Kaunas (pop.364.1 thousand), the second largest city of the country, is situated on the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris. The city originated in the 13th century when the first brick castle in Lithuania, the biggest defence fortress then, was built. In 1408 the city was granted the Magdeburg rights. Afterwards Kaunas began growing at a fairly rapid pace, especially its importance as the centre and main port for trade with Western Europe. In the 16th century Kaunas was one of the best developed cities in the Lithuanian Grand Duchy.

The city boasts a compact, well-preserved and nurtured Old Town, which is a concentration of valuable cultural and architectural monuments, including Kaunas Castle, Gothic Perkūnas House (The House of Thunder), Vytautas the Great and St. Gertrude Churches, Kaunas Town Hall, also called The White Swan, and a number of others. In addition, the city has interesting objects of engineering heritage, i.e. funiculars launched 70 years ago. One of them lifts people to the Aleksotas hill which, like the Insurrection Church, opens beautiful panoramas of Kaunas.