklų atsiradimo Rasų kapinėse aplinkybės. Katalikiškose Rasų kapinėse esantys evangelikų antkapiniai paminklai analizuojami kaip daugiakontekstis istorijos šaltinis.

ENThe emergence of tombstones of the Calvinist and Lutheran believers in Rasos Cemetery was the result of the political reforms of the 2nd half of the 20th century and construction works carried out from the 1950s to 1970s in the territory of the cemetery of the Evangelicals (Lutherans and Calvinists) on Pamėnkalnis Hill that had been established in early 19th century. The tombstones of the cemetery of the Evangelical Christians on Pamėnkalnis Hill contrasted with the Soviet daily life too much and was an obvious obstacle when forming the world-view of the “new Soviet man”. A sign representing the Soviet ideology was to be built in the territory of the cemetery and the names of people resting there were to be erased from historical memory. At the initiative of the contemporary intellectuals and science and culture specialists, some of the tombstones of prominent Lithuanians buried in the destroyed cemetery of the Evangelicals that used to house many impressive tombstones were moved to Rasos Cemetery. The spatial arrangement of the tombstones of the Evangelicals in Rasos Cemetery.(gravestones from the 17th and 18th centuries and tombstone fragments marking the burials from the 19th and 20th centuries are in two spaced apart places in Rasos) is a visual source well illustrating the transfer of tombstones recorded in archival documents and historiography that was performed in two stages: in early 1960s (the cemetery on Pamėnkalnis Hill was destroyed and tombstones were removed as alleged obstacles for the construction of the Palace of Trade Unions) and in early 1970s (construction of the Palace of Marriages). The fragments of the tombstones of the Evangelical Christians that survived in Rasos Cemetery are the perfect witnesses of the active Sovietisation of Vilnius that was initiated by the Soviet authorities in late 1950s. Their condition (broken crosses, splintered tombstones) and the space they occupy provide us with information necessary for the reconstruction of the “closure” of Vilnius City Cemetery performed in the Soviet era. In Rasos Cemetery, there are still surviving fragments of tombstones and gravestones from the cemetery of the Evangelicals that used to be on Pamėnkalnis Hill but were destroyed and thus eliminated from Vilnius cityscape in early 1960s; such fragments are a multi-layered source of history providing data for the research on social and art history and religious heritage of the period from the 17th century to the 1st half of the 20th century, as well as for the investigators of the Soviet era reality or simply for people who are interested in more general problems of memory and oblivion.