Vilnius Phenomenon or a Headache: Exdivisional Houses in 1795–1940

Abstract

Abstract. Documents, memoirs of Vilnius residents, and the press from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, refer to a block of exdivisional houses located mainly on Žydų, Antokolskis, and Stiklių streets, where buildings are in a state of disrepair, with a high density of inhabitants, and unhygienic living conditions. These sources inspired the question of the changes in the once attractive housing near the city centre between 1795 and 1940: the emergence of the exdivisional houses in the Jewish quarter of Vilnius, the aspects of the degradation of the housing in the quarter, the initiatives of the administration of the city of Vilnius and the inhabitants for the renewal of the quarter. Analysing the development of the quarter in the long term will allow us to contribute to contemporary urban sociological research, which often lacks the historical context of urban development.