Vilnius Society of the Friends of Science
The genesis of the Vilnius Scientific Society dates back to the mid-19th century and the activities of its predecessor, the Vilnius Archaeological Commission, founded by Eustachy Count Tyszkiewicz. The Commission, in its conception, was to be the beginning of a scientific society covering all fields of knowledge, but the law prepared in 1862, changing the status of the Commission, could not be realised due to political events and repressions after the January Uprising. By order of Governor Mikhail Muravyov, the work of the Commission was interrupted and the collected collections taken to Moscow and dispersed to various institutions. In a clandestine form, severely limited in the scope of their activities, lovers of antiquities were active in Vilnius in the Archeological Circle established in 1899. Archaeological Circle. The full reactivation of scientific activity did not take place until more than 40 years later - a meeting of the initiators of the Vilnius Scientific Society was held on 22 October 1906. In January of the following year, the Russian authorities approved the law for its official establishment.

The first general meeting of the Society's members was held on 23 March 1907, at which members of the first Board were elected: the President - Rev. Jan Kurczewski, the Vice-President and Custodian of Collections - Dr Władysław Zahorski, the Treasurer - Jozef Montwiłł, the Secretary and Archivist - Dr Stanisław Kościałkowski, the Librarian - Dr Ludwik Czarkowski, and the Members: Ludwik Abramowicz and Cezary Staniewicz. Thanks to the wide public response and generosity, the Society's collection grew rapidly: a collection of antiquities, historical memorabilia and a book collection. In 1914, the rich collections of the then disbanded Society of the Museum of Science and Art, founded a few years earlier by Counts Antoni and Wacław Tyszkiewicz, were incorporated.

The exhibits were initially collected in a palace on Tyzenhauzowska Street, donated for the purpose by Count Józef Przeździecki, but it soon became necessary to build new premises. This was made possible thanks to a donation from Hilary Łęski, owner of the Biała Waka estate, who gave the Society a plot of land he had purchased at 8 Lelewela Street, together with a grant to begin construction. The cost of construction (50,000 roubles), begun in 1910, was covered by a loan from the Vilnius Land Bank, and private donations. The ceremonial consecration of the building and the first meeting of the Society's members in the new premises took place on 4 November 1913. In 1914, the museum and library collections were moved from the Przeździecki Palace to the building, which was not yet fully finished.

From the beginning of its foundation, the Vilnius Society of the Friends of Science pursued ambitious scientific and conservation plans. There were regular meetings and public lectures, intensive work in thematic sections, as well as publishing activity - publishing the results of research in the regularly issued Annals of the Society. The outbreak of World War I, the German occupation, and then the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920, caused a forced break in the Society's activity. After the restoration of independence, a new chapter in the history of the institution began - the reactivation of Vilnius University resulted in a significant increase in the number of members by the number of academics of the Vilnius university, with which the Society began close cooperation. In 1922, a new statute of the Vilnius Society of the Friends of Science was approved, which created three scientific faculties: I) philology, literature and art II) mathematical and natural sciences III) history, philosophy and prano-social sciences. Active members of the faculties were appointed from among all members of the Society. After the death of Rev. Jan Kurczewski in 1916, the presidents of the Society were as follows: Władysław Zahorski (1916-1927), Alfons Parczewski (1927-1933), Marian Zdziechowski (1933-1938), and Stanisław Kościałkowski (1938-1940).

The basic financing of its activities was provided by annual grants from the Department of Science of the Ministry of Religion and Public Enlightenment and the State Fund for National Culture at the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. In the years 1928-1929, thanks to an additional subsidy received from the Culture Fund, a general overhaul of the interior was carried out, as well as investment works: a new front elevation was made with a column portico added, all elevations were plastered, and the area around the building was fenced and put in order.

The building housed the Society's extensive collections: the book collection, archive and museum. As of 1 January 1939, the library contained a total of 42,400 works (titles), including 314 old prints from the 15th to 16th centuries, and 3409 from the 17th to 18th centuries. Its holdings also included 883 periodical titles in 4575 volumes. The archive's holdings included 1,033 volumes, fascicles and parcels of manuscripts and 2,405 documents, deeds and separate letters. The museum, located in the upstairs rooms, was very popular. On the walls of the staircase leading to the exhibition, vilniana (engravings, plans, paintings) were placed. The first hall contained prehistoric and antique collections with a collection of Greek vases donated by Count Tyszkiewicz, while the next hall contained historical artefacts, including valuable manuscripts, a collection of Slutsk sashes, a collection of porcelain, glass as well as white arms and pieces of antique weaponry. The historical hall was adjoined by two halls - with Polish and foreign art. The collection of European paintings featured works of the Venetian school, Flemish and Dutch paintings, landscapes by Nicolas Poussin and vedutas by Canaletto. Among the most valuable exhibits were two engravings by Albrecht Dürer. The Polish Room created an overview of 19th and early 20th century native art, mainly of the Vilnius School. In the last room historical exhibits and memorabilia were placed, creating a kind of journey through epochs and events - from the Kościuszko Uprising to the liberation of Vilnius in 1919 and 1920.

From the beginning, the Museum had to struggle with a shortage of space. The last report of the Society, which appeared in 1939, pointed out the impossibility of properly displaying the works and exhibits, the general cramped conditions, the overloading of display cases and, above all, the lack of a separate museum workshop and storerooms. There were calls for energetic action to be taken towards the long-planned addition of a wing to the main building. However, with the dramatic events of the Second World War looming, this demand was never to be fulfilled.

After 1939, the most difficult, final stage in the history of the Vilnius Society of Fine Arts began. The assets and collections were taken over by the USSR authorities after the Russian army entered Vilnius in 1940; the last president, Stanislaw Kosciałkowski, was arrested and exiled to the Urals. The Society was completely closed down during the German occupation in 1941-1944.

Architecture
Construction of the building of the Vilnius Society of the Friends of Science began in 1910, designed by Henryk Wojnicki (1832-1915), a military engineer, professor at the Nikolayev Engineering Academy, who, after retiring with the rank of general, returned to his native Vilnius. Construction work was completed in 1914 and the still unfinished building was handed over for use. The building was rectangular in plan, two storeys high, with austere facades devoid of detail, which gave it a "colourless barracks" character (T.P.N. Report for 1928). The construction was completed between 1928 and 1929, when not only was the interior refurbished and fitted out, but above all the front elevation was rebuilt, to which was added a wall-mounted Ionic portico in great order, surmounted by a triangular pediment. The work was supervised by a technical commission consisting of Professor Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Engineer Antoniewicz and architects Juliusz Kłos, Ludwik Sokołowski, Stefan Narębski and Stefan Siestrzencewicz. The latter made a plan for the new façade of the building "under the direction and with the guidance of the Council participants" (T.P.N. Report for 1928). After reconstruction, the building acquired a dignified, almost monumental, neoclassical form.