Life in Kaunas

Language

During your time in Kaunas, you will be able to get by in your day-to-day life by speaking English. Young people speak very good English, often better than the English spoken in Spanish-speaking countries. Therefore, you will be able to practice your English on a daily basis and become an advanced speaker in a very short period of time.

English is the language used throughout the degree programme – classes, exams and study materials are all in English. Your results will never depend on your ability to speak Lithuanian.

After your first year, you will take a Lithuanian course for beginners in order to achieve a basic knowledge of the language, as you will need it during your internships at the hospitals. However, we would like to stress that the official language of the degree programme is English.

Transport

Kaunas has its own international airport, which receives thousands of visitors every year. Europe’s largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, operates from this airport and offers direct flights to Gerona and Alicante. The airport also has good connections with other airports.

Kaunas International Airport is 14 kilometres (25 to 30 minutes by car) from the city centre. Kaunas became Ryanair’s first Central European base in May 2010.

You will also find regular connections between the airports of Riga and Kaunas with AirBaltic, the Latvian airline. The airport’s new terminal opened in March 2008.

The airport of Vilnius is 100 kilometres from Kaunas. A number of airlines operate between these two airports: Lingus, AirBaltic, Czech Airlines, Ryanair, Estonian Air, Finnair, Lufthansa, Norwegian AirShuttle, Brussels Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines.

Accommodation

First-year students can stay in one of the university’s Halls of Residence. The booking is confirmed with a contract. The rent varies between a small room (12 m²), which costs approximately 87 EUR per month, and a large room (18 m²), which costs approximately 112 EUR per month.

Students are advised to make the booking as soon as possible as places are limited. If two students share a room, they each pay half of the rent. The rent is paid at the beginning of every month in local currency. The price includes heating, water, electricity and the use of a shared kitchen.

The university has a very good, cheap dinning hall. Overall, an average student needs between 300 and 400 euros a month to cover ALL living expenses. This includes accommodation, food, public transport and other day-to-day expenses.

There are also a large number of houses in the city that students are able to rent during their stay in Kaunas.

Many students live in shared apartments, which are fully furnished and a short distance from the university campus. We will help you find suitable accommodation.

Old Town:

• Kaunas Castle: Currently undergoing restoration. It was built in the mid-14th century and is the oldest building in Kaunas. Near the castle you can visit Santakos park, located at the confluence of the two largest rivers in Lithuania – Nemunas and Neris.
• Kaunas City Hall: Built in the mid-16th century, when the city’s economy was thriving, City Hall is a good example of renaissance architecture. It is commonly known among locals as “The White Swan”. In 1836, City Hall was rebuilt and became the residence of the Russian tsars. The wedding hall (marriage registration office) was opened on the ground floor in 1973. The cellars are used as a pottery museum. The museum collection consists of various archaeological findings from the Old Town and the areas surrounding the city of Kaunas. The collection contains handcrafted crockery, glasses, tile ornaments as well as enormous tiles. The exhibition also reflects the lifestyle of the city’s inhabitants during that period.
• City Hall Square: The Old Town’s main square. It has a large variety of restaurants, bars, cafés, museums, art galleries and hotels.
• Wax Melting Furnace: The wax melting furnace exhibition opened in 2002, near the Tower of City Hall. Recently renovated, the exhibition shows how wax was traditionally melted. Kaunas was a major centre for wax trade in the Middle Ages. This is where the so called “wax stones” were made, which were stamped with the city’s coat of arms and then exported all over the world.
• The Communication History Museum: The museum has a collection of unique exhibits that are still in working order. It offers visitors the chance to learn about the historical development of the postal service as well as other means of communication. Visitors can try their hand at telegraphy or look at the remains of an old bronze melting furnace.
• Museum of Lithuanian Literature: The museum is located in a baroque palace. It is used as a memorial museum for the famous Lithuanian poet and priest Maironis. The museum has a large collection of books, manuscripts, works of art and other documents.
• Arch-Cathedral Basilica: Measuring 84m long and 34m wide, it is the largest gothic church in Lithuania. The tomb of the poet Maironis was built on the southern wall of the cathedral in 1930.
• Kaunas Medicine and Pharmacy Museum: It has a large collection of skulls, medicinal herbs, medicine articles and other pharmaceutical and medical items from ancient times.
• St. Francis Xavier Church: The construction of this baroque Jesuit church began in the second half of the 17th century but was not completed until 1720. The church served both as a Jesuit residence and as the main school in the region of Kaunas. The famous Lithuanian-Polish poet Adomas Mickevičius (Adam Mickiewicz) worked as a teacher here between 1819 and 1823. The church was converted into an Orthodox Cathedral by Alexander Nevsky in 1843. The church and school were returned to the Jesuits in 1923. The church was closed during the Soviet occupation. It now holds sacred music concerts.
• Vytautas Church: Officially named the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary. Built in 1400, it was one of the first brick Gothic buildings. The church belonged to Franciscan friars. During the Napoleonic Wars it was turned into an ammunition warehouse.
• Vytautas the Great Bridge: Connects the Old Town and the Aleksotas district. The original bridge was built on wooden posts in 1812. It was used by Napoleon’s army to flee from Russia.
• Evangelic Lutheran Church Karaliaus Mindaugo: A small church located on the right bank of the river Nemunas. It combines architectural features from the baroque and romantic periods. The church was built between 1682 and 1683.