{"id":11467,"date":"2019-08-18T05:24:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-18T02:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klubasklasika.lt\/?p=11467"},"modified":"2021-02-18T04:07:15","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T02:07:15","slug":"pirmoji-diena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klubasklasika.lt\/en\/2019\/08\/18\/pirmoji-diena\/","title":{"rendered":"”Baltic Way 30″ – the First Day of a Vintage Car Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"On August 18-20, 2019, in order to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Baltic Way, the enthusiasts of vintage vehicles from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, driving the historic cars, repeated the historic Baltic Way on the Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn route. This vintage car tour was not only the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way, but also the first joint event of vintage car clubs of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that has happened since the restoration of independence of the three states. Noteworthy is that the participants of the event drove along the entire authentic way not missing any road or town through which the Thread of Liberty naturally stretched 30 years ago and which still inspires freedom defenders around the world. <\/p>\n

A total of 205 historical exhibits took part in the extraordinary event attracting the attention of media from all around the world: there were 53 vehicles from Lithuania, 33 from Latvia, 113 from Estonia, 3 from Poland, 2 from Belarus and 1 from Finland. Depending on the age of the vehicles, the participants could take a partial route. They only could choose any part of the road joining the march from Vilnius, Panev\u0117\u017eys, Pasvalys, Riga, Valmiera or Viljandi, and traveling as far as the participant’s car’s capacity or driver’s desire allows.<\/p>\n

VILNIUS 18\/08\/2019, CATHEDRAL SQUARE<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Sunday, August 18, as many as 150 historic vehicles gathered for the start of the Baltic Way vintage car tour on Cathedral Square. The oldest car to participate in the exhibition in Vilnius was the Ford T Touring, built in 1921, and the oldest motorcycle, built in 1928, by Indian Scout 101. There were heavy duty vehicles as well \u2013 the Ikarus 55 LUX manufactured in 1972.<\/p>\n

After singing the anthems of the three Baltic countries, Egidijus Einoris, the President of Antique Automobile Club Klasika, began the official part of the event. He introduced the participants of the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way as well as the idea and goals of the march (tour). The Chairman of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktoras Pranskietis, the Ambassador of Estonia to Lithuania Jana Vanaveski and the Chairman of the Latvian People’s Front Romualdas Ra\u017eukas delivered welcoming speeches. The honorable guests also presented the national flags to the drivers of the three countries, which were carried along the entire historical Baltic Way from Vilnius to Tallinn. The gathered people were greeted by Agris \u0160mits, the Chairman of the Latvian Antique Automobile Club, and Veiko Praks, the representative of the Estonian Antique Vehicles Club. All speakers were awarded with commemorative Baltic Way medals by the Klasika Club. After the official part of the event, there was a performance of the modern folklore group Navija from Bir\u017eai and the historical photos of the Baltic Way were shown.<\/p>\n

The heart of the Lithuanian capital was just the beginning of a long way. At exactly noon, the convoy of vintage cars left the Cathedral Square and started the historic Baltic Way march (tour) Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn. The participants of this extraordinary event opened their thick road books and, after passing the impressive Road of Freedom Memorial Wall monument, moved towards Panev\u0117\u017eys.<\/p>\n

Vilnius, Cathedral square – Dainius Nagel\u0117 photos<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t