The History of Banking Hall introduces the origins of banking operations and the first medieval stratum, central and joint-stock commercial banks. You will learn about the role of the Bank of Lithuania in pushing through the money reform in 1922, stabilising the country’s financial and credit market during the global crisis and the fall of the national banking system after the Soviet occupation in 1940. The exhibition presents unique exhibits: the book “Bank of Lithuania. Gold Reserves Abroad”, which registers all foreign banks where Lithuanian gold was held, as well as the Bank of Lithuania’s cashier furniture and other work equipment. It also showcases securities dating back to the end of the 19th–first half of the 20th century, including bonds, shares, loans and collateral sheets.
The virtual exhibition “Money in Lithuania. 1914–1945” presents detailed information on the activities of the Bank of Lithuania during the inter-war period – money issuance, accumulation of foreign currencies and gold reserves as well as promotion of economic development. The hour-long video is divided into five sections that reveal the political, economic and financial situation in Lithuania from the beginning of World War I and the state’s restoration to the Soviet occupation and the end of World War II.
The exhibition also overviews certain topics related to World War II, occupations as well as the Soviet financial and credit system in 1945–1990.