Riflemen's House in Panevėžys Memorial site
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In the center of Panevėžys city.
One of the founders of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, Vladas Putvinskis, romantically compared the riflemen to bees and encouraged them to establish their own "hives" - riflemen's houses, stating that a small nation takes its example from bees, which work peacefully and diligently, and when attacked, all defend themselves bravely. In 1923, V. Putvinskis emphasized that each riflemen's unit must have a Lithuanian spirit club, which meant "The Riflemen's House - the Nation's House". Since 1924, the Panevėžys riflemen were based in the former St. Montvila Theatre, where the only theatre hall in the city operated, which in 1937 was renovated with the funds of the riflemen and turned into a center for the dissemination of cultural and military spirit.
Used sources and references:
Vytautas Jokubauskas, Cultural activity centers in interwar Lithuania: “the home of the riflemen – the home of the nation”, Lituanistica, 2015, no. 3, pp. 166 – 184.
Donatas Pilkauskas, The building of the Panevėžys XII Rifle Regiment during the interwar years, available online:https://aina.lt/panevezio-xii-sauliu-rinktines-pastatas-tarpukario-metais
