An interactive guide to Jewish Lithuania

The scientists from the Department of History of  the Vilnius University along with the Center for Studies of the Culture and History of East European Jews have created an interactive educational – tourist guide to Jewish Lithuania – ©Discover Jewish Lithuania. The application was created in five languages – Lithuanian, English, Hebrew, Polish and Russian.

©Discover Jewish Lithuania – it is a free of charge application, in which specialists in the field of Jewish culture and history dr. Elena Keidošiūtė, dr. Dovilė Troskovaitė, post-graduate students Tadas Janušauskas (Central European University), Monika Ramonaitė, Darius Sakalauskas under the supervision of a Docent of the Department of History of the Vilnius University Jurgita Verbickienė  have prepared more than 60 stories about the history, culture and heritage of Jews in Lithuania. The unique, popular science project was executed by the post – graduate student of the Department of Communication of Vilnius University Tadas Žižiūnas.

The scientists depict the history of Jews, their impact in the history of Lithuania. The themes were prepared in seven Lithuanian cities and towns: among others Vilnius, Wiłkomierz, Kedainiai, Żagory, Olkieniki. The themes are very diverse – beginning  from first petrol stations in Lithuania, through Jewish volunteer soldiers, who fought for Lithuania independence, to a famous Great Synagogue in Vilnius.

The application was created in five languages – Lithuanian, English, Hebrew, Polish and Russian.

The application reacting on the user’s map localization and a camera in an used device, work through the agency of solutions of the virtual reality. Therefore, it is advised to use the application live, wandering through a street and discovering these places in a map, which hide chosen visualisations of past cities and towns. Including – especially prepared a dynamic 3G model of a Great Synagogue in Vilnius. The application does not demand a permanent connection to the Internet and that is the reason why it is attractive for tourists.

The Director of the Center for Studies of the Culture and History of East European Jews, Docent of the Department of History of the Vilnius University J. Verbickienė hopes that the application will enjoy popularity not only among tourists but also among young people in Lithuania who are willing to discover and get to know varied history and culture of Lithuanian Jews.

First version of the application is already available in Google Play i App Store shops

Based on: bernardinai.lt