Through the keyhole
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Key locks began to be used in Egypt 4,000 years ago. The original purpose of keys and locks was to protect property. Over the centuries, keys have also acquired a symbolic meaning. In the Middle Ages, keys to cities were given to the victors. Nowadays, symbolic keys are given to elected mayors, owners of new businesses and buildings. Keys have been used in Lithuania since the 11th century. They have been found in many of the mounds and settlements excavated in the 11th-14th centuries. In the 20th century, keys acquired another meaning: they became a collector’s item. The exhibition presents the collection of keys of architect Algirdas Mainelis (1950-2015), as well as the keys kept in the Alytus Museum of Regional History.