A commemorative bench for Donatas Banionis
A sculpture of the late theatre and film actor Donatas Banionis, situated next to ‘Grand SPA Lietuva’, sitting on a bench with a book in his hand, with a crane standing nearby, seems to invite all the resort’s holidaymakers to sit down and rest. “It’s such a great honour for me; people will be coming from all over the world. I can see people from Germany and the United States. Everyone knows me to a greater or lesser extent from the films. And here we are today, sitting with my doppelgänger,” said D. Banionis with his characteristic sense of humour as he unveiled the sculpture in 2010. Its erection was initiated by Bronislovas Lubys, an honorary citizen of Druskininkai, who was a great admirer of Banionis’s talent. This sense of humour – a trait of D. Banionis – also made an impression on Mindaugas Junčius, the sculptor. As there is a monument to Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis not far from this sculpture, Donatas Banionis joked that all that was missing was a sculpture of Arvydas Sabonis, and “that would be the whole of Lithuania”. The actor had a special connection with Druskininkai – he often performed here, spent his holidays here, and in 1975, together with director Robertas Verba, he made a documentary film about Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. The film also features unique footage showing the sculpture of Čiurlionis, created by Vladas Vildžiūnas, being transported to Druskininkai.
