The school was founded on the 1st of October 1936 on the initiative and personal funds of Lithuanian-American engineer Laurynas Radziukynas. The school was built by the craftsmen of the village of Balkūnai according to the project of L. Radziukynas.

The renovation contract signed by the Alytus district municipality administration and the contractor provides for the preservation of the authentic interior of the school, which is in line with the original ideas of the building engineer, as well as the preservation of the old furniture and inventory. The school has been repaired, restored, conserved and decontaminated in accordance with the requirements of heritage conservation. Compared to the 1934 project, the renovation has made some minor changes: a usable basement has been added, and an annex has been added at the entrance, on the courtyard side.

Landscaping - perimeter planting of the boundaries of the site with rows of deciduous and coniferous trees. In the eastern part of the site the fragments of the garden planted by the first headmaster of the school, M. Ražanskas, remained, while the garden in the southern part of the site was planted in the 1970s.

The school site, which includes the building complex, paths and green areas, is approximately 2 ha in size.

The entrance to the school grounds is opposite to the main entrance to the school building.

The first headmaster of the school until 1957 was Motiejus Ražanskas (1896-1981), who devoted his life to the improvement and landscaping of the school environment. As the school was built in an empty field, M. Ražanskas immediately set about planting a garden near the school and planting the grounds with trees. With the help of the pupils and their parents, many fruit trees, spruce trees and poplars were planted over couple of years. By 1940, the landscaping of the sports field was completed. A cranberry grove was planted on the left side of the bank.

The school, which opened in 1936, had an unusual environment: the boundaries of the grounds were planted with rows of trees and a hedge, a large garden grew next to the school, and there was a wind turbine with a propeller spinning around in the sky. The fruit trees planted by Laurynas Radziukynas have survived to this day. There was another wooden school building in this orchard, but it has not survived - it was destroyed in a fire.

Side entrance to the school, which leads to the basement with a hall. The authentic exterior door on the courtyard side has been preserved.

Renovation of the school kitchen, which was opened in 1936 and was used to prepare and serve food to pupils. The food was served to the pupils through a window.

As you climb the stairs, you can see the original preserved wall elements. The restorers have counted 18 layers of paint here. The authentic concrete staircase with mosaic concrete treads and wooden handrails are also preserved.

At that time, the school had the best facilities for physical education classes. The entire floor of the hall was covered with white oak parquet. Unfortunately, when the school was closed, the parquet simply rotted, as the entire ground floor was filled in with water. The school's sports hall was also the scene of a lively cultural life. The headmaster of the school was a theatre director. He staged plays at the school and his productions often won prizes in competitions. The school also had a girls' choir, and all the girls who attended the school had to sing in it. There were also film nights and dances in the sports hall, supervised by the headmaster himself. The headmaster would not allow the youngsters who looked untidy to enter the hall.

The layout of the school is thought out and rational. Functional zoning has been planned: separate teachers' flats and teaching rooms. The school was designed to be small and compact, so that it could accommodate two families of teachers and two classes of pupils at the same time.

Built in 1936, the school had central heating, biological sewage treatment, showers, washbasins and a bath. Under the orders of the first headmaster, Motiejus Ražanskas, every pupil of the school had to come to these showers on weekends to wash according to a list. Hygiene was very important in this school.

The red oak cloakrooms are in excellent condition, one of which even has its first hooks. In the hole, the wall tiles had to be replaced due to European Union directives. The restorers found the word ‘asbestos’ on the wall tiles, which means that the tiles could not be left, despite their excellent condition. However, the yellow tile wall in this photo was left as a display wall by the restorers, showing the authentic tiles that have not been replaced since the school was built.

The school, which opened in 1936, was equipped with modern technological facilities, including central heating, biological sewage treatment, showers, washbasins and a bath. The floor tiles, partitions and even the authentic toilet at the back of the building are still there.

Under the direction of M. Ražanskas, strict discipline was maintained: students were taught to take care, protect and cherish the school's inventory and environment. Pupils were forbidden to wear outdoor shoes on the school premises, they had to leave their shoes in the cloakroom and ran around the school in socks.

Authentic white oak parquet floor has been preserved and is in very good condition. The windows have been restored identical to the original. At that time, this type of windows was still a novelty even in America. The authentic wall cupboards have been preserved.

A drinking water fountain has been preserved. Its functionality confirms that L. Radziukynas had thought of all the details when building the school. After turning on the tap of the drinking water fountain, the water stops flowing automatically. This technology was chosen to prevent children from leaving water running unnecessarily.

Authentic white oak parquet floor has been preserved and is in very good condition, only the right-hand corner in classroom No 2 has been replaced due to rotting. When the parquet was replaced, the restorers found a branded stamp on the reverse side of the floorboards. The windows have been restored identical to the original. At that time, this type of windows was still a novelty even in America. The authentic wall cupboards have been preserved. There are authentic school desks in three sizes in the classroom, which were brought from Chicago.

The staircase leads to the rooms where the teachers and their families lived. The treads are covered with natural linoleum made with linseed oil. The linoleum is authentic.

When the school was opened, it was the living room of the headmaster, Motiejus Ražanskas, a room distinguished by a more festive interior. The parquet is authentic, with patterns. There are skylights above the door, thus saving electricity. Most of the electricity generated by the wind turbine was used by the water pump. Later, a teachers' room was set up here, after that - a classroom.

Every effort has been made to maximise the space of the building, as shown by the wall cupboard installed in the corridor.

The authentic wall cupboard door, with a built-in mirror (to save space) has been preserved. The waves pattern near the ceiling is thought to symbolise the school's journey from America to Lithuania.

An authentic bathtub, sink, wall cabinet, floor tiles have been preserved. Interestingly, this authentic sink has a pump installed to prevent the sink from clogging.

Authentic kitchen floor, furnace, sink, chimney and wall cupboard have been preserved since 1936. The kitchen door swings to both sides. The restored interior is close to the original.

Headmaster children's room. In the restored room, little authenticity has been preserved.

As you climb the stairs, you can see the original preserved wall elements. Authentic stairs and wooden handrails have been preserved.

The interior has been restored to its former state.

Teachers' flats were more modest. Each teacher had their own private bathroom. The kitchen was shared. There is little authenticity in the restored room.

The authentic kitchen and its elements (furnace, washbasin with tap, windows, floor), preserved since 1936. The interior has been restored to its former state. The kitchen is accessed via two different entrances. Teachers shared one kitchen.

Authentic details and elements of the bathroom (sink, cabinet, bathtub, floor tiles) preserved since 1936.

Teachers' flats were more modest. Each teacher had their own private bathroom. The kitchen was shared. There is little authenticity in the restored room.

The restored corridor has little authenticity.

The water reservoir room is the least affected by restoration work. On the top there is a 9 cubic metre oak water tank which was filled with water using a water pump. The water in the room was naturally heated. The pump was powered by electricity generated by a wind turbine.

The water reservoir room is the least affected by restoration work. On the top there is a 9 cubic metre oak water tank which was filled with water using a water pump. The water in the room was naturally heated. The pump was powered by electricity generated by a wind turbine.

It was the corridor leading to the library. Little authenticity remains in the restored space.

This room used to house the school library. The authenticity of the restored room has not been preserved.

This room used to house the school library. The authenticity of the restored room has not been preserved.

The virtual tour is intended to share good experience about the measure of the Lithuanian Rural Development Programme 2014–2020 "Basic Services and Renewal of Villages in Rural Areas" and to increase the attractiveness of the Alytus district for local residents and visitors.

During the virtual tour, you may get acquainted with the modern school that was donated by Laurynas Radziukynas, an emigrant from Lithuania, who became rich in America, to the children of his native Kurnėnai village in Alytus district more than 80 years ago. The school has well-preserved authentic interior details, school benches, plumbing equipment, parquet, natural linoleum. The patron built the school for children of his native village from the most modern materials of that time, choosing technologies and equipment of American quality.

The Lithuanian Rural Development Fund helped to donate the school to Lithuania once again. With its funds, the complex of school buildings was renovated, the inside of the building was remodelled, the estate was adapted for the organisation of educational activities, creative workshops, plein airs and the promotion of educational tourism in the Alytus district.

The virtual tour was prepared as part of the implementation of the project "Virtual Tour of the Laurynas Radziukynas School of Kurnėnai" No. PLKT-KV-21-1-00948-PR001, funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Lithuanian state budget.

The project is being implemented by the Alytus Vocational Education Centre.
The project is being administered by the National Paying Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Virtual tour contractor: UAB Inverse, Gidas360.