Designed by architect Algimantas Sprindys, the annex of the Institute for Industrial Construction Design – better known as Pramprojektas – once stood on V. Putvinskio Street. It may have looked grey from the outside, but in the 1990s it was renowned for its modern interior and its Pakalnė cafeteria, popular among Vytautas Magnus University students... and pioneers of the alternative electronic music scene.

In April 1997, the alternative music club RyRalio held its first rave in Kaunas here. The party lasted until morning and brought together every subculture in the city at the time. The music included techno, drum’n’bass, hardcore and other styles of underground electronica that were still rarely heard in Lithuania.

By the final hardcore night in January 1998, DJs from abroad were already performing here – American artist ENTOX and TRAUMA XP from Berlin. Even the Tango TV crew rushed over to film the event. Kaunas was rapidly becoming part of the rave culture then sweeping across Europe.

Pakalnė became a launch pad for the party-organising duo DJ Žvėriukai and inspired many later events on the city’s underground scene. Several attempts were subsequently made to reignite parties in this legendary space, but its original atmosphere never returned. Around a decade ago, the old annex was demolished and replaced by an entirely new building.

Yet the history of Pakalnė has survived not only in people’s memories. Flyers from its parties were featured in a publication exploring global rave visual culture – Phil Bedard’s art book Nocturnal: Global Highflyers, published by Abrams Books in New York in 2000.