Prior to WWII this space was filled with dozens of prayer houses as well as the Great Synagogue, an enormous structure built several stories underground so that it wouldn’t surpass the height of any churches. In front of the Gaon’s house at the other end of the square near the present-day start of Žydų stands a rather half-hearted monument to him. A resentful rumour circulates among some that it’s a recycled Soviet-era bust of Marx or Engels.