(DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

VILNIUS  249


1941 and August 1944. Around e Verkiai Palace
29,000 Poles, Russians and Verkių rūmai
people of other nationalities Žaliujų ežerių 49. Tel 272 9834.
were killed, as were many Roma @ 35, 36, 76. Open by appointment.
and about 500 Catholic priests. & 8 0
The executions were carried out
by Nazi units with the help of a This once-immense Classical
squad of Lithuanians. The sites, mansion was designed by
inclu ding a large pit where, in Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius
1944, the retreating Nazis (1753–98) and Marcin Knackfus
attempted to destroy the last of (1740–1821). The two distin-
the bodies with acid, are now guished architects were com-
an open-air memorial. The first missioned in 1781 to create a
memorial was raised here in 1948. summer retreat for the Bishop
The tiny visitor centre is open only of Vilnius. They built the palace
by appointment in winter, but on a site that, some 400 years
the rest of the site is accessible. Twin-towered façade of the 18th-century previously, had been granted
Trinapolis Church by Grand Duke Jogaila (see
pp214–15) on his con version
w Trinapolis Church to Christianity, to the new
Šv Trejybės bažnyčia diocese of Vilnius.
The Classical gem was
Verkių 70. @ 35, 36, 50.
unfortunately short-lived. It
The original wooden church was ravaged so much by the
lasted only 6 years before it French army in 1812 that
burned down in 1710. The solid the subsequent owners had
Baroque structure that replaced the central part pulled down.
it in 1722 was designed by Only two wings of the palace
Pietro Puttini, a Veronese survive and some decoration
architect. Following the 1831 is still visible on the ceilings
uprising, the church was closed and the woodwork.
by the Russians and the interior Verkiai Palace is also a
destroyed. In 1849, it was popular place to visit because
converted into an Orthodox of its magnificent location on
church and the Metropolitan, a hilltop above the Neris river.
Fresco in a Station of the Cross, the city’s highest-ranking The views from here of the
Calvary Church of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox personage, surrounding forests are
used the neighbouring stunning. A centuries-old
q Calvary Church monastery as his summer legend tells how a sacred fire
of the Holy Cross residence. In 1917, the church here was once tended by a
Kalvarijos bažnyčia was returned to the Catholics pagan priest and beautiful
and the Archbishop set up virgins. A winding path leads
Kalvarijų 327, 5 km (3 miles) N of Vilnius residence here. The church from the mansion gates down
Old Town. Tel 269 7469. @ 35, 36, 50. was closed during the Soviet to Vandens Malūnas, a former
5 7am, 7pm Mon–Fri; 10:30am, noon, era and is still not open to watermill that is now a
4pm Sun. ∑ vilniauskalvarijos.lt
the public. restaurant (see p326).
This twin-spire Baroque church
towering over the Neris Valley
was built by the Dominicans in
the 1750s. The prime feature
of its interior is a series of
ceiling frescoes depicting
the life of Christ. The main
high lights are the nearby
Stations of the Cross. Some
35 chapels, set along a 7-km
(4-mile) hillside route, many
in the Baroque style, were
a popular attraction for
19th-century pilgrims. In
1962, they were destroyed by
the Soviets. Several of the
chapels have been re-created. Vandens Malūnas, a former watermill near Verkiai Palace




248-249.indd 249 15/02/17 10:16 am

SALTONIŠKIŲ GATVĖ
SALTONIŠKIŲ GATVĖ LVOVO GATVÉ GIEDRAIČIŲ GATVĖ GATVĖ KROKUVOS K A Z I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė G AT V Ė KA TKAUS GATVĖ
GIEDRAIČIŲ
GATVĖ
K A Z I Š K I Ų
ŽIRMŪNŲ GATVĖ
LIEPYNO GATVĖ
LIEPYNO GATVĖ
KROKUVOS
GATVĖ
LVOVO GATVÉ
KA TKAUS GATVĖ
UPĖS
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ
SĖLIŲ GATVĖ
SĖLIŲ GATVĖ
K R O K U V O S G AT V Ė
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ STUDENTŲ GATVĖ UPĖS GATVĖ GATVĖ KONSTITUCIJOS PROSPEKTAS K R O K U V O S G AT V Ė R I N K T I N Ė S G AT V Ė R I N K T I N Ė S G AT V Ė TUSKULĖNŲ GATVĖ ŽIRMŪNŲ GATVĖ
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ
Geležinio Vilko
Geležinio Vilko
BridgeBridge N N KALVARIJŲ GATVĖ KALVARIJŲ GATVĖ
TUSKULĖNŲ GATVĖ
LATVIŲ GATVĖ e e
LATVIŲ GATVĖ
ŽVĖRYNAS GELEŽINIO VILKO GATVĖ GELEŽINIO VILKO GATVĖ r r
ŽVĖRYNAS
KONSTITUCIJOS PROSPEKTAS
POŠKOS GATVĖ i i LV O V O G AT V É P VILEIŠIO GATVĖ P VILEIŠIO GATVĖ
POŠKOS GATVĖ
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
ŠE I M Y N I Š K I Ų G A
ANTAKALNIO
s
LV O V O G AT V É
MONIUŠKOS GATVĖ A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ s ŠE I M Y N I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė T V Ė
MONIUŠKOS GATVĖ
V Y TA U T O G AT V Ė V Y TA U T O G AT V Ė LUKIŠKIŲ SKERSGATVIS U P Ė S U P Ė S SLUCKO GATVĖ SLUCKO GATVĖ
GATVĖ
BridgeBridge
TRENIOTOS GATVĖ
TRENIOTOS GATVĖ A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ Š N I P I Š K I Ų R A I T I N I N K Ų R A I T I N I N K Ų S P O R T O S P O R T O Žirmūnų Žirmūnų ANTAKALNIO GATVĖ
Š N I P I Š K I Ų
O L I M P I E Č I Ų G AT V Ė
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
PUŠŲ GATVĖ Orthodox Church of L U K I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė Baltasis Baltasis GATVĖ GATVĖ Church of Sts
PUŠŲ GATVĖ
Church of Sts
Orthodox Church of
BridgeBridge
LUKIŠKIŲ SKERSGATVIS
Peter and Paul
the Apparition of the
J TUMO-VAIŽGANTO GATVĖ
G A T V Ė
Holy Mother of God
MYKOLO PACO
Holy Mother of God
TRAIDENIO GATVĖ
TRAIDENIO GATVĖ the Apparition of the G A T V Ė O L I M P I E Č I Ų G AT V Ė Peter and Paul
L U K I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė
Parliament
Parliament Ž V E J Ų MYKOLO PACO
Ž V E J Ų
National GATVĖ GATVĖ
National
T KOSCIUŠKOS GATVĖ
S L U Š K Ų G AT V Ė
Library
MICKEVIČIAUS Žveryno Žveryno Library KRAŽIŲ SKERSGATVIS A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ Žaliasis Žaliasis G AT V Ė s s
MICKEVIČIAUS
BridgeBridge
G AT V Ė
KRAŽIŲ SKERSGATVIS
GATVĖ GATVĖ Bridge Bridge G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S J TUMO-VAIŽGANTO GATVĖ ŠERMUKŠNIŲ GATVĖ r i r i S L U Š K Ų G AT V Ė
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
ŠERMUKŠNIŲ GATVĖ
LUKIŠKIŲ
G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S
LIUBARTO GATVĖ LUKIŠKIŲ TILTO GATVĖ e e T KOSCIUŠKOS GATVĖ
LIUBARTO GATVĖ

TILTO GATVĖ
SQUARE
Liubarto Liubarto SQUARE KASTONŲ VĖ A JAKŠTO GATVĖ A JAKŠTO GATVĖ ŽYGIMANTŲ GATVĖ N N OLANDŲ G ATVĖ OLANDŲ G ATVĖ
GAT
KASTONŲ
Bridge Bridge GATVĖ
Kenesa Kenesa J J A S I N S K I O G AT V Ė VASARIO 16-OSIOS GATVĖ VASARIO 16-OSIOS GATVĖ A VIENUOLIO GATVĖ A VIENUOLIO GATVĖ
KGB KGB J LELEVELIO VILNIAUS GATVĖ VILNIAUS GATVĖ RADVILŲ GATVĖ RADVILŲ GATVĖ Karaliaus Karaliaus
J J A S I N S K I O G AT V Ė
Mindaugo
Museum
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ O G A TVĖ O PAKAINĖS GATVĖ V K U D I R K O S G AT V Ė TAURO GATVĖ PAMĖNKALNIO GATVĖ G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S K SIR VYDO K SIR VYDO T I L T O G A T V Ė T VRUBLEVSKIO GATVĖ Lithuanian Applied Arts KALNŲ KRIV
Museum
Mindaugo
ŽYGIMANTŲ GATVĖ
BridgeBridge
J LELEVELIO
ARSENALO GATVĖ
T VRUBLEVSKIO GATVĖ
ARSENALO GATVĖ
A TVĖ
KALNŲ
PAKAINĖS GATVĖ
V K U D I R K O S G AT V Ė

Applied Arts
Lithuanian
PARK PARK
Museum
Museum
G
G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S
National
National

Museum
Museum
KRIVIŲ GATVĖ
T I L T O G A T V Ė
Vilnius
A SMETONOS GATVĖ
G E L E Ž I N I O V I L K K VALANČIAUS GATVĖ TAURAKALNIS Holocaust JOGAILOS GATVĖ JOGAILOS GAT V I L N I A U S G AT V Ė VĖ V I L N I A U S G AT V Ė TOTORIŲ GATVĖ ODMINIŲ GATVĖ CATHEDRAL Vilnius Lower Lower Upper Upper V i l n i a Hill of Three
Hill of Three
G E L E Ž I N I O V I L
A SMETONOS GATVĖ
Cathedral
Cathedral
Holocaust
Crosses Crosses
TAURO GATVĖ
Museum
Museum
Castle Castle
ODMINIŲ GATVĖ
TAURAKALNIS
PAMĖNKALNIO GATVĖ
Castle Castle
CATHEDRAL
SQUARE SQUARE
V i l n i a
VALANČIAUS GATVĖ
V SIERAKAUSKO
V SIERAKAUSKO GATVĖ M MYKOLAIČIO-PUTINO GATVĖ M MYKOLAIČIO-PUTINO GATVĖ State Jewish ISLANDIJOS LABDARIŲ GUCEVIČIAUS GATVĖ Š VENTARA GIO B RADVILAITĖS KR IVI Ų KR IVI Ų
GUCEVIČIAUS GATVĖ
L STUOKOS-
L STUOKOS-
LABDARIŲ
GATVĖ GATVĖ
Š VENTARA GIO
GATVĖ
GATVĖ ATVĖ
G
State Jewish
GATVĖ GATVĖ
ISLANDIJOS
TOTORIŲ GATVĖ
B RADVILAITĖS
Museum
Frank Zappa
Radvila
F I L A R E T Ų G AT V Ė
LIEJYKLOS
Statue Statue
Church of
S SKAPO
M K ČIURLIONIO GATVĖ Frank Zappa Museum Radvila LIEJYKLOS S SKAPO GATVĖ G SEREIKIŠKIŲ
M K ČIURLIONIO GATVĖ Palace Palace GATVĖ GATVĖ Church of SEREIKIŠKIŲ
K KALINAUSKO GATVĖ Vilnius Vilnius BERNARDINŲ PARK PARK F I L A R E T Ų G AT V Ė
K KALINAUSKO GATVĖ
Church PILIES GATVĖ
K K A L I N A U S K O G AT V Ė AT V Ė PALANGOS UNIVERSITETO GATVE UNIVERSITETO GATVE St Anne St Anne
K K A L I N A U S K O G
PALANGOS
GATVĖ
University
GATVĖ
BERNARDINŲ
GATVĖ GATVĖ University Mickiewicz
Mickiewicz
Museum
Bernardine
Presidential
N O Č I O S Presidential Museum Bernardine
N O Č I O S G AT V Ė G AT V Ė TAURO GATVÉ TAURO GATVÉ KLAIPĖDOS GATVĖ GATVĖ Palace Palace Church PILIES GATVĖ ATVĖ Church of Church Church
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
Church of
UŽUPIS
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ P Y L I M O G AT V Ė P Y L I M O G AT V Ė Theatre, Church of ŠV JONO St John’sohn’s House of MAIRONIO GATVĖ MAIRONIO GATVĖ GATVĖ GATVĖ UŽUPIS
ŠV IGNOTO
ŠV IGNOTO
KLAIPĖDOS
St J
Church of
St Michael
GATVĖ GATVĖ
House of
St Michael
St Catherine
St Catherine
Signatories
Signatories
Theatre,
Dominican
Dominican
GATVĖ
Music and
Music and
Š
Church Church
House House
Film Museum VILNIAUS VILNIAUS GATVĖ V JONO Šlapelis Šlapelis KRIVIU KRIVIU B A L T A S I S SKG
Film Museum
DOMININKONŲ St Paraskeva Museum
DOMININKONŲ
Museum
Church of
Church of
B A L T A S I S SKG
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
St Paraskeva
GATVĖ
T R A K Ų G AT V Ė
Holy Mother
UŽUPIO GATVĖ
POLOCKO GATVĖ
ALGIRDO GATVĖ
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
ALGIRDO GATVĖ
Vilnius Picture
A V I V U L S K I O G AT V Ė AT V Ė T R A K Ų G AT V Ė ST I KLIŲ GATVĖ Vilnius Picture Holy Mother UŽUPIO GATVĖ POLOCKO GATVĖ
A V I V U L S K I O G
of God Church
of God Church
Gallery Gallery
Franciscan VOKIEČIŲ GATVĖ
Franciscan
Orthodox Church of
Church Church Orthodox Church of V i l n i a V Ė
ST I KLIŲ GATVĖ
V i l n i a
St Nicholas
K RA N T O GAT
SV MIKALOJAUS G
Key V I N G R I Ų G AT V Ė V I N G R I Ų G AT V Ė PRANCIŠKONŲ PRANCIŠKONŲ DIDŽIOJI GATVÉ DIDŽIOJI GATVÉ St Nicholas PAUPIO GATVĖ K RA N T O GATV Ė
SAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
SAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
VOKIEČIŲ GATVĖ
Čiurlionis
Church of
LYDOS GATVĖ
TOWN HALL
Major sight T S E V Č E N K O S G AT V Ė AT V Ė LYDOS GATVĖ GATVĖ GATVĖ SV MIKALOJAUS G Church of TOWN HALL Kazys Kazys Čiurlionis
T S E V Č E N K O S G
PAUPIO GATVĖ
St Nicholas
SQUARE SQUARE
St Nicholas
Varnelis
Varnelis
Museum
Contemporary
Place of interest Contemporary Museum AUKŠTAIČIU GATVĖ A U K Š TA I Č I U G AT V Ė G AT V Ė
AUKŠTAIČIU GATVĖ A U K Š TA I Č I U
Art Centre
ŽEMAITIJOS Art Centre
ŽEMAITIJOS
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ
Railway station GATVĖGATVĖ GATVĖ GATVĖ Church of House BOKŠTO GATVÉ
ŠV KAZIMIERO GATVĖ
RŪDNINKŲ GATVĖ
Church of
DYSNOS
DYSNOS
St Casimir
Bus station ŠVITRIGAILOS GATVĖ ŠVITRIGAILOS GATVĖ NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ GATVĖ ŠIAULIŲ GATVĖ ŠIAULIŲ RŪDNINKŲ GATVĖ St Casimir ŠV KAZIMIERO GATVĖ MAIRONIO GATVĖTVĖ P A U P I O G AT V Ė
House BOKŠTO GATVÉ
P A U P I O G AT V Ė
Artillery
MAIRONIO GA
KARMELITŲ
Funicular A G U O N Ų A G U O N Ų Artillery
Bastion
Bastion
GATVĖ
Tourist information LIGONINĖS GATVĖ VISŲ SVENTUJŲ G ATVĖ KAR GATVĖ SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ VĖ
SUBAČIAUS GAT
A R K L I U G AT V Ė
SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ
Police station NAUJAMIESTIS Š A LT I N I Ų G AT V Ė AT V Ė A R K L I U G AT V ĖMELITŲ Basilian Church of the
Church of the
Š A LT I N I Ų G
NAUJAMIESTIS
Basilian
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Gate Gate
PYLIMO GATVĖ
PYLIMO GATVĖ
R A U G Y K LO S G AT V Ė
Hospital G AT V Ė G AT V Ė AUŠROS VARTŲ GATVĖ AUŠROS VARTŲ GATVĖ Church of
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ
Church of
St Theresa
Church NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ ALGIRDO GATVĖ ALGIRDO GATVĖ R A U G Y K LO S G AT V Ė St Theresa GATVĖ GATVĖ
M D AUKŠOS GA
ŠV STEPONO GATVĖ
P VISINSKIO GATVĖ
LIGONINĖS GATVĖ VISŲ SVENTUJŲ G ATVĖ
Synagogue AMATŲ GATVĖ BAZILIJONŲ M D AUKŠOS GATVĖTVĖ MARKUČIŲ GATVĖ
BAZILIJONŲ
M I N D A U G O G AT V Ė MINDAUGO GATVĖ
Railway ŠV STEPONO GATVĖ SODŲ GATVĖ SODŲ GATVĖ GATVĖ Gates Gates R A S Ų G AT V Ė R A S Ų G AT V Ė BALANDŽIŲ BALANDŽIŲ
M I N D A U G O G AT V Ė MINDAUGO GATVĖ
GATVĖ
KAUNO GATVĖ PYLIMO GATVĖ of Dawn
MARKUČIŲ GATVĖ
KAUNO GATVĖ
AMATŲ GATVĖ
of Dawn
DRUJOS GAT
GERVĖCIŲ GATVĖ
Scale of Map V Y T E N I O G AT V Ė V Y T E N I O G AT V Ė SEINŲ GATVĖ DRUJOS GATVĖ VĖ GERVĖCIŲ GATVĖ P VISINSKIO GATVĖ
PYLIMO GATVĖ
SEINŲ GATVĖ
Railway GELEŽINKELIO GATVĖ
Railway GELEŽINKELIO GATVĖ
0 metres 400 PELESOS GATVĖ ŠVENCIONIŲ BALTSTOGES GATVÉ
PELESOS GATVĖ
NARUČIO G
ŠVENCIONIŲ BALTSTOGES GATVÉ
0 yards 400 ŠVITRIGAILOS ŠVITRIGAILOS NARUČIO G R A M Y B Ė S G AT V Ė
Station
Bus Bus
P A N E R I Ų G AT V Ė
P A N E R I Ų G AT V Ė Station Station Station GATVĖ TURGELIŲ GATVĖ ALKŪNES G
R A M Y B Ė S G AT V Ė
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
ALKŪNES G
GATVĖ
LIEPKALNIO
TURGELIŲ GATVĖ
LIEPKALNIO
BT_250-251.indd 250 25/02/2015 13:32

SALTONIŠKIŲ GATVĖ LVOVO GATVÉ GIEDRAIČIŲ GATVĖ GATVĖ GATVĖ K A Z I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė G AT V Ė KA TKAUS GATVĖ
SALTONIŠKIŲ GATVĖ
GIEDRAIČIŲ
GATVĖ
K A Z I Š K I Ų
ŽIRMŪNŲ GATVĖ
LIEPYNO GATVĖ
LIEPYNO GATVĖ
KROKUVOS
KROKUVOS
LVOVO GATVÉ
KA TKAUS GATVĖ
UPĖS
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ
SĖLIŲ GATVĖ
SĖLIŲ GATVĖ
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ STUDENTŲ GATVĖ UPĖS GATVĖ GATVĖ KONSTITUCIJOS PROSPEKTAS K R O K U V O S G AT V Ė R I N K T I N Ė S G AT V Ė R I N K T I N Ė S G AT V Ė TUSKULĖNŲ GATVĖ ŽIRMŪNŲ GATVĖ
K R O K U V O S G AT V Ė
STUDENTŲ GATVĖ
Geležinio Vilko
Geležinio Vilko
BridgeBridge N N KALVARIJŲ GATVĖ KALVARIJŲ GATVĖ
TUSKULĖNŲ GATVĖ
LATVIŲ GATVĖ
LATVIŲ GATVĖ e e
ŽVĖRYNAS
ŽVĖRYNAS GELEŽINIO VILKO GATVĖ GELEŽINIO VILKO GATVĖ r r
KONSTITUCIJOS PROSPEKTAS
POŠKOS GATVĖ
POŠKOS GATVĖ i i LV O V O G AT V É P VILEIŠIO GATVĖ P VILEIŠIO GATVĖ
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
ŠE I M Y N I Š K I Ų G A
ANTAKALNIO
s
LV O V O G AT V É
MONIUŠKOS GATVĖ A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ s ŠE I M Y N I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė T V Ė
MONIUŠKOS GATVĖ
V Y TA U T O G AT V Ė V Y TA U T O G AT V Ė LUKIŠKIŲ SKERSGATVIS U P Ė S U P Ė S SLUCKO GATVĖ SLUCKO GATVĖ
GATVĖ
BridgeBridge
TRENIOTOS GATVĖ
TRENIOTOS GATVĖ A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ Š N I P I Š K I Ų R A I T I N I N K Ų R A I T I N I N K Ų S P O R T O S P O R T O Žirmūnų Žirmūnų ANTAKALNIO GATVĖ
Š N I P I Š K I Ų
O L I M P I E Č I Ų G AT V Ė
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
PUŠŲ GATVĖ
PUŠŲ GATVĖ Orthodox Church of L U K I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė Baltasis Baltasis GATVĖ GATVĖ Church of Sts
Church of Sts
Orthodox Church of
BridgeBridge
LUKIŠKIŲ SKERSGATVIS
Peter and Paul
the Apparition of the
J TUMO-VAIŽGANTO GATVĖ
G A T V Ė
MYKOLO PACO
Holy Mother of God
Holy Mother of God
TRAIDENIO GATVĖ
TRAIDENIO GATVĖ the Apparition of the G A T V Ė O L I M P I E Č I Ų G AT V Ė Peter and Paul
L U K I Š K I Ų G AT V Ė
Parliament Ž V E J Ų MYKOLO PACO
Parliament
Ž V E J Ų
National
T KOSCIUŠKOS GATVĖ
National GATVĖ GATVĖ
S L U Š K Ų G AT V Ė
Library
MICKEVIČIAUS
MICKEVIČIAUS Žveryno Žveryno Library KRAŽIŲ SKERSGATVIS A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ Žaliasis Žaliasis G AT V Ė s s
G AT V Ė
BridgeBridge
KRAŽIŲ SKERSGATVIS
GATVĖ Bridge Bridge G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S J TUMO-VAIŽGANTO GATVĖ ŠERMUKŠNIŲ GATVĖ r i r i S L U Š K Ų G AT V Ė
GATVĖ
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
ŠERMUKŠNIŲ GATVĖ
LUKIŠKIŲ
G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S
LIUBARTO GATVĖ LUKIŠKIŲ TILTO GATVĖ e e T KOSCIUŠKOS GATVĖ

LIUBARTO GATVĖ
TILTO GATVĖ
SQUARE
Liubarto Liubarto SQUARE KASTONŲ A JAKŠTO GATVĖ A JAKŠTO GATVĖ ŽYGIMANTŲ GATVĖ N N OLANDŲ G ATVĖ OLANDŲ G ATVĖ
KASTONŲ
Bridge Bridge GATVĖ GATVĖ
Kenesa Kenesa J J A S I N S K I O G AT V Ė VASARIO 16-OSIOS GATVĖ VASARIO 16-OSIOS GATVĖ A VIENUOLIO GATVĖ A VIENUOLIO GATVĖ
KGB KGB J LELEVELIO VILNIAUS GATVĖ VILNIAUS GATVĖ RADVILŲ GATVĖ RADVILŲ GATVĖ Karaliaus Karaliaus
Museum
Mindaugo
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ O G A TVĖ O PAKAINĖS GATVĖ V K U D I R K O S G AT V Ė TAURO GATVĖ PAMĖNKALNIO GATVĖ G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S K SIR VYDO K SIR VYDO T I L T O G A T V Ė T VRUBLEVSKIO GATVĖ Lithuanian Applied Arts KALNŲ KRIVIŲ GATVĖ
A GOŠTAUTO GATVĖ
J J A S I N S K I O G AT V Ė
Mindaugo
Museum
ŽYGIMANTŲ GATVĖ
J LELEVELIO
BridgeBridge
A TVĖ
T VRUBLEVSKIO GATVĖ
ARSENALO GATVĖ
ARSENALO GATVĖ
KALNŲ
PAKAINĖS GATVĖ
V K U D I R K O S G AT V Ė

Applied Arts
Lithuanian
PARK PARK
Museum
G
Museum
G E D I M I N O P R O S P E K TA S
National
National

Museum
Museum
KRIVIŲ GATVĖ
T I L T O G A T V Ė
Vilnius
G E L E Ž I N I O V I L K K VALANČIAUS GATVĖ TAURAKALNIS Holocaust JOGAILOS GATVĖ JOGAILOS GAT V I L N I A U S G AT V Ė VĖ V I L N I A U S G AT V Ė TOTORIŲ GATVĖ ODMINIŲ GATVĖ CATHEDRAL Vilnius Lower Lower Upper Upper V i l n i a Hill of Three GATVĖ GAT
A SMETONOS GATVĖ
Hill of Three
A SMETONOS GATVĖ
G E L E Ž I N I O V I L
Cathedral
Cathedral
Holocaust
Crosses Crosses
TAURO GATVĖ
Museum
Museum
Castle Castle
ODMINIŲ GATVĖ
TAURAKALNIS
PAMĖNKALNIO GATVĖ
Castle Castle
CATHEDRAL
SQUARE SQUARE
V i l n i a
VALANČIAUS GATVĖ
V SIERAKAUSKO GATVĖ M MYKOLAIČIO-PUTINO GATVĖ M MYKOLAIČIO-PUTINO GATVĖ State Jewish ISLANDIJOS LABDARIŲ GUCEVIČIAUS GATVĖ Š VENTARA GIO B RADVILAITĖS KR IVI Ų KR IVI Ų
GUCEVIČIAUS GATVĖ
V SIERAKAUSKO
L STUOKOS-
L STUOKOS-
LABDARIŲ
GATVĖ GATVĖ
Š VENTARA GIO
GATVĖ
GATVĖ ATVĖ
G
GATVĖ GATVĖ
State Jewish
TOTORIŲ GATVĖ
ISLANDIJOS
Museum
B RADVILAITĖS
Frank Zappa
F I L A R E T Ų G AT V Ė
Radvila
LIEJYKLOS
Statue Statue
M K ČIURLIONIO GATVĖ Frank Zappa Museum Radvila LIEJYKLOS S SKAPO GATVĖ G SEREIKIŠKIŲ
S SKAPO
Church of
M K ČIURLIONIO GATVĖ Palace Palace GATVĖ GATVĖ Church of SEREIKIŠKIŲ
K KALINAUSKO GATVĖ Vilnius Vilnius BERNARDINŲ PARK PARK F I L A R E T Ų G AT V Ė
K KALINAUSKO GATVĖ
Church PILIES GATVĖ
K K A L I N A U S K O G
PALANGOS
K K A L I N A U S K O G AT V Ė AT V Ė PALANGOS UNIVERSITETO GATVE UNIVERSITETO GATVE St Anne St Anne
GATVĖ
University
GATVĖ
BERNARDINŲ
Mickiewicz
GATVĖ GATVĖ University Mickiewicz
Bernardine
Presidential
Museum
N O Č I O S Presidential Museum Bernardine
N O Č I O S G AT V Ė G AT V Ė TAURO GATVÉ TAURO GATVÉ KLAIPĖDOS GATVĖ GATVĖ Palace Palace Church PILIES GATVĖ ATVĖ Church of Church Church
ŠV IGNOTO
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ P Y L I M O G AT V Ė P Y L I M O G AT V Ė Theatre, Church of ŠV JONO St John’sohn’s House of MAIRONIO GATVĖ MAIRONIO GATVĖ GATVĖ GATVĖ UŽUPIS
Church of
ŠV IGNOTO
UŽUPIS
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
KLAIPĖDOS
St J
Church of
St Michael
St Michael
House of
GATVĖ GATVĖ
St Catherine
St Catherine
Signatories
Signatories
Theatre,
Dominican
Dominican
Music and
Music and
GATVĖ
Š
Church Church
House House
Film Museum
Film Museum VILNIAUS VILNIAUS GATVĖ V JONO Šlapelis Šlapelis KRIVIU KRIVIU B A L T A S I S SKG
DOMININKONŲ
DOMININKONŲ St Paraskeva Museum
Museum
Church of
B A L T A S I S SKG
Church of
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
St Paraskeva
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
T R A K Ų G AT V Ė
Holy Mother
UŽUPIO GATVĖ
ALGIRDO GATVĖ
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
POLOCKO GATVĖ
ALGIRDO GATVĖ
J BASANAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
Vilnius Picture
A V I V U L S K I O G AT V Ė AT V Ė T R A K Ų G AT V Ė ST I KLIŲ GATVĖ Vilnius Picture Holy Mother UŽUPIO GATVĖ POLOCKO GATVĖ
A V I V U L S K I O G
of God Church
of God Church
Gallery Gallery
DIDŽIOJI GATVÉ
DIDŽIOJI GATVÉ
Franciscan
Franciscan VOKIEČIŲ GATVĖ
Orthodox Church of
Orthodox Church of
Church Church SAVIČIAUS GATVĖ PAUPIO GATVĖ K RA N T O GAT
ST I KLIŲ GATVĖ
St Nicholas
St Nicholas
V i l n i a
SV MIKALOJAUS G
SAVIČIAUS GATVĖ
K RA N T O GATV Ė
V i l n i a V Ė
VOKIEČIŲ GATVĖ
Čiurlionis
Church of
TOWN HALL
LYDOS GATVĖ
T S E V Č E N K O S G AT V Ė AT V Ė LYDOS GATVĖ PRANCIŠKONŲ PRANCIŠKONŲ SV MIKALOJAUS G Church of TOWN HALL Kazys Kazys Čiurlionis AUKŠTAIČIU GATVĖ A U K Š TA I Č I U
T S E V Č E N K O S G
PAUPIO GATVĖ
SQUARE SQUARE
St Nicholas
St Nicholas
Varnelis
Varnelis
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
V I N G R I Ų G AT V Ė
V I N G R I Ų G AT V Ė
Museum
Contemporary
Art Centre
Art Centre
ŽEMAITIJOS
ŽEMAITIJOS Contemporary Museum House BOKŠTO GATVÉ AUKŠTAIČIU GATVĖ A U K Š TA I Č I U G AT V Ė G AT V Ė
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ A G U O N Ų A G U O N Ų GATVĖ ŠIAULIŲ GATVĖ RŪDNINKŲ GATVĖ St Casimir ŠV KAZIMIERO GATVĖ Artillery MAIRONIO GATVĖTVĖ P A U P I O G AT V Ė
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ
GATVĖGATVĖ
ŠV KAZIMIERO GATVĖ
RŪDNINKŲ GATVĖ
Church of
Church of
DYSNOS
DYSNOS
St Casimir
GATVĖ
House BOKŠTO GATVÉ
ŠIAULIŲ
GATVĖ
P A U P I O G AT V Ė
MAIRONIO GA
Artillery
KARMELITŲ
Bastion
Bastion
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
SUBAČIAUS GAT
A R K L I U G AT V Ė
SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ
ŠVITRIGAILOS GATVĖ
ŠVITRIGAILOS GATVĖ
Š A LT I N I Ų G
NAUJAMIESTIS Š A LT I N I Ų G AT V Ė AT V Ė G AT V Ė G AT V Ė LIGONINĖS GATVĖ VISŲ SVENTUJŲ G ATVĖ KAR A R K L I U G AT V ĖMELITŲ Basilian SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ SUBAČIAUS GATVĖ VĖ
Church of the
NAUJAMIESTIS
Church of the
Basilian
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Gate Gate
R A U G Y K LO S G AT V Ė
PYLIMO GATVĖ
PYLIMO GATVĖ
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ
NAUGARDUKO GATVĖ AMATŲ GATVĖ ALGIRDO GATVĖ ALGIRDO GATVĖ R A U G Y K LO S G AT V Ė BAZILIJONŲ AUŠROS VARTŲ GATVĖ Church of MARKUČIŲ GATVĖ GATVĖ
Church of
GATVĖ
St Theresa
St Theresa
M D AUKŠOS GATVĖTVĖ
M D AUKŠOS GA
ŠV STEPONO GATVĖ
ŠV STEPONO GATVĖ
P VISINSKIO GATVĖ
LIGONINĖS GATVĖ VISŲ SVENTUJŲ G ATVĖ
BAZILIJONŲ
SODŲ GATVĖ
SODŲ GATVĖ
AUŠROS VARTŲ GATVĖ
M I N D A U G O G AT V Ė MINDAUGO GATVĖ
M I N D A U G O G AT V Ė MINDAUGO GATVĖ
GATVĖ
KAUNO GATVĖ SEINŲ GATVĖ PYLIMO GATVĖ GATVĖ Gates Gates DRUJOS GATVĖ VĖ R A S Ų G AT V Ė GERVĖCIŲ GATVĖ P VISINSKIO GATVĖ BALANDŽIŲ BALANDŽIŲ
MARKUČIŲ GATVĖ
KAUNO GATVĖ
of Dawn
AMATŲ GATVĖ
of Dawn
DRUJOS GAT
GERVĖCIŲ GATVĖ
PYLIMO GATVĖ
R A S Ų G AT V Ė
SEINŲ GATVĖ
Railway GELEŽINKELIO GATVĖ
Railway GELEŽINKELIO GATVĖ PELESOS GATVĖ ŠVENCIONIŲ BALTSTOGES GATVÉ
PELESOS GATVĖ
NARUČIO G
ŠVENCIONIŲ BALTSTOGES GATVÉ
Station
V Y T E N I O G AT V Ė
V Y T E N I O G AT V Ė
Bus Bus
R A M Y B Ė S G AT V Ė
P A N E R I Ų G AT V Ė
P A N E R I Ų G AT V Ė Station Station Station GATVĖ TURGELIŲ GATVĖ NARUČIO G ALKŪNES G
R A M Y B Ė S G AT V Ė
GATVĖ
GATVĖ
ALKŪNES G
GATVĖ
ŠVITRIGAILOS
ŠVITRIGAILOS
LIEPKALNIO
TURGELIŲ GATVĖ
LIEPKALNIO
BT_250-251.indd 251 25/02/2015 13:32

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LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION  253

CENTRAL LITHUANIA


Rolling hills, swathes of untouched ancient forest and
thousands of clear lakes characterize Central Lithuania.
Much of the land is protected, allowing birds, animals and
plants to thrive. While Vilnius and Kaunas are the region’s
most vibrant cities, the less-visited towns and villages of the
region, with their beautiful churches and farmsteads, also
attract a number of visitors.
Lithuania’s heartland is symbolized by berries line the roads, particularly
the mysterious mounds and fort-hills of along the route from Vilnius to the spa
Kernavė, where Mindaugas, the first king town of Druskininkai. Some parts of
of Lithuania, is said to have united the Dzūkija, which stretches from Alytus in
Baltic tribes in an effort to hold back the the west to Vilnius in the east, have large
cru sading armies of the Teutonic Knights. Polish-speaking communities. Aukštaitija,
Similarly, Trakai, with its fairytale Island which literally means “the highlands”,
Castle that once stood as the kernel of consists of relatively high ground that is
one of Europe’s biggest empires, stirs dotted with lakes. Although some forest
romantic nation alism in Lithuanians. has survived the centuries, much of
Kaunas, which served as the capital of Aukštaitija was used for agriculture
independent Lithuania between the two during the 20th century. With the
world wars, is often seen as the original exception of the Russian-speaking
seat of its nationhood, rather than town of Visaginas, Aukštaitija is
Vilnius, the present-day capital. almost exclusively Lithuanian-
Three of the country’s four speaking and is the country’s archaic
ethnographic regions, each with its hinterland. Centred around Marijampolė,
own dialect and traditions, are located Suvalkija, or Sūduva, is the smallest
in this area. Much of Dzūkija, in the ethnographic region, with its dress and
south, is thickly forested. In summer and customs once influenced by Prussia as
autumn, villagers selling mushrooms or well as Poland.























Permanent display entitled “Space of Unknown Growth” at the open-air art museum, Europe Park
The onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church in Druskininkai



BT_252-253_centLit.indd 253 25/02/2015 13:32

254  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

Exploring Central Lithuania

The well-kept roads winding through the region offer great
opportunities for exploring the forests around the spa town Nemunėlio
of Druskininkai in the south, as well as the lakes and villages Rīga Radviliškis
of Aukštaitija National Park in the northeast. The best way to
experience this pristine landscape is to venture off the main BIRŽAI
roads, onto the scenic minor routes connecting Trakai– Kiemėnai Kvetkai Čedasai
Birštonas, Varėna–Marcinkonys–Merkinė and Molėtai– Muša Apaščia Nemunelis
Ignalina. However, Central Lithuania is more than just lakes Tetirvina
and forests. The towns are scenic and there is a good choice Jonišlėlis Pasvalys Gedžiūnai Pandėlys ROKIŠKIS Aleksandrevėlė
of old-fashioned farmsteads to visit. Kriaunos
Pakroujis Panemunėlis
Pušalotas Pyvesa Lake Daugavpils
Rozalimas Levuo Kupiškis Kamajai Sartai Zarasai
Paliūniškis Dusetos
Smilgiai Svėdasai Degučiai
Šiauliai VISAGINAS
PANEVĖŽYS
Dapšioniai Vyžuonos Dūkštas
Upytė Niūronys AUKŠTAITIJA Lake
Troskūnai NATIONAL Dysnai
ANYKŠČIAI Utena PARK
Krekenava
Kuktiškės
Šventoji Lake
Ramygala Nevežis Ignalina Didžiasalis
Surviliškis Alanta Labanoras Kretunas Mielagėnai
Dotnuvėlė
Kaltanėnai
Dotnuva Molėtai
Ilgiżiai Ukmergė MOLĖTAI Adutiškis
LAKELANDS
Flower beds in the pedestrianized centre of Panevėžys Šušvė KĖDAINIAI Svencionys
Jurbarkas Inturkė
Josvainiai Šešuoliai
Labūnava Vepriai Sariai
Arnionys
Didieji Jonava Širvintos Visalaukė
Babtai Bėnai
Sights at a Glance Vilkija Neris Liukonys EUROPE Magūnai
Nemunas PARK
Towns and Resorts Neris Nemenčinė
3 Kernavė Kaišiadorys KERNAVĖ Neris
4 Varėna Ezėrėlis KAUNAS Sudervė Vilnia Lavoriškės
5 Druskininkai Garliava Electrėnai TRAKAI Vilnius
8 Alytus Mauručiai ISLAND Rukainiai
9 Kalvarija Slabadai Jūrė Nemunas CASTLE
0 Marijampolė Pilviškiai Uzuguostis Trakai Juodšiliai Minsk
q Birštonas Iiesia Prienai BIRŠTONAS
w Kaunas pp262–5 Kaliningrad Verknė Rūdiškes
e Kėdainiai Virbalis MARIJAMPOLĖ Punia
r Panevėžys Skraičionys Tiltai Šalčininkėlia
t Biržai Varnupiai Valkininkai Šalčininkai
y Rokiškis Vištytis ALYTUS
u Anykščiai KALVARIJA Simnas Lake Salčia
i Molėtai Lakelands Daugu Lida
o Visaginas Liubavas Lake VARĖNA Eišiškės
Dusios Merkinė
National Parks DZŪKIJA NATIONAL Zervynos
1 Trakai Island Castle pp256–7 PARK Rudnia
7 Dzūkija National Park Kučiūnai Liškiava Marcinkonys
p Aukštaitija National Park pp270–71 GRŪTAS
DRUSKININKAI PARK
Sights of Interest Gerdašiai
2 Europe Park
6 Grūtas Park
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30

254-255_ExploC_LiT.indd 254 15/02/17 10:16 am

CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  255


Getting Around
The A1 motorway between Vilnius and Kaunas and
onwards to the coast, and the A2 motorway from Vilnius to
Panevėžys are the region’s major arteries. Good bases for
Nemunėlio
Rīga Radviliškis exploring are Kaunas, Druskininkai, Anykščiai and Palūšė,
each of which is reachable by bus. Buses traverse Aukštaitija
and Dzūkija national parks, but the best way to enjoy the
BIRŽAI surroundings is to reach the pretty villages of Zervynos and
Kiemėnai Kvetkai
Čedasai Salos II on foot. Trains go to Kaunas and Ignalina from the
capital, but road transport should be taken to all other
Nemunelis
Muša
Tetirvina areas. There are airports at Vilnius and Kaunas.
Apaščia
Pasvalys Gedžiūnai Pandėlys ROKIŠKIS Aleksandrevėlė
Jonišlėlis
Kriaunos
Pakroujis Panemunėlis Key
Pušalotas Pyvesa Lake Daugavpils
Rozalimas Kupiškis Kamajai Sartai Zarasai Motorway
Main road
Paliūniškis Dusetos
Levuo
Smilgiai Svėdasai Degučiai Secondary road
Šiauliai VISAGINAS
PANEVĖŽYS Minor road
Dapšioniai Vyžuonos Dūkštas Scenic route
Upytė Niūronys AUKŠTAITIJA Lake
Troskūnai NATIONAL Dysnai Railway
ANYKŠČIAI Utena PARK International border
Krekenava
Kuktiškės
Šventoji Lake
Ramygala Nevežis Ignalina Didžiasalis
Surviliškis Alanta Labanoras Kretunas Mielagėnai
Dotnuvėlė
Kaltanėnai
Dotnuva Molėtai
Ilgiżiai Ukmergė MOLĖTAI Adutiškis
LAKELANDS
KĖDAINIAI Svencionys
Šušvė
Jurbarkas Inturkė
Josvainiai Šešuoliai 0 km 20
Labūnava Vepriai Sariai
Arnionys 0 miles 20
Didieji Jonava Širvintos Visalaukė
Babtai Bėnai Liukonys
Neris
Vilkija EUROPE Magūnai
Nemunas PARK
KERNAVĖ Nemenčinė
Neris
Kaišiadorys
KAUNAS Sudervė Neris
Ezėrėlis Vilnia Lavoriškės
Garliava TRAKAI
Mauručiai Electrėnai ISLAND Vilnius
Jūrė Nemunas CASTLE Rukainiai
Slabadai Uzuguostis
Pilviškiai Trakai Juodšiliai Minsk
Iiesia Prienai
Kaliningrad BIRŠTONAS Rūdiškes
Verknė
Punia
Virbalis MARIJAMPOLĖ
Skraičionys Tiltai Šalčininkėlia
Varnupiai Valkininkai Šalčininkai
Vištytis ALYTUS
KALVARIJA Lake Salčia
Simnas Daugu
Liubavas Lake Eišiškės Lida
Dusios Merkinė VARĖNA
Zervynos
DZŪKIJA NATIONAL
PARK Rudnia
Kučiūnai Liškiava
Marcinkonys
GRŪTAS
DRUSKININKAI PARK
Gerdašiai
Fishing at Lake Srovinaitis, Aukštaitija National Park
For keys to symbols see back flap
254-255_ExploC_LiT.indd 255 15/02/17 10:16 am

256  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

1 Trakai Island Castle

A formidable stronghold for any invader to overcome, the
Island Castle in Trakai was built as a seat of power during
the reign of Vytautas the Great and completed just before
the Grand Duchy’s crushing victory over the Teutonic Knights
at the Battle of Grünwald (see p216). As Vilnius grew in
importance, Trakai lost its significance and was destroyed
by the Cossacks during the 1655 Russian invasion. In the
late 19th century, the elegiac island ruins captured the
imagina tions of poets and painters during the national
revival. Oddly, it was the Soviet authorities who, in the Dry moat, separating the main castle from
1950s, sanctioned the reconstruction of this monument the outer courtyard
to Lithuania’s glorious past. It was completed in 1987.










. Lakeside Walk
One way to appreciate Trakai’s
idyllic lake-filled landscape
and the scale of the castle’s
construc tion, is to take the
pretty walk that follows
the shore of the island.
















KEY
1 A wooden footbridge links the
shore to the Island Castle.
2 The circular defence towers
have 4-m (13-ft) thick bases.
3 The Ducal Palace’s keep, which
is 30 m (100 ft) high, served as the
resi dence of the Grand Duke.
4 Yachts from the nearby Žalgiris
Yacht Club are moored next to the
Island Castle between May and
October. They can be hired by the
hour; charges vary.

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


256-257_SStrki.indd 256 15/02/17 10:16 am

CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  257

Lake Galvė
Serving as a moat VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
around the castle, the
lake has 21 tiny islands. Practical Information
Rowing and paddle Road Map D5. n Vytauto
boats can be hired gatvė 69. Tel (528) 51 934.
along the quayside for Žalgiris Yacht Club: Žemaitės
a spectacular view of gatvė 3. Tel (528) 52 824.
the castle. History Museum: Tel (528) 53 946.
Open Mar, Apr & Oct: 10am–6pm
Tue–Sun; May–Sep: 10am–7pm
daily; Nov–Feb: 10am–5pm Tue–
Sun. & ∑ rakai-visit.lt
Transport
@ from Vilnius. £ from Vilnius.





























. History Museum
The museum showcases a wide array
of weaponry as well as items found
during excavations, including
16th-century tankards, tiles and coins.



The Karaim of Trakai
The Karaim, a community of Turkic settlers practising
a particular kind of Judaism, lend a distinctly exotic
flavour to Trakai. Their ancestors were taken prisoner
by Vytautas the Great during his military venture to
the Crimea in 1397, and subsequently served as royal
guards. The Karaim have maintained their customs
and traditions. Their characteristic wooden houses,
each typically with gable ends and three windows
facing the street, the Karaim synagogue or Kenesa
and the Karaim Museum, are all on Karaimų Street. Graves in the Karaim Cemetery, partially
The Karaim cemetery is by Lake Totoriskiai. hidden by long grass





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258  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION


2 Europe Park steps lead to the summits
Europos parkas of the hills, where there are
breathtakingly beautiful views
Road Map D5. Tel (370) 237 7077.
@ from Vilnius. Open 10am–sunset of the surrounding terrain.
daily (last adm in summer: 7pm). &
8 - = ∑ europosparkas.lt Environs
The scenic road from Vilnius to
The 55­ha (136­acre) park Kernavė passes several villages.
contains contemporary Sudervė, 20 km (12 miles) south
sculptures. The aim of its founder, of Kernavė, has an unusual
Gintaras Karosas (b.1968), was white circular church designed
to give an artistic response to by Lithuania’s legendary early
the French National Geographic 19th­century Neo­Classicist,
Institute’s statement in 1989 Laurynas Stuoka­Gucevičius.
that a point about 17 km
(11 miles) north is Europe’s Wooden steps crossing fort-hills, Kernavė’s
precise geographical centre. archaeological reserve 4 Varėna
Around 100 works of art are Road Map D6. * 11,000.
set in a landscape of forests, hills that the site was inhabited as £ from Vilnius. @ from Vilnius.
and lakes. The American artist far back as 9000 BC. In the n J. Basanavičiaus 9, (310) 31 330.
Dennis Oppenheim (b.1938) 13th century, Kernavė was the _ Mushroom Festival (Sep).
created two monu mental pieces first capital of the united ∑ gamtosritmu.lt
– Chair/Pool (1996) and Drinking Lithuanian tribes and a busy
Structure with Exposed Kidney Pool trading centre. The Northern Surrounded on all sides by
(1998). Double Negative Pyramid Crusaders ransacked the thick forest, Varėna is situated
(1999) by Sol Le Wit (1928– pros perous pagan town in on the eastern edge of
2007), is a reflection in concrete 1365. In 1390, another attack Dzūkija National Park (see
of ripples on a lake. Karosas’s was launched by a mighty p260). The town is regarded
own work, LNK Infotree (2000) is army consisting of knights, as the mushroom capital of
a maze of 3,000 old TV sets. soldiers and merce naries from Lithuania. Although a rich
Germany, France, Italy and variety of mushrooms grows
England. Henry IV (1367– all over the country, here they
3 Kernavė 1413), the future king of proliferate like a carpet on the
England, also participated in forest floor. One day a year,
Road Map D5. * 500. @ from
Vilnius. n Kerniaus 4, (382) 47 385. the assault, from which the usually the last Saturday in
_ Days of Live Archaeology (Jul). town never recovered. September, the sleepy town
∑ kernave.org Today, Kernavė is Lithuania’s springs to life to celebrate the
foremost archaeological res­ Mushroom Festival (see p213).
The small, sleepy village of erve. In 2004, it was declared a
Kernavė overlooks the idyllic UNESCO World Heritage Site. Environs
Neris Valley, where steep­sided The protected area comp rises The road from Varėna to
fort­hills hint at the passing of five large mounds, which Marcinkonys, 22 km (14 miles)
a long­lost civilization. contained medieval ramparts southwest, winds plea santly
Archaeological finds show and fortifi cations. Wooden through Dzūkija National Park.



















Farmstead with wooden barns, on the edge of the forest in Zervynos, near Varėna
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


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CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  259


6 Grūtas Park
Grūto parkas
Road Map D6. Parko 47, Grūtas
village, Druskininkai. Tel (370) 3135
5511. Open 9am–sunset daily. & 8
7 - ∑ grutoparkas.lt
Around 90 statues and busts
of figures once glorified by the
Soviet regime stand in alcoves
on a forest trail in Grūtas village.
Most of them once graced
squares and gardens, before
being torn down by cheering
Lithuanians in 1991. The park’s
owner, Viliumas Malinauskas,
was awarded the Ig Nobel
Russian Orthodox Church with striking domes, Druskininkai Peace Prize in 2001, the year
the park opened.
Immediately on the left inside futuristic-style buildings still Information in English
the park, a road leads to survive, including the now- is given on each of these
Zervynos, a village with unpaved closed Soviet-era physio therapy ideo logical relics. A mas sive
streets and the scenic Ūla river treatment centre with deco- metal statue of Lenin that
bubbling underneath the foliage rative waves of solid concrete once stood in front of the
and wooden bridges. hanging in mid-air. KGB build ing in Vilnius lost a
The serene town inspired thumb while being wrenched
painter and composer by a crane from its pedestal.
5 Druskininkai M K Čiurlionis (see p265), who Another statue shows Lenin
lived here from 1890 to 1911. with the Lithuanian
Road Map D6. * 17,000. @ from
Vilnius. n Gardino 3, (313) 608 00. The Čiurlionis Memorial Communist Party’s First
∑ druskininkai.lt Museum, located in his family’s Secretary, Vincas Mickevičius-
wooden house, dis plays period Kapsukas. Both statues were
Lithuania’s foremost spa resort, furniture, his notebooks and decapitated in 1991, but their
Druskininkai is a haven of peace copies of his artwork. Another heads have been joined back.
and tranquility. Main roads museum in the town, the There is an image of Stalin,
bypass the town, tucked inside Jacques Lipchitz Museum, is which once stood outside
a bend on the thickly forested dedicated to the Cubist sculptor Vilnius train station until it
Nemunas river, and noise who was born here in 1891. was dismantled in 1960.
restrictions allow peace to Rusų Karys (Russian Soldier)
prevail. After thriving on 200 E Čiurlionis Memorial Museum is a statue made by Nazi
years of popularity, Druskininkai M K Čiurlionio 35. Tel (370) 313 51131. prisoners of war from metal
suffered an eco nomic shock in Open 11am–5pm Tue–Sun. taken from the wrecks
the 1990s, when it found itself Closed last Tue of the month. & 8 of German planes shot down
deprived of Polish, Belarusian E Jacques Lipchitz Museum by the Soviets. There are also
and Russian tourists, who once Šv Jokubo 17. Tel (313) 56 077. statues of Red Army liberators,
stayed in its sanitaria. Open call ahead for opening hours. & poets and other heroes.
Wellness tourism has,
however, been revived since the
1990s. The sanitaria offer water
and mineral mud treatments,
massages, beauty programmes
and fitness trails through the
forest. Bike rides and long walks
are possible along the Sun Path,
which leads through the
picturesque Ratnyčia Valley.
The boulevard-lined town
centre preserves wooden villas
from the 19th and early 20th
centuries, mainly found on
Laisvės Square. The delight ful
Russian Orthodox Church also
stands in the same square.
On Vilniaus Street, some Busts of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin in Grūtas Park




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260  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION























View of the Nemunas river and surrounding area from the fort-hill at Merkinė, near Dzūkija National Park
7 Dzūkija National scenic hamlet of Liškiava, at the the city and the Dzūkija forests
Park southwestern edge of the park. to the south. In the centre, the
Dzūkijos nacionalinis parkas The 14th-century castle that Museum of Local Lore has a
stood here defended the Grand collection of 65,000 antiques.
Road Map D6. £ from Vilnius to Duchy against the mighty The bridge across the Nemunas
Zervynos, Marcinkonys. @ from Vilnius Teutonic Knights. Another has a bas-relief depict ing a
to Merkinė. n Vilniaus 3, Merkinė, striking landmark is the domed battle that occured here
(310) 44 641. Headquarters: Miškininkų 18th-century Holy Trinity between Lithuanians and
61, Šilagėlių 11, Marcinkonys, (310) 44 Church, with a rich interior Bolsheviks in 1919. It
466. 8 English-speaking guides
arranged in Merkinė, Marcinkonys. featuring seven late Baroque claimed the life of Antanas
∑ dzukijosparkas.lt altars. A series of frescoes Juozapavičius, the first
depicting images from the Lithuanian officer to die in the
This densely forested park history of Christianity were indepen dence struggle. His
covers 550 sq km (212 sq miles) covered in plaster in 1823 and tomb lies by the Guardian
of countryside. Besides an were only restored in 1997. Angels’ Church.
enormous area of ancient pine In Marcinkonys, a village Much of the city centre was
forest in the sandy Dainava 8 km (5 miles) south west of destroyed in 1941. Soon after, all
plain, the park also covers Zervynos, a track leads south- the city’s 60,000 Jews were
sweeping bends in the wards to Čepkeliai killed in Vidzgiris Forest, a site
broad Nemunas Valley. Reserve. This area marked in 1993 by a monument
More than 200 species protects the country’s of a broken Star of David.
of flora and fauna are most extensive marsh, Gravestones in the city
protected in the park, which stretches into cemetery remember the Jews.
including many rare Belarus, and the migra-
species of stork. tory birds that stop here.
The few villages that Paths and raised wooden
are located in the park walkways reach
offer a glimpse of White stork, Dzūkija observation platforms
Eastern European life National Park offering great views.
that has remained the
same for a century or more.
The ethno graphic reserve of 8 Alytus
Zervynos is on the park’s Road Map D6. * 62,000. £ from
eastern edge. Kaunas. @ from Vilnius, Kaunas.
The ancient settlement of n S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno 1, (315) 52
Merkinė lies at the confluence 010. ∑ alytus.lt
of the Nemunas and Merkys
rivers. A fort-hill, the site of a Lithuania’s sixth-largest city
14th-century castle, offers began as a hilltop fortress
extensive vistas of the park. where the tiny Alytupis river
Another fort-hill overlooking trickles into the Nemunas. The Mass of crosses in the churchyard of
the Nemunas river is in the hill still offers views of both Guardian Angels’ Church, Alytus
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


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CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  261


Environs then shot on the banks of q Birštonas
From Alytus, the Nemunas river Lake Orija. The synagogue has
sweeps towards Kaunas (see been partially restored as a Road Map D6. * 4,600. @ from
pp262–5) around several huge, national monument. Vilnius, Kaunas. n B Sruogos 4, (319)
65 740. _ Birštonas Festival (Jun),
forest-covered bends. One of The Church of the Blessed Birštonas Jazz (Mar, alternate years).
these bends can be viewed Virgin Mary, with its statues ∑ visitbirstonas.lt
from an evocative fort-hill at the of angels and kings on the
far end of the quiet village of pediments above the portico The secluded spa town of
Punia, located 15 km (9 miles) and gate, was built in 1840. Birštonas is quite different from
north of Alytus. the bustling wellness centre of
Druskininkai (see p259). Though
E Museum of Local Lore 0 Marijampolė open to paying guests as well
Savanorių 6. Tel (315) 53 370. Road Map C6. * 61,000. as patients, Birštonas’s clinical
Open 9am–6pm Tue–Fri, 9am–5pm £ from Kaunas. @ from sanitaria have remained
Sat. & ∑ alytausmuziejus.lt trapped in a bygone era.
Kaunas. n J Basanavičiaus 8,
(343) 31 020. ∑ marijampoletic.lt Nonetheless, the well-ordered
landscape planning and a
This town takes its name from pleasant pedestrian boulevard
an 18th-century monastery alongside the Nemunas river
built for the Marian Fathers, a makes it a delightful town to
religious order founded in 1673. explore. On the town’s eastern
The Church of St Michael edge stands Vytautas Castle
became a part of the complex Hill, the site of a hunting lodge
in 1824, but the monastery’s of Grand Duke Vytautas. A large
activities were restricted carved stone statue of Vytautas
after the 1831 uprising. on horseback stands near the
The church was revived fort-hill. Birštonas is
by Bishop Jurgis dotted with wooden
Matulaitis (1871–1927), houses, which date
whose remains are from the mid-19th
marked by a tomb stone century, when the reputa-
and sarco phagus. During tion of the town’s mineral
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Soviet occu pation in waters and muds began
in Kalvarija 1944, over 6,000 residents to grow. A tiny yellow
were deported to Siberia. building in the town
9 Kalvarija Anti-Soviet partisans centre contains a tap
mounted a struggle, a Vytautas’s statue, with free access to the
Road Map C6. * 12,000. £ from
Kaunas. story told at the Tauras Birštonas rich well of water
District Partisans and below. The town
Another Lithuanian town Deportation Museum. A attracts a lot of visitors during
deeply haunted by the cemetery on Varpio Street and a Birštonas Jazz, Lithuania’s
Holocaust, Kalvarija emerged chapel on Tylioji Street remember oldest jazz festival. Held once
in the 17th century as a trad ing the victims of the Soviet regime. every two years, the three-day
town on the Warsaw–St marathon fea tures a range of
Petersburg road. Jews made E Tauras District Partisans and styles. Birštono Seklytėlė (see
up a significant part of the Deportation Museum p328), a valley-top restaurant,
population, some of them Vytauto 29. Tel (370) 3435 0754. has a grand view of the pine-
wealthy merchants who Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sat. & covered Nemunas.
exported grain to Germany,
but the majority were poor
workers who manned several
factories making brushes and
medi cinal alcohol. Wooden
synagogues were built and,
in 1803, a stone synagogue
complex was constructed,
including a rabbi’s house and
beit midrash (a place of study
and prayer).
In 1941, the Nazis and the
Soviet army exterminated the
entire Jewish population in
town. Lithuanian and Jewish
Communists were tortured, The Nemunas river, seen from the promenade at Birštonas




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262  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

w Kaunas R Church of St George
Papilio 7/9. Tel (37) 224 659. 5 6pm
Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas stands at the confluence Mon–Fri, 10am Sat, 5pm Sun.
of the Nemunas and Neris, the country’s biggest rivers. A series Constructed for Bernardine friars
of disasters hindered the city’s development, including in the 15th century, this Gothic
invasions by the Russians (1655), Swedes (1701) and Napoleon’s church was destroyed twice
by fire before its interior was
Grand Army (1812). Rapid growth in the 19th century restored in the Baroque style. The
culminated in Kaunas becoming the temporary capital of newly church was further damaged by
independent Lithuania in 1919. Later, the city suffered under the Russians in the 17th century
Nazi and Soviet occupations. Today, Kaunas is a modern city and in 1812 by Napoleon’s
with a boulevard and a host of museums. The main historic soldiers, who used it as a ware-
house. It was finally returned to
sights are located in its well-preserved Old Town.
the Franciscans in 1993.
T Kaunas Castle
Pilies 17. Tel (37) 300 672. Open
10am–6pm Tue–Fri, 10am–5pm Sat.
The ruins of Kaunas Castle
are a reminder of the strategic
importance of its location,
between the two rivers, Neris and
Nemunas. Little is known about
what stood here before the first
stone structure was erected in
the 13th century. Crusaders
damaged the castle in 1362.
Soon after reconstruc tion, the
Teutonic Knights were dealt their
Bridge over the Nemunas river leading to the Old Town decisive blow at the Battle of
Grünwald (see p216) and the
P Old Town Hall fire station and theatre. Town castle consequently fell into ruins.
Rotušės aikštė. Hall Square, where it stands, was The structure was used as a
Known locally as the “White once a busy marketplace and prison in the 18th century, but
Swan” and resembling a church the focal point of the Old Town. was restored in the 1920s.
with its single-tiered tower, the
Old Town Hall has been a R Church of the Holy Trinity E Pharmacy Museum
marriage registry office since Rotušės aikštė 22. Tel (37) 323 734. Rotušės 28. Tel (37) 201 569.
the 1970s. It continues to be the 5 10am Sun. Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. &
photogenic back drop for Built for a Bernardine convent in A powder for epilepsy made
newlyweds. Built in the mid- the late 1620s, this church has from the heads of corpses, a
16th century, it housed remained in good condi tion. tincture of “Venus hair” to
merchants, magis trates and the Its blend of Renaissance and improve one’s allure and a
mayor, as well as a sub terranean Gothic styles and pastel colours 19th-century herbal remedy
prison. It has been used as an brighten up the north western
ammunition store, clubhouse, corner of Town Hall Square. A KLAIPĖDA, Airport VILNIUS,
redesign of the interior was Ninth Fort 10 km (6 miles) RUMŠIŠKĖS
completed just before the JURBARKO GATVĖ JONAVOS GATVĖ
outbreak of World War II. RAUDONDVARIS Ž A L I O J I G A T V Ė Church of the AUŠROS
A MACKEVIČIAUS GATVĖ
N eri s ŠAUKLIQ GATV Ė ŠV GERTRÙDOS GATVĖ SAVANORIQ PROSPEKTAS Devils Resurrection Ž E M A I Č I U G A T V Ė
Museum
A JAKŠTO GATVĖ JONAVOS G BEN E DIKTIN I Q GATVĖ M K Čiurlionis V P U T V I N S K I O G AT V Ė
Art Museum
Vytautas the Great
Kaunas War Museum
Castle
Philharmonic
Santakos Church of PAPILIO GATVĖ Pharmacy M VALANCIAUS KUMELIU GATVĖ M DAUKŠOS E OŽESESKIENĖ S K DONELAIČIO GATVĖ
Hall
Park Museum Laisvės
St George A MAPU St Gertrude’s Avenue
Church of the Cathedral Church L A I S V Ė S A L Ė J A
of Sts Peter
Holy Trinity Old and Paul GRUODŽIO GATVĖ City
Town Hall BIRŠTONO Garden D A U K A N T O G AT V Ė NEPRIKLAUSOMYBĖS
AIKŠTE
SAMALININKU GATVĖ
ZAMENHO FO
SANTAKOS GATVĖ
ROTUŠĖS AIKŠTĖ
Perkūnas J NAUGARDO V I L N I A U S GATVĖ K Ę S T U Č I O G AT V Ė A M I C K E V I Č I A U S G A T V Ė
House ALEKSOTO Vytautas Folk PUODŽIU GATVĖ I KANTO GATVĖ Mykolas Žilinskas
Art Gallery
Music
0 metres 500 Nemunas Church Museum K A R A L I A U S M I N DA U G O P R O S P E K TA S
Bus Station
Elegant Old Town Hall, locally called the Zapyškis Church 450 m (500 yards)
Railway Station
“White Swan” 0 yards 500 800 m (885 yards) Pažaislis
Monastery
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30
262-263_Kau.indd 262 15/02/17 10:20 am

CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  263


for male vitality called Erektosan paintings, the 17th­century VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
are among the exhibits at this Suffering Mother of God, repu­
unique museum. Chilling tedly has miraculous powers. Practical Information
medicinal apparatus and the Road Map D5. * 320,000.
occasional waxwork, such as E Perkūnas House n Laisvės alėja 36, 323 436.
a shaman curing a baby, add Aleksoto 6. Tel (37) 6414 4614. _ International Jazz Festival
to the atmo sphere. The Open 10am–4:30pm Tue–Fri; other (Apr). ∑ kaunastic.lt
museum also runs a times by appointment. 8 Transport
homoeopathic pharmacy. The ogee arches and pinnacles k 10 km (6 miles) N of town.
of this redbrick Gothic build ing, £ @
R Cathedral of Sts Peter resemble those of the Church
and Paul of St Anne (see p232), Vilnius. It
Vilniaus 1. Tel (37) 324 093. 5 7am, was named after Perkūnas, R Vytautas Church
8am, 9am, 6pm daily. the pagan god of Aleksoto 3. Tel (37) 203 854. 5 6pm
Several reconstructions thunder, when Tue–Thu, 10am & 6pm Sat–Sun.
have culminated in the renovation in the 19th Standing on the bank of the
Gothic and Renaissance century revealed that Nemunas river, this church was
exterior of this 15th­ it may once have been built on the orders of Vytautas
century cathedral. The the site of a pagan the Great after the Holy Roman
broadly late Baroque temple. Dating from Emperor decided in 1413, much
interior, however, has the early 1500s, it was to the ire of the Teutonic Knights,
remained largely originally a meeting that the land on the river’s right
unchanged since 1800. Painting, Cathedral of house for merchants bank belonged to the Grand
A tomb­stone on the Sts Peter and Paul in the Hanseatic Duchy of Lithuania. Already an
exterior of the south League. Bought by army storehouse, the church was
wall is that of Maironis (1862– the Jesuits, the house was con­ converted to serve a Russian
1932), a priest­poet whose verse verted into a chapel before Orthodox congrega tion. A full
romanti cized Lithuanian becoming, in the 19th century, reconstruction took place after
legends and land­marks. Inside, a theatre and then a school. Lithuania’s first independence in
the sculptures surrounding the Later, during the Soviet period, 1918, post World War I. In 1930,
high altar are overpowering. it was used as a warehouse. It is a medallion was placed in the
The oldest of the cathedral’s now back with the Jesuits. church wall to comme morate
the 500th anniversary of
Kaunas Vytautas’s death.
1 Old Town Hall 9 Folk Music Museum
2 Church of the Holy Trinity 0 Laisvės Avenue
3 Church of St George q Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery
4 Kaunas Castle w Church of the Resurrection
5 Pharmacy Museum e M K Čiurlionis Art Museum
6 Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul r Vytautas the Great War Museum
7 Perkūnas House t Devils Museum
8 Vytautas Church


KLAIPĖDA, Airport VILNIUS,
Ninth Fort 10 km (6 miles) RUMŠIŠKĖS Redbrick Gothic structure of
RAUDONDVARIS JONAVOS GATVĖ AUŠROS Vytautas Church
ŠAUKLIQ GATV Ė ŠV GERTRÙDOS GATVĖ SAVANORIQ PROSPEKTAS Church of the E Folk Music Museum
Ž A L I O J I G A T V Ė
JURBARKO GATVĖ
Resurrection
N eri s A MACKEVIČIAUS GATVĖ Devils Ž E M A I Č I U G A T V Ė Zamenhofo 12. Tel (37) 422 295.
Museum
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Fri, 10am–5pm
A JAKŠTO GATVĖ JONAVOS G BEN E DIKTIN I Q GATVĖ M K Čiurlionis V P U T V I N S K I O G AT V Ė Sat. & 8
Art Museum
Vytautas the Great
Kaunas War Museum
Castle This museum boasts a
Philharmonic
Santakos Church of PAPILIO GATVĖ Pharmacy M VALANCIAUS KUMELIU GATVĖ M DAUKŠOS E OŽESESKIENĖ S K DONELAIČIO GATVĖ collection of 7,000 wind, brass
Hall
Park Museum Laisvės and stringed instruments, includ­
St George A MAPU St Gertrude’s Avenue
Church of the Cathedral Church L A I S V Ė S A L Ė J A ing pipes and whistles. Only 500
of Sts Peter
Holy Trinity Old and Paul GRUODŽIO GATVĖ City of them are on display due to
Town Hall BIRŠTONO Garden D A U K A N T O G AT V Ė NEPRIKLAUSOMYBĖS the museum’s small size. The
SAMALININKU GATVĖ
AIKŠTE
ZAMENHO FO
ROTUŠĖS AIKŠTĖ
SANTAKOS GATVĖ
Perkūnas J NAUGARDO V I L N I A U S GATVĖ K Ę S T U Č I O G AT V Ė A M I C K E V I Č I A U S G A T V Ė staff can give demonstra tions of
House ALEKSOTO Folk PUODŽIU GATVĖ I KANTO GATVĖ Mykolas Žilinskas many of these. Stranger pieces,
Art Gallery
Music
Church
Nemunas Vytautas Museum K A R A L I A U S M I N DA U G O P R O S P E K TA S Bus Station such as the table bass, a pine
Zapyškis Church 450 m (500 yards) table with four strings and a
Railway Station Pažaislis pig’s bladder, are also displayed.
800 m (885 yards) Monastery
For keys to symbols see back flap
262-263_Kau.indd 263 15/02/17 10:20 am

264  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

Exploring Modern Kaunas However, the main focus of
the museum is the re-creation
Stretching eastwards from the Old Town is Kaunas’s of the story of the doomed
modernized New Town. The process of its expansion began in transatlantic flight of the
the 19th century, and today it is the hub of commercial and Lituanica in July 1933. The pilots,
cultural life in the city. The museums and other sites are found Steponas Darius and Stasys
Girėnas, died in the crash, but
around the heart of modern Kaunas in Laisvės (Freedom) the distance covered (6,411 km/
Avenue. This broad, leafy, pedestrianized boulevard is lined 3,984 miles) was the second-
with shops, pavement cafés, restaurants and bars, and is the longest flight ever recorded. The
place local people come to stroll and mingle. plane’s wreckage is on display.
E Devils Museum
R Church of the V Putvinskio 64. Tel (37) 221 587.
Resurrection Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 8
Žemaičių 31. Tel (37) 229 222. 5 6pm - =
Mon–Fri; 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm Sun. This museum’s fine collection of
With a 70-m (230-ft) steeple, this representations of devils, demons
church was built in 1918 to mark and witches from Lithuania and
Lithuanian independence. After around the world, was brought
World War II, the Soviets turned it together by avid collector
into a radio factory. With indepen- Antanas Žmuidzinavičius (1876–
dence regained, the factory was 1966). A sculpture of the horned
evicted. After reconstruc tion the fig ures of Hitler and Stalin fight-
church was consecrated on ing over Lithuania in a pit of
Christmas Day 2004. bones is grim, but most of the
Laisvės Avenue leading to the Church devils are shown as playful,
of St Michael E M K Čiurlionis Art musi cal and frequently drunk.
Museum
P Laisvės Avenue V Putvinskio 55. Tel (37) 229 475. E Ninth Fort
At the eastern end of this Open 11am–5pm Tue–Sun (to Žemaičių 73. Tel (37) 377 750.
boulevard are the blue-silver 7pm Thu). & 8 ∑ ciurlionis.lt Open 10am–6pm Thu–Mon.
onion domes of the Church of Housing virtually all of Čiurlionis’s 8 ∑ 9fortomuziejus.lt
St Michael. Originally Russian paintings, this museum also The ninth in a series of
Orthodox when it was built in covers the deve lop ment of art in forti fications constructed by
the early 1890s, it was later Lithuania. With 335,000 exhibits, Tsarist Russia to protect its
converted to serve the Lithuanian it holds Lithuania’s biggest art western borders was built in the
army. A monu ment by the park collection, but there is only room early 20th century, only
outside the Music Theatre at to display a fraction of the pieces. to become a prison in 1924.
Laisvės 4 marks the spot where Artifacts from other cultures During World War II, it was used
Romas Kalanta, a Lithuanian include some oddly juxtaposed for incarce ration and exterm-
student, set fire to himself on pieces from Ancient Egypt. ination by the Nazis. The fort
14 May 1972 in protest against also housed Soviet political
Soviet rule. His suicide sparked E Vytautas the Great prisoners. Part of a farm after the
student protests, which were War Museum war, it opened as a “museum to
ruthlessly suppressed. Donelaičio 64. Tel (37) 320 939. the victims of Fascism” in 1958.
Open 11am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 8 The renovation in 2015 has
E Mykolas Žilinskas Lithuania’s national war museum resulted in expanded displays
Art Gallery exhibits weapons that the on the Nazi and Soviet occupa-
Nepriklausomybės 12. Tel (37) 222 853. country has used to defend itself. tions and the history of the fort.
Open 11am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 8
An exile who had fled from
Kaunas to West Berlin in advance
of the Soviets in 1940, Mykolas
Žilinskas (1904–92) later built a
valuable art collec tion, which he
donated to Kaunas in the 1970s.
Besides canvases and porcelain
from the 16th to the 20th
centuries, inclu ding The Crucifixion
by Rubens and some early Soviet
avant-garde art, there are also
pre-war paintings and sculp tures
by Baltic artists. Artillery on show at the Vytautas the Great War Museum
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


264-265.indd 264 15/02/17 10:16 am

CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  265


+ Raudondvaris
5 km (3 miles) W of Kaunas. @ from
Kaunas. ∑ raudondvariodvaras.lt
Built by the crusaders in the
14th century, Raudondvaris
(Red Manor) became a part of
Lithuania after the Battle of
Grünwald (1410). The legend
says that it was presented as a
gift in 1549, by Sigismund
August to Barbora Radvilaitė, a
year before their marriage. After
her death in 1551, the castle fell
into ruin and was rebuilt as a
manor house in the 17th century Merchants’ houses lining the square of the Old Town, Kėdainiai
by the Tyszkiewicz family. Its
library and collection of reassembled. The rolling country- Its colourful Old Town has a
paintings were lost during side overlooking Lake Kaunas series of elaborately gabled
World War I. A chapel close by creates a perfect backdrop. merchants’ houses in the main
contains the Tyszkiewicz tombs square. Close by, the Renaissance-
that survived the 20th century. R Zapyškis Church style Town Hall dates from 1654
15 km (9 miles) W of town. and holds Kėdainiai’s admin-
One of Lithuania’s loveliest istrative offices. In another
buildings, the triangular red- square, two synago gues dating
brick Gothic Zapyškis Church from 1837 stand side by side.
is set in a field by the They were once used by the
Nemunas river. Built in the town’s thriving Jewish commu-
16th century, it has remained nity. Another synagogue, now
miraculously intact despite the Multicultural Centre, holds
inva sions and occupations. a museum on Kėdainiai’s
cultural history.
e Kėdainiai Environs
Paberžė, 30 km (19 miles)
Road Map D5. * 54,000. £ from
A red manor with mani cured lawns Kaunas, Vilnius. @ from Kaunas, Vilnius. north of Kėdainiai, with its
at Raudondvaris n Didžiosios rinkos 6, (347) 56 900. delightful wooden church,
_ Cucumber Festival (Jul), Broma was the residence of Father
R Pažaislis Monastery Jazz Festival (Aug), Ice Cream Festival Stanislovas (1918–2005), a
7 km (4 miles) E of town. Tel (37) 458 (Aug). ∑ kedainiutvic.lt revered Tolstoyan hermit and
868. Open 10am– 5pm Tue–Fri, Capuchin friar.
10am–4pm Sat. With a history as a trading town
One of Eastern Europe’s great on the route between Kaunas E Multicultural Centre
Baroque monuments, Pažaislis and Rīga, Kėdainiai was first men- Senoji rinka 12. Tel (347) 51 778.
Monastery and its central, cupola- tioned in written sources in 1372. Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. &
domed Church of the Visitation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary were M K Čiurlionis (1875–1911)
constructed by Italian architects
in the 17th century. There is finely A tortured soul and artistic genius, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis is
detailed stucco work inside the Lithuania’s most famous painter and composer. He started out as a
church and in the corri dors of the prodigious composer of atmospheric sym phonic and organ works, but
monastery, much of it framing at the age of 27 he began to study drawing. The next nine years were
intricate frescoes painted by the filled with feverish creativity.
Italian artist Michelangelo Palloni. Before his early death from
pneumonia, he had created
around 300 works of music,
E Rumšiškės Open-Air
Museum painting and poetry. Many of his
mystical paintings mirrored his
L Lekavičiaus 2, 15 km (9 miles) E of musical compositions and some
town. Tel (346) 47 392. Open May–Sep: were named as pieces of music,
10am–6pm daily; Oct–Apr: 10am– such as Spring Sonata (1907) and
4pm (park only). & 8 7 ∑ llbm.lt Funeral Symphony (1903). Despite
At Rumšiškės Open-Air Museum, their melancholy, Čiurlionis’s
traditional thatched farmsteads painted and musical works can be Painting by Čiurlionis, displayed at the
and other ele ments of village surprisingly uplifting. M K Čiurlionis Art Museum
life have been carefully
Trakai’s fairytale castle, an island stronghold


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268  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION


y Rokiškis
Road Map D4. * 35,000. £ from
Panevėžys. @ from Panevėžys, Vilnius.
n Nepriklausomybès 8, (458) 52 261
or (458) 51 044. _ Lake Sartai Horse
Race (first Sat in Feb). ∑ rokiskiotic.lt
Set amid glorious countryside,
Rokiškis is blessed with fort-hills,
forests and picnic sites. However,
it is best known for its cheese
company, Rokiškio Sūris.
Having started as a small local
dairy, it now sells cheeses all
Interior of the Neo-Baroque Cathedral of Christ the King, Panevėžys over the Baltic region.
Rokiškis Manor House, the
r Panevėžys Sėla Museum, housed in the town’s main sight, was built in
17th-century Biržai Castle. 1801 by the Tyzenhaus family.
Road Map D5. * 105,000.
£ from Klaipėda. @ from Vilnius. Visitors can enjoy the live folk The Polish architects who
n Laisvės aikšte 11, (45) 508 081. music per formed here, but redesigned it in 1905 created
∑ panevezysinfo.lt should book ahead. an English-style interior, but its
In 1701, Peter the Great of exterior has Baroque ele ments.
One of Lithuania’s largest cities, Russia and King Augustus II of It houses the Rokiškis Museum,
with a modern commercial Poland signed the pact against which offers tours of the lavish
centre, Panevėžys is a crucial Sweden in this castle on the Great Hall and a separate
transport hub in the region. eve of the Great Northern War building that exhibits fine
South of its centre lies the (see p37). wooden folk sculptures by
Cathedral of Christ the King, a In the grounds are the ruins of Lionginas Šepka (1907–85).
Neo-Baroque structure built in an older castle, whose defences
1904. A sweeping painting in the mid-1500s involved Environs
above the altar depicts a victo- damming two rivers to create Kriaunos, 15 km (9 miles)
rious medieval Lithuanian army. Lithuania’s oldest man-made southeast of Rokiškis, has a local
A few streets north, the Civic lake, Širvėna. A 525-m (572-yard) Historical Museum filled with an
Art Gallery often holds wooden bridge leads across the eclectic collection of flax tools,
eccentric exhibitions of local lake to Astravas Manor Park, with linen fabrics, tubs and troughs.
modern art. East of the centre its sprawling 19th-century manor Hidden upstairs, the “loft of
is Glasremis, a working gallery house, watermill and old dam. witches” is a coven of 400 witches,
creating glass items. mer maids, fairies and goblins.
E Sėla Museum The island in Lake Dviragis
Environs J Radvilos 3. Tel (450) 31 883. in the village of Salos, 20 km
In Pakruojis, 50 km (31 miles) Open May–Sep: 10am–5:30pm (12 miles) southwest of Rokiškis,
northwest of Panevėžys, the Tue–Sun; Oct–Apr: 10am–5:30pm was a sanctuary for its inhabi tants
country’s largest 18th-century Wed–Sat. & 8 in the early 15th century.
manor lies in a 6-ha (15-acre)
park, with a five-arch stone
bridge and 40 other structures.
E Civic Art Gallery
Respublikos 3. Tel (45) 584 802.
Open 11am–6pm Wed–Sun. &
E Glasremis
J Biliūno 12. Tel (45) 430 403.
Open 10am–5pm Mon–Fri. =

t Biržai
Road Map D4. * 28,000.
@ from Panevėžys. n J Janonio 2,
(450) 33 496. ∑ birzai.lt
The small town of Biržai is
best known for its traditional
breweries. The local brew can
be sampled in the cellar of the Wooden bridge across the castle moat into the older castle, Biržai
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


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CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  269


Forest-lined lakes with inlets,
such as Baltieji and Juodieji
Lakajai, and, further south,
Asveja, are protected as part
of the 55,000-ha (136,000-acre)
Labanoras Regional Park.
Molėtai is one of the old est
settlements in the country,
although it has preserved
very few historical monuments.
The Molėtai Astronomical
Observatory offers sweeping
views of area. Inside, the Ethno-
cosmology Centre displays
Restored Classical façade of Salos Manor House near Rokiškis an intriguing exhibition on
the links between cosmo logy
Now connected by a bridge to paddock or in a horse-drawn and the pagan rituals of the
the rest of the village, the island carriage, can be had for a ancient Lithuanians.
forms a calm backdrop to a small fee. There is also a mini-
Classical 19th-century manor and playground for children.
a Neo-Gothic wooden church.
E Anykščiai Northern
E Rokiškis Museum Railway Museum
Tyzenhauzų 5. Tel (458) 52 261. Vilties 2. Tel (370) 38 15 4597.
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 8 Open May–Oct: 10am–5pm daily,
Nov–Apr: by appointment. & 8 -
E Historical Museum ∑ siaurukas.eu
Kriaunų village. Tel (458) 41 718.
Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sat (call in E Horse Museum
advance). & 8 Niūronių village. Tel (381) 51 722.
Open May–Sep: 9am–6pm daily,
Oct–Apr 9am–5pm. & 8
u Anykščiai ∑ arkliomuziejus.lt
Road Map D5. * 29,000. £ from
Panevėžys. @ from Panevėžys, i Molėtai Lakelands
Kaunas. n Gegužės 1, (381) 59 177. Exterior of the Ignalina Nuclear Power
∑ antour.lt Lithuanian Narrow- Road Map D5. * 21,000. Plant, near Visaginas
Gauge Railway: ∑ siaurukas.eu £ from Vilnius, Daugavpils. @ from o Visaginas
Vilnius, Daugavpils. n Inturkės 4,
Nestled in a landscape of rolling (383) 53 091. Road Map E5. * 22,000. £ from
pastures, Anykščiai creates a Vilnius, Daugavpils. @ from Vilnius,
picturesque setting for the The lakes that extend east from Daugavpils. n Ateities 23, Ignalina,
160-km (100-mile) Lithuanian the town of Molėtai are some (386) 52 597. _ Visagino Country
Narrow-Gauge Railway. Only of the Baltic region’s cleanest, Music Festival (mid-Aug).
68 km (42 miles) of Europe’s making them perfect for ∑ visaginas.lt
longest functional narrow-gauge camping and swimming.
rail way is in regular use today. With only 15 per cent of
Its locomotives pull carriages its population ethnically
across open countryside, Lithuanian, Visaginas has a
along the Šventoji river to unique atmosphere in a country
the scenic shores of Lake that is 85 per cent Lithuanian. It
Rubikiai with its 16 islands. was created in 1974 to house
Tickets are sold at the tourist the nuclear scientists who built
information centre. The old and then worked at the nearby
station boasts the Anykščiai Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant,
Northern Railway Museum, until recently the Baltic region’s
providing further insights into only nuclear power station.
train travel. Hidden in forests down a
single road, Visaginas has no
Environs discernable centre. High-rise
In Niūronys, 6 km (4 miles) housing blocks cover the town
north of Anykščiai, the Horse from east to west. The power
Museum hosts exhibitions on station was closed in December
various horse-related products. Lake Želva’s Ethnocosmology Centre, 2009, but a new plant may open
Rides on real horses, around the Molėtai Lakelands at the same site in the future.




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270  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

p Aukštaitija National Park
Tauragnai
The oldest and most beloved of Lithuania’s national parks,
Aukštaitija National Park was established in 1974 to protect
local biodiversity. About 60 per cent of the country’s plant Area of the Ignalina
species can be found here, in addition to ancient pine map illustrated
forests, fort-hills, burial mounds and old thatched cottages
in villages such as Salos II. Palušė makes an ideal base for
exploring the 400-sq km (154-sq mile) park. The park’s central
point, Ladakalnis Hill, is its highest, from which five lakes are Key
visible. Rowing boats can be hired from Palušė, enabling Aukštaitija National Park
visitors to make a circular trip or drift at a leisurely pace
along the water trail.


Šeimatis
Lake
Mokas Stones Utenas
Lake
Tauragnas Lake
Taurapilis, one of Utenykštis
several ancient Tauragnai
fortifications found in
the park, is situated
above Lake Tauragnas,
affording extensive Sėla
views in all directions.
Lake
Baluošas
Stripeikiai
Pabaluoše
Ginuciai
Watermill J
Lake
Pakasas Valčių
J Pervežimas
Kireikiai Ladakalnis Hill
175 m (574 ft)
. Beekeeping Museum
Sculptures of characters from Lithuanian folklore stand Salos J
Lake
together on a grassy hillside with wooden hives, in the J Asalnai
village of Stripeikiai.

J
. Ladakalnis Hill
The best panoramic view
of the park can be
experienced from the hill
above Lake Linkmenas.
The area is noted for its
mes merizing greenery
and clear lakes.



. Salos II Cultural Reserve
The ethnographic village is
arranged like a live, open-air
0 km 2 museum, with several well-
0 miles 2 preserved timber houses.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp305–306 and pp328–30


270-271_Auk.indd 270 15/02/17 10:20 am

CENTR AL LITHU ANIA  271


Beekeeping VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Lithuanians have a long and Practical Information
enduring history of apiculture. Road Map D5.
Forest beekeeping, in which n Park Headquarters and Visitors’
bees lived in tree hollows and Centre, Palušė, (386) 53 135.
their keepers mounted elaborate 8 on foot or by bus, offered at
climbing apparatus to collect the the Park Headquarters. Rowing
honey, was widely practised in boats and canoes can be hired
the Middle Ages when beeswax during summer. - ∑ anp.lt
and honey were vital to the ∑ paluse.lt
economy. In the 15th century,
a law was passed to prosecute Transport
Unusually shaped beehives at the people who harmed the bees, £ from Ignalina.
@ from Ignalina.
Beekeeping Museum or the trees.




Lake
Utenykštis





Lake
Baluošas
Pabaluoše Trainiškis
In the village of Trainiškis
stands a mighty tree believed
to be more than 800 years old
J Trainškis Vaišniūnai and said to have once been a
site of pagan sacrifices.
Valčių
Pervežimas

Lake
Dringis
J Lake
J Asalnai
Gaveikėnai
Ignalina
J
Lake
Lūšiai Valčių Pervežimas Water Trail
Visitors can rent a boat for a circular
Palušé trip around the park from lake to
lake, going via Valčių Pervežimas,
the water trail that links Lake
Baluošas and Lake Dringis.
Key
Main road
Other road
Railway
Trail
Gaveikėnai Watermill Water trail
One of several original watermills in the park,
Gaveikėnai Watermill was built around 1800. Park boundary
Today, it houses a café. Peak
For keys to symbols see back flap


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LITHU ANIA AREA B Y AREA  273

WESTERN LITHUANIA


Isolated for centuries, the little towns and villages of Žemaitija,
the local name for the low-lying land of Western Lithuania, have
a mystical atmosphere. Rustic wooden farmsteads and
settlements are nestled between knolls and marshes.
Klaipėda and Šiauliai are charming cities with distinct
surroundings characterized by tiny, hidden lanes
with a surfeit of cafés and museums.

Žemaitija is the ancient heartland of Some of the surviving Germanic-style
Samogitia, a medieval pagan duchy that half-timbered houses, once used by
managed to repel the innumerable mer chants, characterize the streets of
incursions of its hostile, mostly Christian the Old Town today.
neighbours. With stubborn determination A short ferry ride from Klaipėda lies the
the Samogitians fought off the crusaders Curonian Spit, with its towering dunes
for more than 250 years, before finally and scenic villages like Nida. Inland,
being absorbed into the Grand Duchy of quaint little towns, such as Šilutė and
Lithuania in 1422. It was the last corner of Kretinga, are easily reachable and a
Europe to be converted to Christianity and delight to stroll around. The quiet village
age-old rituals dedicated to pagan deities of Rusnė and the surrounding Nemunas
continued in more isolated parts until the Delta region attract many rare birds,
20th century. which breed in their lush marshes.
Klaipėda, the country’s only seaport city, Žemaitija National Park, close to Lake
is an ideal base for embarking on day-trips Plateliai, conceals a former Soviet missile
into Western Lithuania. Although the port base. Cycle paths stretch all along the
area was secre tively closed off during the Lithuanian coast from Nida up to the
Soviet era, it has since reopened to cruise Latvian border and pass the coastal
ship and ferry passengers. Originally resorts of Palanga and Šventoji, both
known as Memel, Klaipėda was part of offering beaches, spas and all-night bars
Prussia and Germany for over 500 years. and clubs.























Pretty wooden houses along a street in Nida, a village in the Curonian Spit National Park
Boldly coloured weather vanes, Klaipėda



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274  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

Exploring Western Lithuania

The northwest corner of Lithuania offers the twin attractions of
Žemaitija National Park, with its Soviet-era missile base, and the
memorable Orvidas Garden. The UNESCO-protected Curonian
Spit, a long and narrow strip of land between the Baltic Sea and
the Curonian Lagoon, is worth visiting for its towering dunes,
charming fishing villages, cycle paths and beaches. Western Rīga
Lithuania also gives an insight into the country’s unique Žagarė
Catholic and pagan mysticism, which is keenly felt in small Naujoji Skaistgirys Kriukai Žeimelis
towns such as Tytuvėnai and Šiluva. Akmenė
Dameliai
MAŽEIKIAI Joniškis
Sights at a Glance Skuodas Tirkšliai Pašvitinys
Kaukolikai Viekšniai Venta
Kinkiai Linkuva
Towns and Resorts Seda Pamūšis
Venta
1 Šiauliai pp276–7 Liepāja Lenkimai Meškuičiai Kulpe Muša
3 Šeduva ŽEMAITIJA Tryškiai Zižma HILL OF Pakroujis
NATIONAL PARK
4 Tytuvėnai Kuršėnai CROSSES
5 Šiluva ORVIDAS Eigirdžiai Žeimiai Rozalimas
6 Raseiniai Šventoji Darbėnai GARDEN PLATELIAI TELŠIAI ŠIAULIAI Derveliai
7 Raudonė Uopyna Aukštelkė Lake
8 Panemunė Tūbausiai Salantai Rainiai Venta Bekyvos Radviliškis Panevėžys
9 Jurbarkas PLUNGĖ Žlibinai Bubiai
0 Telšiai PALANGA Kartena Žarėnai ŠEDUVA
q Mažeikiai KRETINGA Stalgėnai Užventis Laikšės Dubysa Sidariai Berže
w Plateliai Siaulėnai
r Plungė Giruliai Dane Minija Rietavas Varniai Kiaunoriai Šiniša
y Klaipėda pp284–5 Vežalčiai Aitra Lake Karklėnai
u Kretinga Gargždai Jūra Lūkstas TYTUVĖNAI
i Palanga KLAIPĖDA Kražiai Kelmė Grinkiškis
o Smiltynė Veivirżėnai ŠILUVA
a Šilutė SMILTYNE Mickai Kvėdarna Katauskiai Vosiliškis
Priekulė
Sights of Interest Kaipedos Kanal Švėkšna Šilalė Nemakščiai
2 Hill of Crosses Ašva Pajūris Upyna Ilgiżiai
e Orvidas Garden Curonian Saugos Tenenys RASEINIAI
Žemaičių
National Parks CURONIAN SPIT NATIONAL PARK Lagoon Minija Naumiestis Vainutas Pagramantis Arčia Skaudvilė Bebirza Ariogala
t Žemaitija National Park pp282–3 Ventė Pašaltuonys Juodaičiai
p Curonian Spit National Park ŠILUTĖ Erżvilkas Šimkaičiai
pp288–9 NEMUNAS Rusnė Juknaičiai Tauragė Stakiai Kikuva
DELTA Lauksargiai
Area of Natural Beauty Usėnai Eičiai RAUDONĖ
Zelenogradsk Mituva Veliuona
s Nemunas Delta Kaunas
Žukai JURBARKAS Nemunas
PANEMUNĖ Gelgaudiškis
Kaliningrad Lukšiai
Slavikai
Šakiai
Griškabudis
Nova
Kudirkos Marijampolė
0 km 20 Naumiestis
0 miles 20



Beach on the eastern shore of Lake Plateliai, Žemaitija National Park
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


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WESTERN LITHU ANIA  275

Getting Around
The A1 motorway between Kaunas and Klaipėda is the fastest east–
west route across the region. Buses serve the region well, and good
bases from which to explore it are Palanga, Kaunas, Šiauliai and
Klaipėda. Trains offer a less flexible means of transport, and even the
Kaunas–Klaipėda line makes a detour via Šiauliai. The regional airport,
at Palanga, provides international connections, most notably with the
transit hubs of Copenhagen and Rīga.
Rīga
Žagarė
Kriukai
Naujoji Skaistgirys Žeimelis
Akmenė
Dameliai
MAŽEIKIAI Joniškis
Skuodas Tirkšliai Pašvitinys
Kaukolikai Viekšniai Venta
Kinkiai Linkuva
Venta
Seda Pamūšis
Lenkimai Meškuičiai
Liepāja Muša
ŽEMAITIJA Tryškiai Zižma Kulpe Pakroujis
NATIONAL PARK HILL OF
Kuršėnai CROSSES
ORVIDAS Eigirdžiai Žeimiai Rozalimas
Šventoji GARDEN
Darbėnai PLATELIAI TELŠIAI ŠIAULIAI Derveliai
Salantai Uopyna Venta Aukštelkė Lake
Tūbausiai Rainiai Bekyvos Radviliškis Panevėžys
PLUNGĖ Žlibinai Bubiai
PALANGA Kartena Žarėnai ŠEDUVA
KRETINGA Stalgėnai Užventis Laikšės Dubysa Sidariai Berže Key
Giruliai Dane Minija Rietavas Varniai Kiaunoriai Šiniša Siaulėnai Motorway
Main road
Lake
Gargždai Vežalčiai Aitra Lūkstas Karklėnai Secondary road
KLAIPĖDA Jūra Kražiai Kelmė TYTUVĖNAI Minor road
Grinkiškis
Veivirżėnai ŠILUVA Railway
SMILTYNE Mickai Kvėdarna Katauskiai Vosiliškis International border
Priekulė Ašva Švėkšna Pajūris Šilalė Upyna Nemakščiai
CURONIAN SPIT NATIONAL PARK Curonian Saugos Naumiestis Vainutas Pagramantis Pašaltuonys Bebirza RASEINIAI Juodaičiai
Ilgiżiai
Tenenys
Kaipedos Kanal
Arčia Skaudvilė
Lagoon
Žemaičių
Ariogala
Minija
Ventė
Tauragė
Juknaičiai
NEMUNAS
Stakiai
DELTA Rusnė ŠILUTĖ Lauksargiai Erżvilkas Šimkaičiai Kikuva
Usėnai Eičiai
Zelenogradsk Mituva RAUDONĖ Veliuona
Kaunas
Žukai JURBARKAS Nemunas
PANEMUNĖ Gelgaudiškis
Kaliningrad Lukšiai
Slavikai
Šakiai
Griškabudis
Nova
Kudirkos Marijampolė
Naumiestis
Painting of the Madonna and Child, Tytuvėnai
For keys to symbols see back flap
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276  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

1 Šiauliai with a vast collection of
historical, architectural and
Lithuania’s fourth-biggest city, Šiauliai first appeared in historical archaeological artifacts, spread
sources in 1236, the date of the Battle of the Sun (see p214). over 11 locations. The history of
A major industrial centre since the 18th century, it saw its the daily life of the townspeople
population rise from 6,200 in 1866 to 23,600 at the outbreak of of Šiauliai is the focus of Aušra
Avenue Palace. A special section
World War I. The war des troyed more than 60 per cent of the is dedicated to the repression of
city. Today, Šiauliai is enjoying a wave of development. New the Soviet post-war period.
shopping centres are being built, pedestrianized streets laid The Bicycle Museum reveals
and monuments renovated. The city’s most attractive part, with the story of cycling in Lithuania,
traditional houses and museums, is the Old Town. with almost 100 bicycles on
display, including a child’s
tricycle from 1905. Replicas of
historic bikes are also exhibited.
One of Lithuania’s very few Art
Nouveau buildings from the
early 20th century, the Chaim
Frenkel Villa, depicts Jewish
daily life in centuries past.
The Photography Museum,
housed in a reconstructed Art
Deco-style building, covers
the devel opment of art and
photography in the city, and
holds contem porary exhibitions.

Old bicycle outside the Bicycle Museum, a part of the Aušra Museum R Cathedral of Sts Peter
and Paul
E Aušra Museum 140. Tel (41) 524 395. Open 10am–6pm Aušros Takas 3. Tel (41) 528 077.
Aušra Avenue Palace: Aušros 47. Tel (41) Wed–Fri, 11am–5pm Sat & Sun. & 5 7am, 7:30am, 5pm, 6pm Mon–
524 391. Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri. 8 times vary. ∑ ausrosmuziejus.lt Fri; 8am, 10am, 5pm, 6pm Sat; 8am,
Bicycle Museum: Vilniaus 139. Tel (41) The Aušra Museum, founded in 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm, 6pm Sun.
524 395. Open 10am–6pm Tue–Fri, 1923, is the oldest museum A church has stood on this spot
11am–5pm Sat & Sun. Chaim Frenkel in the city. It was named in since 1445 and the precise loca-
Villa: Vilniaus 74. Tel (41) 524 389. Open honour of the first Lithuanian tion of the earlier wooden place
10am–6pm Tue–Fri, 11am–5pm Sat & newspaper. The museum is a of worship is marked by a metal
Sun. Photography Museum: Vilniaus treasure trove of art and culture cross. The old church was

Šiauliai
S DAUKANTO GATVĖ J BASANAVICIAUS 1 Aušra Avenue Palace
2 Bicycle Museum
3 Chaim Frenkel Villa
VAISIŲ
AUŠROS ALĖJA
S DAUKANTO GATVĖ KLEVŲ ŽEMAITES GATVĖ AUŠROS ALĖJA SR L UKAUSKO ALYVŲ 4 Photography Museum
Aušra
Avenue
M VALANČIAUS GATVĖ Palace
5 Cathedral of Sts Peter
SUKILĖLIŲ GATVĖ
and Paul
DVARO GATVĖ
VARPO GATVĖ
TOPOLIŲ GLUOSNIŲ
6 Sundial Square
TILŽES TALŠOS
MIGLOVAROS GATVĖ
Cathedral of
VYTAUTO
Sts Peter and Paul
VILNIAUS GATVĖ Photography
Sundial
Museum
Square Lake
VASARIO 16-OSIOS TRAKŲ GATVĖ S ŠALKAUSKO Talšos
VYTAUTO GATVĖ
Bus P VIŠINSKIO
Station TILŽES Museum GINKŪN Ų
Bicycle
DRAUGYSTĖS PROSPEK T AS EŽERO GATV Ė VILNIAUS GATVĖ Museum
Chaim
Frenkel Villa
Cat
DUBIJOS
STRA ZDELIO
Railway EŽERO GATVĖ
0 metres 500 Station PRŪDELIO
0 yards 500
For keys to symbols see back flap
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WESTERN LITHU ANIA  277

2 Hill of Crosses
VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Kryžių kalnas
Practical Information Jurgaičių village. Road: Map C4.
Road Map C4. * 115,000. @ from Šiauliai. Tel (41) 370 860.
n Vilniaus gatvė 213, (41) 523 ∑ kryziukalnas.lt
110. _ Saulės Žiedas Folk
Festival (Jul), Šiauliai City Days One of Lithuania’s most awe-
(Sep). ∑ tic.siauliai.lt inspiring sights, this saddle-
Transport shaped knoll in a field filled with
£ Višinkio gatvė 44, S of thousands of cros ses, crucifixes
Draugystės prospektas. and rosaries is an insight into
@ Tilžės gatvė 109. the significance of Catholicism
to Lithuania.
Crosses started appearing
across the world, from Austria on the hill after the ruthless
Prominent tower of the Cathedral of to Zambia, this museum is a suppression of the 1831
Sts Peter and Paul haven for catlovers. Established uprising against Tsarist Russian
in May 1990, the museum has rule. By the end of the 19th
burned down and in 1625, the exhibits of cats in every con- century, 150 large crosses stood
existing one was built in stone ceivable pose cramming the here, 200 by 1914, and many
to give it more permanence. display area. They have been more by the time the Soviets
Seen from afar, the cathedral’s crafted from porcelain, came to occupy
gleaming white 70-m (230-ft) amber, marble, crys- Lithuania in 1940.
tower makes the building look tal, glass and other Seen by the
more modern than it actually is. mate rials. There atheist regime
The cathedral is built in are cats in as an unneces-
Renaissance style with some stained-glass sary religious
features typical of medieval windows, cats in sym bol, the Hill
architecture. Its thick walls are artistic photo- of Crosses was
accompanied by details that graphs, cats on Colourful wooden cats, hacked down in
appear to have been defensive postage stamps, in Cat Museum 1961, but the crosses
but in fact were not. On the books and on cards. reappeared soon after.
southern side of the cathedral is Interesting odes to cats have It was bulldozed in 1973 and
Lithuania’s oldest sundial. Sts been collected in over 4,000 again in 1975, but the crosses
Peter and Paul Church was ele- poems written in various kept appearing. Finally, the hill
vated to cathedral status in 1997. languages. There are lamps was left in peace. By the time
with cats as ornamen tation as Pope John Paul II visited it, in
Sundial Square well as furniture and a set of 1993, it had crosses and religious
Ežero gatvė. banisters with delightful sculptures from all over the
A sundial was erected in the feline designs. country and around the world.
square in 1986 to mark the
750th anniversary of the Battle
of the Sun. The slender sundial,
surmounted by a sculpture of a
golden archer, towers over
Lake Talšos.
Sundial Square is laid out like
an amphitheatre and brings
together three significant
symbols of the city – the archer
Šaulys, after whom, according
to legend, the city was named;
the sun, images of which can be
found all over Šiauliai; and time,
represented on the square by the
numbers of the clock, 12, 3, and
6, which when brought together
form the date of the battle.
E Cat Museum
Žuvininkų 18. Tel 6836 9844.
Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. &
With almost 10,000 exhibits,
not just from Lithuania but Collection of crosses in all shapes and sizes at the Hill of Crosses
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


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3 Šeduva Holy Stairs was modelled on
the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) in
Road Map C5. * 3,000. £ from
Šiauliai, Panevėžys. @ from Šiauliai, Rome. Each of the steps, which
Panevėžys. pilgrims mount ed on their
knees, contains a sacred relic
The little town of Šeduva brought here from Jerusalem
is a composite of wooden in the 1730s.
houses preserved as a historic
monu ment. One of its main
sights is the twin-towered 5 Šiluva
Church of the Holy Cross. Built Road Map C5. * 800. @ from
in 1649, the church elegantly Šiauliai. _ Šilinės Pilgrimage (Sep).
blends Renaissance and
Baroque elements. Šiluva is one of Lithuania’s great
Šeduva’s most delightful spot pilgrimage places. Legend has
is the mid-19th-century estate it that 400 years ago, the town
of Prussian Baron Otto von Crucifix above the altar, Friary of the was the site of a miraculous
Ropp, located 2 km (1 mile) east Blessed Virgin Mary, Tytuvėnai apparition of a weeping Virgin
of town. Aside from the original Mary holding the infant Jesus
redbrick build ings, which have 4 Tytuvėnai in her arms. In the late 16th
given the estate the local name Road Map C5. * 3,000. £ from century, as Šiluva became
Raudondvaris (Red Manor), Šiauliai. @ from Šiauliai. ∑ trp.lt Calvinist, its last priest buried a
there is a school and a hotel, bundle of Catholic documents
and the lakeside grounds are a Once the site of a 13th-century and a miracle-working painting
pleasure to stroll through. hilltop fortress, Tytuvėnai of the Virgin Mary in an iron
became the secluded setting for box in the grounds of the
Environs a magnificent monastery and ruined church.
The grounds of Burbiškis Manor, the church of the Friary of the In 1610, the Virgin Mary
12 km (7 miles) east of Šeduva, Blessed Virgin Mary in the appeared, standing on a rock
are decorated with sculptures of 1630s. The buildings were before children tending their
lions, fauns and historical figures created for the Franciscans herds. The box was later
created in 1912 by sculptor and set amid rolling hills and discovered by the rock and, as
Kazimieras Ulianskas. A dazzling tranquil lakes. The courtyard of fame about the apparition grew,
display of tulips adorns the the monastery is decorated with a woo den chapel was built
manor grounds in spring, when faded frescoes, while a beautiful close by. It was replaced in 1785
the Tulip Festival is celebrated. painting on the wooden sacristy by the Church of the Nativity
door depicts the Resurrection. of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
+ Burbiškis Manor The highlight of the church’s The painting of Mary, now
Burbiškis village. Tel (422) 42 001 colourful interior is an elabo rate embellished by a golden frame,
or (673) 69 836. Open 11am–8pm altar encircled by four Baroque was hung on the altar. The
Wed–Sun. & _ Burbiškis Tulip figures of Franciscan saints. In painting is concealed, except
Festival (mid-May). the grounds, the Chapel of the on feast days, by a 1920





















Bright evening view of the lakeside buildings at Raudondvaris, near Šeduva
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


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WESTERN LITHU ANIA  279




















Façade of the Neo-Gothic castle at the Raudonė estate, seen from across its lush grounds
painting of the Annunciation. hilltop Church of the Ascension, Environs
On his visit in 1993, Pope John built in 1729, survived the war, Veliuona, a village 10 km
Paul II prayed at the church. as did the Independence Statue (6 miles) east of Raudonė, is
The obelisk-style structure of in the town’s main square. known for its secluded fort-hill
the Church of the Apparition Created by Vincas Grybas where Gediminas (see p216) was
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (1890–1941) in 1934, the statue reputedly slain.
which was completed in 1924, shows a man in a flowing cloak
can be seen from afar. and bast shoes, together with
a bear he has tamed. The bear 8 Panemunė
is a symbol of Samogitia, the Road Map C5. Tel (447) 41 729.
independent duchy that Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. @ from
fought the Teutonic Order in Kaunas. ∑ panemunespilis.lt
the 13th century, but it was
later ceded to the Grand Duchy Panemunė boasts a castle with
of Lithuania. two tall circular towers and
red-tiled rooftops. Most of the
building was erected by a family
7 Raudonė of Hungarian nobles during
the reign of Stefan Bathory, the
Road Map C5. Tel (447) 45 445. Transylvanian prince who
Open Jun–Aug: 10am–4pm daily. &
ruled the Polish-Lithuanian
Originally a 16th-century family Commonwealth between 1575
estate owned by Prussian and 1586. Two centuries later,
timber merchants, the castle at the castle was bought by the
Raudonė was acquired in 1810 Polish-Lithuanian Gelgaudas
by Platon Zubov, once a family. The Tsarist authorities
favourite consort of Catherine seized it after Antanas Gelgaudas
the Great. Catherine had played led the 1831 uprising (see p218).
an important role in obtaining Today, the castle belongs to the
Raseiniai’s attractive main square, featuring much of the Polish-Lithuanian Vilnius Academy of Art.
the Independence Statue Commonwealth during the
partitions (see p215). After her
6 Raseiniai death, the count lived in
seclusion at Rundāle Palace
Road Map C5. * 37,000.
@ from Kaunas. (see pp172–3) in Courland.
The count’s daughter gave
An important Samogitian town, the family castle in Raudonė
Raseiniai played a crucial role in its current Neo-Gothic appear-
the region’s history. In 1941, the ance and its tall and slender
town witnessed a fierce four- fairytale tower. Destroyed by
day battle between hundreds the retreating Germans at the
of German and Soviet tanks. By end of World War II, the tower
the end of World War II, 90 per was rebuilt in 1968 and today
cent of Raseiniai had been offers a panoramic view of the One of the castle’s tall circular towers
destroyed. Miraculously, the Nemunas Valley. in Panemunė




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280  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

9 Jurbarkas The terrible event took place on
the nights of 24 and 25 June
Road Map C5. * 29,000. @ from
Kaunas. n Vydūno 19, (447) 51 485. 1941, shortly after Nazi Germany
∑ jurbarkotic.lt invaded the then Soviet Union.
Today, a granite cross marks the
The ancient Karšuva Forest, spot and the Rainiai Chapel of
about 3 km (2 miles) west of the Suffering, consecrated in 1991,
tiny industrial town of Jurbarkas, stands nearby. Just 30 km
was the site of one of the (19 miles) southeast of Telšiai,
earliest fortresses built by the Šatrija Hill offers splendid views
crusaders on the Nemunas river, of the Žemaitija land scape.
in 1259. The pagan Lithuanians Lake Lūkstas, 40 km (25 miles)
erected their own castle above south of Telšiai, has beaches
the Imsrė river, a tributary of the that liven up in July during the
Nemunas, and both sides fought Blues Night festival.
bitter battles for the next 150
years. Although nothing rem-
ains of the castles, the forest can Embellished interior of the Cathedral of q Mažeikiai
be explored. One of Lithuania’s St Anthony of Padua, Telšiai Road Map C4. * 57,000. £ from
largest and most secluded Šiauliai. @ from Šiauliai. n Ventos
forests, the 427-sq-km 0 Telšiai 8a, (443) 67 177. ∑ mazeikiutvic.lt
(165-sq- mile) stretch has Road Map C4. * 47,000. £ from
enchanting trails leading Vilnius, Šiauliai, Klaipėda. @ from A minor village in the mid-19th
through its towering pines. Vilnius, Šiauliai, Klaipėda. n Turgaus century, Mažeikiai rapidly grew
21, (444) 53 010. ∑ telsiaitic.lt into Lithuania’s eighth-largest
Environs city by the end of the 20th
In Gelgaudiškis, 10 km (6 miles) According to legend, Telšiai was century. The Vilnius–Liepāja
east of Jurbarkas, lie the ruins of founded by a knight named railway, which reached Mažeikiai
the 19th-century manor of the Džiugas on a hill above Lake in 1869, was responsible for its
Gelgaudas family, the Polish- Mastis. In 1765, the Franciscans initial growth; it is also home to
Lithuanian ancestors of actor built a church here, which the Baltics’ only oil refinery.
Sir John Gielgud. The manor became the Cathedral of St The Mažeikiai Museum has
boasted a lavish interior with Anthony of Padua, after Telšiai displays on the town’s develop-
paint ings, silver, crystal, bronze was made a diocese in 1926. ment and regional folklore, and
and porcelain works until it was The second-floor gallery has its paintings by Alfonsas Dargis
ransacked during World War II. own altar and paintings framed (1909–96), a Lithuanian artist
Today, the manor hosts village by Corinthian columns. These who joined the New York
fes tivals and music evenings in include an altar paint ing of Modernist movement.
its grounds. St Anthony and Infant Jesus,
Mount Rambynas, 60 km embellished with faux gold and Environs
(37 miles) west of Jurbarkas, held aloft by angels garbed in The 4,000-ha (9,884-acre)
is a 46-m (50-yard) escarp ment, pink and green. Kamanos State Reserve, 20 km
and a mystical location for (12 miles) east of Mažeikiai,
Lithuanians. A pagan altar Environs protects one of the region’s most
that once stood here was One of the worst massacres by valu able clay fields. Richly diverse
used for rituals up until the the Soviets took place in the in flora and fauna, the reserve
19th cen tury. Today, the hill forests near Rainiai, 4 km has an area of marshland as well
offers views over Kaliningrad. (2 miles) southeast of Telšiai. as lakes and tiny islands.
In Viekšniai, a small town
15 km (9 miles) southeast of
Mažeikiai, the Pharmacy
Museum is considered miracu-
lous, having survived two fires
that devastated the town.
E Mažeikiai Museum
V Kudirkos 6. Tel (443) 26 037. Open
8am–5pm Mon–Thu (until 3:45 Fri). &
Y Kamanos State Reserve
Tel (425) 59 285. & 8
E Pharmacy Museum
Tilto 3. Tel (443) 37 420.
Rainiai Chapel of Suffering, commemorating the massacre in 1941 Open 9am–4pm Tue–Sat. &
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


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WESTERN LITHU ANIA  281


Samogitian figures and a park
featuring the Thunder Oak
tree, now a natural monument.
The manor also houses the
Žemaičiai Art Museum, which
displays works by Western
Lithuanian artists.
Environs
About 2,236 of Plungė’s jews
died in the Holocaust. Much of
the killing took place in Kaušėnai,
a village 4 km (2 miles) west of
town. Here, a series of moving
wooden sculptures have been
Boats on the eastern shore of Lake Plateliai, bordering Plateliai village carved by Jacob Bunka (b.1922),
chairman of Plungė’s 13-member
w Plateliai creatures, carvings and rock Jewish community.
paintings of pagan and religi ous Gandinga Hill, 5 km (3 miles)
Road Map B4. * 1,000. @ from
Plungė. n Didžioji 8, (448) 49 231. imagery, painted missile shells southwest of Plungė, offers a
_ Shrove Tuesday Carnival (Feb/Mar). and a disused Soviet tank. panoramic view of the Žemaitija
Hidden gardens appear out of forests. A fort ress, Gandinga,
The administrative centre of nowhere and there is no set once stood here, built as a
Žemaitija National Park (see path, adding to the maze-like defence against the Teutonic
pp282–3), Plateliai is a sleepy feel. The dark cav erns conceal Knights. Pagan burial grounds
lakeside village. It has the further oddities, and a pond- dating from the 9th century
wooden Church of Sts Peter side hut hidden among trees is have been discovered nearby.
and Paul (1744) and a park that reputedly the home of pixies Another remarkable outdoor
was the grounds of a manor. and gnomes. museum is the Museum of
The Witch’s Ash, Lithuania’s big- Unique Rocks in Mosėdis, 40 km
gest ash tree, which stands in (25 miles) northwest of Plungė.
the park, has many legends r Plungė Exhibits range from a display of
attached to it. One involves Road Map C5. * 39,000. fossils and rock fragments inside
a baker who threw a loaf of £ from Šiauliai, Klaipėda. @ from a restored watermill to a park
bread at a witch sit ting on Šiauliai, Klaipėda. n Dariaus ir Gireno full of mossy boulders and
its branches. The loaf is still 27, (448) 55 108. ∑ visitplunge.lt crude stone sculptures. The
visible – the knobbly bit museum was founded in 1979
where the branches divide. The town of Plungė is the by Dr Vaclovas Intas.
Across the road on Didžioji main gateway to Žemaitija
Street, elaborate Shrovetide National Park (see pp282–3). E Žemaičiai Art Museum
masks are displayed in the One of Lithuania’s most opulent Parko 1. Tel (448) 52 492.
manor barn. These are worn manors, the well-preserved Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. & 8
during the Shrove Tuesday Plungė Manor was built by E Museum of Unique Rocks
Carnival. The most popu lar Mykolas Oginskis, a descendant Salantų 2. Tel (440) 76 291. Open
sight is Castle Island, which of a family of Lithuanian nobles. 8am–6pm (10am–6pm Sat & Sun).
takes its name from a fortress It includes 16 sculptures of Closed Nov–Apr: Sat & Sun. & 8
that stood on the near est
island of Pilies.
e Orvidas Garden
Orvidų sodyba-muziejus
Road Map B4. Tel (613) 28 624.
Open June: 10am–7pm Tue–Sun,
July–May: 10am–7pm Wed–Sun. &
The creative work of local mystic
and genius Vilius Orvidas
(1952–92), this garden is one of
Eastern Europe’s most bizarre
sights. Eclectic and enormous, it
is a complex network of crosses
and tombstones, boulders and
treetrunks, sculptures of odd Plungė Manor, seen across a lake, with a sculpture in the foreground




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282  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

t Žemaitija National Park Key
Minor road
Shrouded in folklore and legend, the Žemaitija region was the Hiking trail
last stretch of Europe to accept Christianity. Pagan gods were Park boundary
worshipped here till the 19th century, and carvings and
crosses in the villages still blend Catholic and pagan ima gery.
Established in 1991, the Žemaitija National Park spreads 0 km 2
across 220 sq km (85 sq miles), with its headquarters and
information centre in the town of Plateliai. There are several 0 miles 2
hiking trails that meander around Lake Plateliai through Barstyčiai
isolated stretches of forest. Campsites and rural farmsteads
cater to tourists.



Mikytai


Pūčkoriai

Visvainiai



Virkšai
. Mikytai Hill and Devil’s Footprint Stone
The forest-covered “sacred hill” of Mikytai is believed by
local people to be haunted. On the hill’s northern
slope, the Devil’s Footprint Stone was once used for
pagan sacrifices.
Lake
Plateliai Plateliai

Beržoras
Lake
Beržoras
Church of St
Stanislav in Lake Ilgis
Beržoras
This church (1746) Grigaičiai
is made of spruce
logs. Its Chapels of Godeliai
the Cross were Salantai
destroyed by the Babrungènai
Soviets but restored
in 2001.

KEY
Mill-Gallery
1 Godeliai has a rare collection A stone watermill,
of obscure paintings and converted into a Plunge
crucifixes in its Museum of folk art gallery,
Folk Art. stands in the
2 Plateliai serves as the riverside village of
park’s main service and infor- Babrungėnai, once
mation centre. famed for its
beaver hunters.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


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WESTERN LITHU ANIA  283

Key . Žemaičių Kalvarija VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Minor road Churches and white
Chapels of the Cross give
Hiking trail this town a spiritual Practical Information
Park boundary atmosphere. The Church Road Map C4. n Didžioji 8,
Festival, held in July each Plateliai, (448) 49 231;
year, is its main attraction. to book, 86778 6576. 
∑ zemaitijosnp.lt
Mill-Gallery: Open 9am–6pm
daily. Plokštinė Former Soviet
Missile Base: 8 book at the
Barstyčiai park’s information centre.
Transport
@ from Plungė to
Žemaičių Kalvarija.






Mound of Šarnelė
Pūčkoriai Žemaičių
Kalvarija Excavations on this
hill, in Šarnelė village,
have revealed that it
Gegrenai was a small fortified
town in the third
century BC.
Virkšai

Skurvydai
Platakiai
Lake
Plateliai



Plokštine

. Plokštinė Former Soviet Missile Base
Between 1962 and 1978, this secret Soviet rocket site,
with its recently patched up silos, aimed missiles at cities
in Western Europe.


Folk Legends of Lake Plateliai
Lake Plateliai had tremendous significance to the
pagans of the historical regions of Samogitia and
Žemaitija. Drownings occasionally occur here and
according to one of the many legends associated
with the lake, a great white horse lives in the water
and takes the life of at least one swimmer every year.
Plunge The water level has risen in recent times and
archaeologists diving in the lake have excavated
standing stones with pagan symbols under the
surface. To this day, Plateliai, on the lake’s western
Yacht moored along the shore of shore, celebrates many colourful traditional
Lake Plateliai Samogitian festivals.

For keys to symbols see back flap


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284  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

y Klaipėda E Lithuania Minor History
Museum
First mentioned in 1252, when the Christian Livonian Order Didžioji vandens 2. Tel (46) 410 524.
built a fortress named Memelburg at the mouth of the Danė Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat (to 4pm
river, Klaipėda for many centuries was an important Prussian Fri). &
port city called Memel. Today, as Lithuania’s only sea port, Lithuania Minor is what the
local people call East Prussia,
Klaipėda is thriving, despite serious damage during World War which today is the territory of
II and its status as a military-industrial centre during the Kaliningrad as well as Klaipėda.
Soviet years. For those who enjoy walking, central Klaipėda The Lithuania Minor History
and its Old Town, with narrow, criss-crossing streets, is a Museum, inside one of the Old
delightful place to explore. Half-timbered buildings and Town’s loveliest build ings, tells
the region’s history. Coins,
cobbled lanes conceal gift shops, galleries and café-bars.
clothes, maps, post cards, old
photographs and models give
a glimpse of the lives and the
differences bet ween the local
German- and Lithuanian-
speaking commu nities before
World War II. Situated opposite
the museum is the town’s old
post office.
E Blacksmiths’ Museum
Šaltkalvių 2a. Tel (46) 410 526.
Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat (to 4pm
Fri). & 8
Black metal crosses, fences and
cemetery gates in a garden
beside an old working smithy
are among this museum’s
exhibits. Some of the crosses
Visitors and local people relaxing in cafés in Klaipėda were rescued from destruction
when the Sculpture Park
Ännchen of Tharau the original Ännchen of Tharau replaced the city’s main ceme-
Teatro aikštė. statue, made by local artists, tery in the 1970s. Lithuania’s
The heart of Klaipėda’s Old Town was placed in the middle of cross-crafting tradition, in metal
is Theatre Square. A statue the fountain. and in wood, was recognized by
called Ännchen of Tharau, which UNESCO in 2001.
stands in front of the theatre, is E Castle Museum
the focal point of the fountain Pilies 4. Tel (46) 410 527. Open 10am
dedicated to Simon Dach –5pm Tue–Sat (to 4pm Fri). &
(1605–59), one of the city’s Not much remains of the
distinguished personalities. Born 17th-century castle that houses
in Klaipėda, then known as the Castle Museum. The castle
Memel, Dach became a was built on the foundations
leading Prussian poet from of the 1252 fortress when
the late 1630s until his Memel was part of the Duchy
death. He is well known of Prussia. In 2002, an
throughout Germany for exhibition opened inside
his songs, hymns and one of the ramparts,
dialect poems, such as illustrating the develop-
Ännchen of Tharau, written ment of the fortress and the
in 1637. city. The exhibits on display
The original statue was include authentic furniture
created in 1912, but it and re-created models. The Old wooden clock inside the exceptional
mysteriously vanished on highlight is a Renaissance- Clock Museum
the eve of World War II. era gold ring encrusted
Adolf Hitler made a with diamonds. Today, this E Clock Museum
speech from the theatre castle has become one Liepų 12. Tel (46) 410 414; 410 413
balcony behind its of the most recog- (excursions). Open noon–6pm Tue–
original location, on nized symbols Sat, noon–5pm Sun. & 8
23 March 1939. In Statue of Ännchen of Tharau in associated with A fascinating insight into the
1989, a replica of Theatre Square modern Klaipėda. development of man’s attempts
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


284-285_KlaTCM.indd 284 15/02/17 10:16 am

WESTERN LITHU ANIA  285


to measure time, from sundials near Königsberg and settled VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
to atomic clocks, is the focus of in South Africa in 1949. Heavily
this unique museum. The Clock influenced by the Norwegian Practical Information
Museum was opened in 1984 Symbolist painter Edvard Road Map B5. * 180,000.
inside a villa built in 1820 by Munch (1863–1944), Domšaitis n Turgaus 7, (46) 412 186.
John Simpson, an English won recogni tion for his art in _ Klaipėda Jazz Festival (mid-
merchant. Reconstructions of inter-war Germany and later in Jul), Sea Festival (late Jul).
ancient calendars, sun, fire, South Africa. The gallery exhibits ∑ klaipedainfo.lt
water and sand clocks, and 20th-century Lithuanian art as Transport
timepieces showing the well as a permanent exhibi tion £ Priestočio gatvė 1. @
changes in the faces and of works by Domšaitis. Priestočio gatvė. g New Port,
mechanisms of clocks from Dedicated to the author of Nemuno 8, (46) 365 018, (46) 311
Renaissance times form the bulk the first Lithuanian book, 117; Old Port, Danės 1, 86203
of the exhibits. Martynas Mažvydas (1510–63), 4561, (46) 311 117. Jun–Aug:
The pleasant courtyard, the Sculpture Park is situated 6:30pm–2:15am daily, Sep–May:
featuring a large sundial, is a behind the gallery. Until the at least hourly 6:30pm–2am.
popular venue for music, dance 1970s it was the site reserved
and poetry evenings. The house for the city’s cemetery. It covers and intriguing sculptures by
next door was built by another almost 10 ha (25 acres) and is various artists. New works are
English merchant and indus- scattered mainly with abstract added to the park each year.
trialist, Mae Lean. In 1905, it
was reconstructed in the Art
Nouveau style. The Neo-Gothic
post office close by is another
striking building in the
neighbourhood.
E Picture Gallery and
Sculpture Park
Liepų 33. Tel (46) 410 412.
Open noon–6pm Tue–Sat, noon–
5pm Sun. &
The city’s main state-run art
gallery is named after Pranas
Domšaitis (1880–1965), a
Lithuanian artist who was born Unique creations laid out in the Sculpture Park

Klaipėda Railway Station
1 km (0.6 mile)
1 Ännchen of Tharau Picture Bus Station
Gallery and
2 Castle Museum Sculpture Park L AI V U SKG 1 km (0.6 mile)
3 Lithuania Minor History J KAROSO G AT V Ė
Museum H M A N L I E P U G AT V Ė GATVĖ
4 Blacksmiths’ Museum Clock
D A N ĖS
5 Clock Museum Museum
N A UJ OJI S O DO G ATV Ė
6 Picture Gallery and
Sculpture Park Danė
VY TA UTO GATV Ė T O G AT V Ė
D A N ĖS G AT V Ė ZVE J U G ATV Ė
T I LT
OLD
TOWN
N A U J O J I U O S T O G AT V Ė
Danė THEATRE TURGAUS GATVĖ U G AT V Ė
SQUARE
Lithuania Minor
History Museum
TEATRO GATVĖ
Ännchen of
Tharau
Blacksmiths’
GALINIO
Museum
PILIES GATVĖ
SUKILELIU GATVĖ
Castle Museum PY L I MO GATVĖ
Car Ferry
0 metres 200 1 km (0.6 mile)
0 yards 200
For keys to symbols see back flap
284-285_KlaTCM.indd 285 15/02/17 10:16 am

286  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

u Kretinga created by the French landscape
architect Edouard André
Road Map B5. * 41,000.
£ from Klaipėda. @ from Klaipėda. (1840–1911). Since 1963, the
palace has housed the Amber
This pretty town is based Museum, which exhibits 4,500
around a 17th-century pieces, including some unusual
Franciscan monastery, a manor ones such as amber with trapped
house, now the Kretinga prehistoric insects and plants.
Museum, and gardens that At the far end of the palace’s
stretch alongside a stream grounds is Birutės Hill, said to be
and open up into a park. The where the future wife of Grand
Franciscans played a major Duke Kęstutis tended a pagan
role in developing the town, sacred fire before he wed her.
particularly in independent Close by is one of Lithuania’s
inter-war Lithuania when they best-known sculptures, Eglė,
opened a college specializing Queen of the Grassy Snakes (1960),
in agriculture and beekeeping. inspired by a fairytale.
They also arranged a Lourdes- Locals and visitors enjoying the sandy
style grotto in the park with beach in Palanga Environs
an image of the Virgin Mary. The quiet fishing village of
One of the highlights of the i Palanga Šventoji, 15 km (9 miles) north
Kretinga Museum is the Winter Road Map B5. * 16,000. k 5 km of Palanga, is blessed with
Garden, originally built when (3 miles) N of town. £ from Klaipėda. windswept dunes. It was a
Count Josef Tyszkiewicz @ from Klaipėda. n Vytauto 94, thriving port in the 16th and
reconstructed the manor in (460) 48 811. _ Summer Feast (Jun). 17th centuries. An attraction
1875. Destroyed during World ∑ palangatic.lt here is Fisherman’s Daughters
War II, these gardens were (1982), a statue of three girls
re-created in 1987 and today The coastal town of Palanga, dancing on the dunes.
house around 600 plants. first mentioned in a 13th-
Other museum exhibits century land partition pact E Amber Museum
include furniture and paintings between the Teutonic Order Vytauto 17. Tel (460) 51 319.
rescued from the Tyszkiewicz and the Livonians, became a Open Jun–Aug: 10am–8pm Tue–Sat,
mansions in Kretinga and permanent part of Lithuania 11am–7pm Sun; Sep–May: 11am–5pm
Palanga, iron crosses that are in 1435. Today, it is a popular Tue–Sat, 11am–4pm Sun. & 8
a blend of Catholic and pagan beach resort, with its dune-and- ∑ pgm.lt
imagery and Curonian clothing pine-bordered sands stretching
and jewellery. The Church 18 km (11 miles). It also has
of the Annunciation has a boulevards crammed with o Smiltynė
towering steeple and an restaurants, clubs and bars, Road Map B5. * 100.
ornate interior with giving it a carnival-like atmos- g from Klaipėda.
17th-century paintings. phere. The pier, first built in
1882, is a popular spot to Officially part of Klaipėda city
E Kretinga Museum watch the sunset. (see pp284–5), Smiltynė is the
Vilniaus 20. Tel (445) 77 323. A Neo-Renaissance palace northernmost settlement on
Open 10am–6pm Wed–Sun. & 8 was built in the 1890s by the the Curonian Spit, directly facing
- = ∑ kretingosmuziejus.lt Tyszkiewicz family, with grounds Klaipėda’s busy port. In earlier
times, the spit was the main land
route used by dispatch riders,
postmen and the military,
between the Prussian cities of
Königsberg and Memel, modern
Kaliningrad and Klaipėda
respectively. However, the final
ferry trip was disrupted by
storms or trapped ice. In 1525,
an inn was established in
Sandkrug (Sand Inn), as Smiltynė
became known.
A string of elegant villas line
the water’s edge. The town’s star
attraction, however, is the
Sea Museum. It is located in
Kopgalis Fortress, a sea bastion
Tropical conservatory in Kretinga Museum’s Winter Garden, Kretinga built by Prussia in 1865.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31


286-287_Cat.indd 286 15/02/17 10:20 am

WESTERN LITHU ANIA  287

















Lietuvininkų Street in the town of Šilutė
The main highlights are the for German troops after 1944, and ice melt, 20 per cent of the
regular dolphin and sea lion and was an official unit of the delta gets flooded, attracting
shows. Permits must be Gulag from 1948 to 1955. 200 species of birds to breed,
pur chased for photography. Today, it comprises the Macikai while hund reds of other species
Concentration Camp Museum migrate through the area every
E Sea Museum and a grave site. year. A bird ringing station at
Smiltynės 3. Tel (46) 492 250. Ventė is one of the oldest in
Open Oct–Apr: 10:30am–5pm E Šilutė Museum Europe, dating from 1929.
Tue–Sun; May–Sep: 10:30am–6pm Lietuvininkų 36. Tel (441) 62 207. The floods annually threaten
Tue–Sun (Jun–Aug: to 6:30pm). & Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. & 8 to cut off Rusnė, located 11 km
8 - = ∑ muziejus.lt E Macikai Concentration (7 miles) southeast of Ventė.
Camp Museum A Lutheran church, built from
p Curonian Spit Macikai. Tel (441) 62 207. 1809 to 1827, is a sign of Rusnė’s
East Prussian background. It was
Open mid-May–Oct: 11am–3pm
National Park Tue–Sat. 8 changed into a sports hall in
the Soviet period, but reverted
See pp288–9. to receiv ing congregations
s Nemunas Delta in 1994. An ethnographic
a Šilutė farmstead gives a snapshot of
Road Map B5. * 1,700.
Road Map B5. * 21,500. @ from Šilutė. ∑ nemunodelta.lt past life in the delta region.
£ from Klaipėda. @ from Klaipėda. Almost 8 km (5 miles)
n Lietuvininkų 4, Parko 2, (441) 77 The low-lying delta of the northwest from Rusnė is the
785. ∑ siluteinfo.lt Nemunas, Lithuania’s largest village of Minija, situated where
river as it streams into the the Minija river meets the
Originally the site of an inn Curonian Lagoon, has great Nemunas Delta. The river serves
for travellers riding between potential for outdoor activities. as the main thoroughfare in
Klaipėda and Kaliningrad, Šilutė The wetlands, protected as a the village. Protected as
became a part of the German regional park, are a popular spot architectural monuments,
Empire in 1871. It was seized by for angling and bird-watching. 19th-century wooden houses
Lithuania in 1923, but annexed Every spring, when the snow stand on both riverbanks.
by Nazi Germany 15 years later.
German influence is still
visible in the low, red-tiled roofs
of the public buildings. On tree-
lined Lietuvininkų Street, the
tiny Šilutė Museum displays
18th-century furniture and
folk-themed exhibits. The
Evangelical Lutheran Church,
built in 1926, is decorated with
startlingly colourful murals of
biblical scenes.
Environs
Just 3 km (2 miles) northeast of
Šilutė, Macikai was used as a
German prisoner-of-war camp
from 1939, then a Soviet camp The Nemunas Delta countryside, near Šilutė




286-287_Cat.indd 287 15/02/17 10:20 am

288  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

p Curonian Spit National Park Klaipėda

A narrow 98-km (61-mile) strip of land on the Baltic Coast,
the Curonian Spit (Kuršių nerija) was formed 5,000 years ago. Juodkrantė
Its landscape consists largely of pine forests, dunes and sandy BALTIC Area of the
SEA
beaches. The park’s forests are rich in wildlife such as roe deer, map illustrated
elk, foxes and wild boars. The dunes that tower over the Nida
village of Nida fall like cliffs into the Curonian Lagoon and
villages have been buried beneath the shifting sands. The
Curonian Spit National Park was created in 1991 to preserve Key
the dunes, lagoons and surrounding area. The national park, Curonian Spit National Park
which covers most of the spit, has been a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 2000.

. Nida
The highly characteristic red-and-blue
fishermen’s cottages in Nida have
remained unchanged for centuries. Some
ancient weather beaten fishing boats lie in
the gardens outside the cottages.













Baltic Beach
The entire length of the spit on the
side of the Baltic Sea is one long Prevalka
sandy beach. Areas adjacent to the
villages are popular in summer, but
other parts are little visited. Parking Baltic Sea
throughout the spit is allowed only
at designated parking areas.



Preila











. Parnidis Dune
Looming 52 m (171 ft) above Nida Vecekrug Dune, the
Nida, Parnidis (Great) Dune offers highest wooded dune
stunning views and is one of the (67.2 m/220.5 ft), is
highest points on the spit. A bypassed by taking
sundial was erected here in 1995. the cycling track.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp 330–31


288-289.indd 288 15/02/17 10:16 am

WESTERN LITHU ANIA  289


. Hill of Witches VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Comically
demonic wooden Practical Information
statues, such as Road Map B5. n Taikos 4, Nida,
this ghoul ish (469) 52 345. Bike rentals can be
figure, lurk arranged at the centre. &
alongside a path ∑ visitneringa.com or
through the pine ∑ nerija.lt
Juodkrante forest behind
Juodkrantė. The Transport
statues were set @ Naglių 18e, Nida, (469) 52 859.
up by a group g Naglių 14, Nida, (469) 51 101.
of local sculptors Several operators offer cruises
in the 1980s. in vessels, including a replica
kurėnas. Local trips, as well as
excursions across the lagoon or
along the shore line to the Dead
Dunes, are avail able.



Dead Dunes
These once-shifting
dunes are now held in
place with vege tation
and offer a sanctuary to
birds, animals and plants.
Paths stretch from
Avikalnio Dune in the
north to Agilo Dune
in the south.

Forest Trails
It is possible to walk or cycle
the entire length of the spit.
The path, indicated by the
dotted red line on the map,
Prevalka takes visitors past isolated
stretches of sandy beach.




0 km 2
0 miles 2



Shifting Dunes
In the 17th century, when
the forests on the Curonian
Spit were cut down to fuel
industry and supply constant
military campaigns, the
mountainous dunes were released.
In the Baltic winds, the sand
started to shift up to 20 m (66 ft) Parnidis Dune, seen from the harbour
Vecekrug Dune, the Key a year in places, burying entire at Nida
highest wooded dune Main road villages. It was not until the
(67.2 m/220.5 ft), is 19th century, when a vast number of trees were planted to
bypassed by taking Trail reforest the area, that the moving dunes were stopped.
the cycling track. Ferry route
For keys to symbols see back flap


288-289.indd 289 15/02/17 10:16 am

BT_290-291.indd 290 25/02/2015 13:29

TRAVELLERS’


NEEDS





Where to Stay 292–307
Where to Eat and Drink 308–331

Shopping in Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania 332–343
Entertainment in Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania 344–355
Outdoor Activities
and Specialist Holidays 356–361











































BT_290-291.indd 291 25/02/2015 13:29

292  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS
WHERE TO STAY


The Baltic States offer every form of accom­ early autumn. In smaller towns and the
mo dation, from luxury hotels and city­centre countryside, it is very easy to find a place to
hostels to rural guesthouses and lakeside spa stay for the night. Booking is straightforward
complexes. Although there is an abundance as even the smallest guesthouses have
of good­quality mid­range and budget stay their own website and are advertised
options in the three capital cities of Tallinn, through several other sources as well. The
Rīga and Vilnius, it is still advisable to book in recommended options on pages 296–307
advance during late spring, summer and will help you get your hotel search started.

rarity, although fitness centres,
spas and saunas are common,
as is high-quality cuisine and
Wi-Fi access (although an extra
charge is sometimes levied).
Modern Hotels
Affordable, good-quality
accommodation is readily
available throughout Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania. There is a
wide choice of modern hotel
accom modation in the mid-
price range in all areas within
The thatched guesthouse at Toomalõuka Tourist Farm, Saaremaa Island, Estonia (see p298) the three Baltic States.
Most of the larger towns and
Booking hotel there are significant cities provide a variety of modern
Reservations can be made by discounts during the off-season hotels, although only a handful
telephone, email, through months. It is also worth keeping are located in the Old Town
hotel websites, and via online an eye out for special offers and areas of Tallinn, Rīga and Vilnius.
reservation sites such as discounts, or package deals. Most of the hotels can be found
booking.com. For more out-of- either downtown or in slightly
the-way locations, there are more peripheral locations. The
specialist tour operators as well Tipping quality of modern hotels can
as websites run by local tourist Generally, it is not customary vary considerably so it is always
authorities and associations of to tip taxi drivers, bar staff sensible to do some research
hotel business owners. Local and porters in the Baltic States. prior to booking, such as
tourist information offices can As a rule of thumb though, tip checking the website and some
also book rooms, and can be those who provide you with independent guest reviews.
helpful if upon arrival you find especially good service.
most hotels are booked up.
Luxury Hotels
Prices and Payment
Tallinn, Rīga and Vilnius have
It is advisable to confirm accept- a large range of luxury hotels,
able modes of payment prior to some of which attract heads of
arriving, especially for rural areas, state and other VIPs. Often these
although all major hotels accept hotels are in historic buildings
the principal credit cards for that have been converted to
payment. Visit ors should be provide state-of-the-art facilities
aware of what is included in the while retaining their original
advertised rate. Many hotels features. There are also several
include breakfast and the use superb hotels that are run by
of amen ities such as a fitness the big international hotel
centre, while other facilities, groups, such as the Radisson Blu
including saunas, can cost extra. Astorija Hotel in Vilnius (see p305)
Pricing structures vary and Europa Royale Rīga (see p300).
consid erably from country Even in the swankiest hotels
to country and from hotel to in the Baltic States, swimming Corner entrance of the Kolonna Hotel,
hotel, but across many types of pools remain something of a Rēzekne, Latvia (see p303)
Pleasant town-square garden, Tallinn



292-295_WTS.indd 292 15/02/17 10:16 am

WHERE T O ST A Y  293


Baltic States that many of these
guesthouses are booked out
all through the summer. It is
advisable to make a reservation
well in advance.

Hostels
The first accommodation choice
for young travellers on a tight
budget, hostels were once few
and far between in the Baltic
States. With the growth in
tourism, even at the budget
end, back packers and other
travellers looking for sociable
Pädaste Manor, housed in a 16th-century farmhouse on Muhu Island, Estonia (see p297) and afford able accommodation
are now well served throughout
Apartments and modelled on rustic-style timber the three countries.
Private Homes
buildings and have become an Most hostels are of a decent
Apartment rental is an excellent integral part of the Baltic coun- standard and have beds in
accommodation option that is tryside. They invariably offer a communal dormitories for
comparatively under-used in the range of activities for guests, reasonable rates, as well as a
Baltic States. Several agencies such as swimming, sports and small selection of private rooms,
in the capital cities offer this saunas, and the owners can offered for consi derably less
service – Erel Apartments & sometimes arrange guided than the average hotel rate.
Residences and Goodson tours of local sights. Meals are Hostels also offer a range of
& Red Apartments in Tallinn, usually optional, but a hearty, amenities, including at least
Lilija Plus Real Estate Agency home-made breakfast or dinner Internet access, kitchen facilities
in Rīga and Barbacan costs less than similar fare and a common room, and
Apartments and Eugenijus in a local restaurant. extending to licensed bars,
Apartments in Vilnius. Also The choice of rural guest- sightseeing tours and, in the
available in some other major houses is enormous throughout case of the Red Emperor in
cities, apartments can be opulent the Baltic States and their Tallinn (see p296), live music
or spartan, but in general most availability extends to the most and a skateboard ramp.
are of a high stan dard. Most remote areas of each country. Many hostels are privately run
agency-managed apartments Bookings can be made through and you'll find some of these
are in central locations. Rates are their websites or via the rural listed on pages 296–307. Others
usually very competitive and the tourism association – Estonian are affiliated with the worldwide
apartments often provide better Rural Tourism in Estonia, Baltic network of youth hostel
facilities than those offered at a Country Holidays in Latvia associations, Hostelling
hotel in the same price range. and Countryside Tourism International. Membership is
Numerous properties are also Association in Lithuania. required to stay at one of these
listed on vacation rental sites Rural tourism has become hostels, but joining is cheap and
such as Airbnb. such a popular sector in the can be done while booking.
Guesthouses
In major cities, guesthouses are
small, moderately priced hotels,
sometimes family-run, of eight
to twenty rooms. They can be
convenient places to stay, with
many right in the old centres,
and often in older buildings
with a little character.
In rural areas, guesthouses
can be the best form of lodging,
offering cosy, clean accommo-
dation at very reasonable rates.
Most rural guesthouses tend to
be built close to a family home,
so a personal touch is assured.
Aesthetically, they are loosely Understated suite in Rīga‘s stylish Neiburgs Hotel (see p301)




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294  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS


cost of extra services. Therefore,
it is advisable to check the exact
prices of meals, drinks, saunas,
guided tours, or any such addi-
tional services in advance, to
avoid any awkwardness at the
time of settling the bills.

Children
Children are amply catered for
in nearly all hotels and guest-
houses in all three countries. A
number of hotels have rooms
designed for families travelling
with children. If not, then most
hotels gladly provide extra beds
for children. Many rural guest-
houses offer special play areas
and activities for children and
most decent hotels can provide
cots for very young children,
while babysitting services are
Swimming pool at Vanagupe hotel at the beach resort of Palanga, Lithuania (see p307) becoming increasingly
common. Some larger hotels
Camp Sites Hidden Extras
offer special family rates that
Camping is an extremely Most decent hotels in cities include a number of family-
popular summer activity in throughout the three Baltic oriented excursions.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. States operate in a transparent
As a result, there are a number manner and will not add any Smoking
of camp sites scattered hidden extras to the bill.
throughout each of the Baltic However, it is worth checking In keeping with the ban on
countries. These are usually very the cost of drinks from the smoking in public places in
cheap and offer basic amenities minibar and calls made from the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,
such as communal showers and hotel room telephone, before all hotels prohibit smoking in
an on-site pub-style restaurant. using either of these services – their public areas. Smoking is
However, not all camps are the price is often exorbitant. In not allowed in lobbies and
equipped with washing smaller hotels, it is a good idea restaurants, although some
facilities and toilet blocks. to find out if breakfast is larger hotels provide special
National parks have official included in the room rate. smoking zones. These zones
camping spots, which are free Rural guesthouses tend to can be recognized by a green
of charge. Many commercial be peculiarly reticent about the smoking-allowed symbol.
camp sites also offer basic cabin
accommoda tion, sometimes
with kitchen facilities.
In general, there is a very
relaxed attitude towards
camping in the Baltic States
and people often camp
alongside beaches and lakes
and in forests at improvised
camp sites. Many guesthouses
allow campers to pitch a tent in
their grounds for a nominal fee.
For camping on private pro-
perty, however, it is imperative
to obtain permission from the
owner beforehand.
A full list of camp sites can
be found on national tourism
websites (see p365) and rural
tourism websites. In Estonia,
RMK is an efficient organization
that arranges camping. Well-appointed room at the Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel in Vilnius (see p305)




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WHERE T O ST A Y  295


DIRECTORY
Apartments and
Private Homes
Airbnb
∑ airbnb.com
Barbacan Apartments
Vilnius.
Tel +370 6151 2688.
∑ barbacan.lt

Erel Apartments &
Residences
Tartu mnt 14, Tallinn 10149,
Estonia.
Dignified decor at the SamaraH Hotel Metropole, Rīga (see p300) Tel +372 663 1640.
∑ erel.ee
Most hotels still offer guests a Jaunpils Castle in Western Latvia
choice between smoking and have antique four-poster beds Eugenijus Apartments
non-smoking rooms. and fireplaces (see p301); and Vilniaus 25–1,
Monte Pacis hotel in Kaunas, Vilnius.
Lithuania, is housed in an Tel +370 6994 2456.
Disabled Travellers ele gantly furnished 17th-century ∑ vilniusapartments.lt
Until recently, access and monastery (see p306). Goodson & Red Apartments
facilities for disabled travellers There are also numerous Jõe 5, Tallinn.
was limited to high-end rustic getaways, perfect for spa Tel +372 666 1650.
establishments and large chain treatments or convening with ∑ goodsonandred.com
hotels. However, most major nature. Akmenine Rezidencija Lilija Plus Real
new hotels in the three capital in Lithuania (see p306) is a Estate Agency
cities have incorporated romantic bolthole on a lake, Rīdzenes iela 25, Rīga.
facilities for disabled guests into while Taevaskoja Salamaa in Tel +371 6721 6040.
their design and the situation Estonia (see p299) is a simple ∑ lilarealty.lv
has greatly improved. In many rural retreat perfect for families.
upscale hotels, guest rooms are Throughout the listings some Guesthouses
appointed with facilities for venues are labelled DK Choice.
disabled people. It is important These are outstanding in Baltic Country Holidays
to remember, however, that some way. They might have (Lauku ceļotājs)
very few rural guesthouses have an atmospheric historic Kalnciema 40, Rīga.
facilities for disabled visitors. setting, magnificent views, Tel +371 6761 7600.
particularly good amenities or ∑ celotajs.lv
an idyllic location. Whatever Estonian Rural Tourism
Recommended Hotels the reasons, a DK Choice Vilmsi tänav 53 G,
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will provide an especially Tallinn.
have an excellent range of hotel memorable stay. Tel +372 600 9999.
accommodation, though the ∑ maaturism.ee
more luxurious options are Lithuanian Countryside
mostly to be found in the Tourism Association
historic Old Towns of the Donelaičio gatvė 2–201,
capitals. The listings on pages Kaunas.
296–307 cover a wide choice Tel +370 37 400 354.
of accommodation types, from ∑ atostogoskaime.lt
luxury and mid-range modern
hotels to apartments, guest- Hostels
houses, hostels and camp sites.
Across the Baltic States there Hostelling International
are wonderfully atmospheric ∑ hihostels.com
historic hotels to be found. The Camp Sites
Three Sisters Boutique Hotel
in Tallinn is a magnifi cent RMK
conversion of three medieval Toompuiestee 24,
houses (see p297); Rīga‘s Hotel 10149, Tallinn
Justus occupies a 14th-century Tel +372 676 7500.
cathedral dormi tory (see p300); The pine-clad interior of Akmeninė ∑ rmk.ee
rooms in the 13th-century Rezidencija, Trakai, Lithuania (see p306)




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296  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

Where to Stay in Estonia

CRU Hotel €€ Price Guide
Tallinn Historic Street Finder D3 Prices are based on one night’s stay in
Viru 8, 10640 high season for a standard double room,
Economy Hotel € Tel 611 7600 inclusive of service charges and taxes.
Modern Street Finder B1 ∑ cruhotel.eu € up to €80
Kopli tee 2c, 10412 A splendid hotel in a 15th- €€ €80 to €180
Tel 667 8300 century building with exposed €€€ over €180
∑ economyhotel.ee beams and period features. The
The cosy Economy Hotel offers restaurant is excellent. DK Choice
rooms with work desks and
stripped wooden floors. It is Delta Apartments €€ Merchant’s House Hotel €€
conveniently close to the Apartments Street Finder C2 Historic Street Finder C2
main train station. Pikk 36, 10133 Dunkri 4/6, 10123
Tel 5302 2565 Tel 697 7500
Go Hotel Shnelli € These smart apartments in the ∑ merchantshousehotel.com
Modern Street Finder B2 Old Town are spacious, clean and Set in a 16th-century building
Toompuiestee 37, 10133 have well-equipped kitchens. right at the heart of the Old
Tel 631 0100 Some apartments have saunas. Town, this boutique hotel offers
∑ gohotels.ee wonderfully characterful rooms
This stylish hotel offers spotless Hotel Bern €€ that make the most of the
rooms, some with Old Town Modern Street Finder D2 building’s rustic medieval
views. Generous breakfasts, a Aia 10, 10111 features. The vaulted basement
casino and spa facilities add to Tel 680 6630 houses a restaurant, where
its appeal. Effi cient, friendly staff ∑ tallinnhotels.ee guests can enjoy a generous
and free parking. Rooms are on the small side, but breakfast buffet.
service is great and the breakfast
Old Town Münkenhof € is plentiful at this pleasant hotel
Hostel Street Finder D2 in a utilitarian brick building. My City Hotel €€
Munga 4, 10123 Modern Street Finder C3
Tel 507 4766 Hotel Palace €€ Vana-Posti 11/13, 10146
∑ oldtownmunkenhof.ee Modern Street Finder C3 Tel 622 0900
Choose between immaculate Vabaduse Väljak 3, 10141 ∑ mycityhotel.ee
private rooms or 4- to 6-bed Tel 680 6646 This delightful Old Town hotel, a
dorms at this hostel in an ∑ tallinnhotels.ee few steps from the town square, has
atmospheric Old Town house. This chic hotel features an ultra- airy, elegantly furnished rooms and
There is a communal kitchen. elegant interior. Rooms have Old exceptionally high service standards.
Town views. Facilities include
Red Emperor Hostel € steam bath, sauna and small pool. Original Sokos Hotel Viru €€
Hostel Street Finder D2 Modern Street Finder D3
Aīa 10, 10111 Kalev Spa Hotel & Waterpark €€ Viru Väljak 4, 10111
Tel 615 0035 Spa hotel Street Finder D2 Tel 680 9300
∑ redemperorhostel.com Aia 18, 10111 ∑ sokoshotels.fi
A funky modern hostel with Tel 649 3300 A vast hotel complex, Original
great facilities, private rooms and ∑ kalevspa.ee Sokos has two restaurants, a
mixed dorms. Be warned that its With an enormous waterpark that nightclub and a shopping centre.
lively bar attracts young locals is free for guests and features three The wide range of well-appointed
who like to party until late. slides and a large pool, this central rooms are suitable for families as
hotel is great for families. Spacious well as business travellers.
Romeo Family Apartments € rooms are stylishly furnished.
Apartments Street Finder C3 Videviku Villa Apartments €€
Suur-Karja 18, Apt 38, 10149 Apartments
Tel 5690 4786 Videviku 30, 10139
∑ romeofamily.ee Tel 648 2299
These family-run, great-value ∑ videviku.hostels.ee
Old Town apartments come Choose from several spacious
with micro waves and washing apartments located in a peaceful
machines; some have full kitchens, neighbourhood. Facilities include
too. Breakfast is included. fully equipped kitchens and
antique-style furnishings.
Vabriku €
Guesthouse Street Finder B1 Hotel Telegraaf €€€
Vabriku 24, Põhja-Tallinn 15010 Luxury Street Finder C2
Tel 646 6287 Vene 9, 10123
∑ vabrikuhostel.eu Tel 600 0600
Simply furnished double and ∑ telegraafhotel.com
triple rooms are offered in this An old telegraph office has been
lovely house with a garden, a trans formed into one of Tallinn’s
short walk from the Old Town. top hotels. It offers sumptuously
There are shared kitchen facilities, A room with canopy bed in The Three furnished rooms, faultless service
plus a barbecue area. Sisters Boutique Hotel, Tallinn and a great restaurant (see p316).
Tallinn Street Finder see pp86–7; Road Map see back inside cover
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WHERE T O ST A Y IN EST ONIA  297


Radisson Blu Sky Hotel €€€
Luxury Street Finder E3
Rävala puiestee 3, 10143
Tel 682 3000
∑ radissonblu.com
An ultra-modern hotel in a glass
build ing a short walk from the Old
Town, Radisson Blu Sky has a
rooftop bar with pano ramic
views of the sea and the city.
St Petersbourg Hotel €€€
Historic Street Finder C2
Rataskaevu 7, 10123
Tel 628 6500
∑ hotelstpetersbourg.com
First opened in 1850, this is Understated “Superior Double” room at the Schlössle Hotel, Tallinn
Tallinn’s oldest hotel and one of
its finest. The spacious rooms are HAAPSALU: Fra Mare beauty. Rooms are large and
extravagantly furnished with Thalasso Spa €€ cosy and there’s space for
touches of Art Deco whimsy. Spa hotel Road Map C2 backpackers in the hay loft.
Ranna tee 2, 90403
Schlössle Hotel €€€ Tel 472 4600 MUHU ISLAND: Igaküla
Historic Street Finder C2 ∑ framare.ee Matsi Puhkemaja €
Pühavaimu 13/15, 10123 This modern seafront hotel offers Guesthouse Road Map C2
Tel 699 7700 a range of spa and beauty treat- Matsi farmstead, Igaküla village,
∑ schloesslehotel.com ments. It has bright, airy rooms, an 94722
This atmospheric five-star hotel excellent pool complex and gym, Tel 5668 2681
occupies several 14th-century and a large sauna. ∑ matsitalu.ee
houses. Lavishly furnished rooms This appealing 19th-century
complement the med ieval interior HIIUMAA ISLAND: Kassari wooden farmhouse with a
perfectly. Fine restaurant (see p315). Puhkekeskus €€ thatched roof is surrounded by
Modern Road Map C2 immaculate gardens. The three
Swissotel Tallinn €€€ Kassari village, Käina parish, 92111 spacious rooms are cosily
Luxury Street Finder E3 Tel 469 7169 furnished and accommodate
Tornimäe 3, 10145 ∑ kassarikeskus.ee up to five people. Three small
Tel 624 0000 Ideal for families, this superb hotel log cabins are also available.
∑ swissotel.com by the sea has a large garden, a
Occupying Tallinn’s tallest children’s play area and capacious DK Choice
building, this stunning hotel has a rooms with kitchenettes.
spa centre, a pool with sauna, and MUHU ISLAND: Pädaste
a top-floor bar and restaurant KIHNU ISLAND: Tolli Tourism Manor €€€
with spectacular city views. Farm € Luxury Road Map C2
Guesthouse Road Map C2 Pädaste, 94716
The Three Sisters Sääre village, Kihnu parish, 88005 Tel 454 8800
Boutique Hotel €€€ Tel 527 7380 ∑ padaste.ee
Historic Street Finder D1 ∑ kihnukallas.ee A stunning, high-class hotel,
Pikk 71 / Tolli 2, 10133 An authentic farmstead in an Pädaste Manor is housed in
Tel 630 6300 idyllic rural setting. Guests can a renovated 16th-century
∑ threesistershotel.com take trips out to sea with the farmhouse ensconced in
Three medieval houses have been island’s fishermen. Sporting woods at the waterfront.
magnificently converted into activites are also on offer. Oozing period charm, it has
Tallinn’s premiere luxury boutique antique furniture, open fires
hotel. Large, comfortable rooms MATSALU NATIONAL PARK: and exposed brickwork
feature both modern fittings Altmõisa Guesthouse € throughout. Its top-notch
and period detail. Guesthouse Road Map C2 facilities include a helipad, spa
Tuuru village, Ridala parish, 90426 centre, billiards room and a
Tel 472 4680 world-renowned restaurant (see
∑ altmoisa.ee p317). The ideal place to get
Western Estonia An endearing guesthouse with away from it all in style.
sea views and great bird-watching
HAAPSALU: Lahe Guesthouse € and hiking opportunities.
Guesthouse Road Map C2 PALDISKI: Padise Manor €€
Lahe 7, 90503 MATSALU NATIONAL PARK: Historic Road Map C1
Tel 516 3023 Algallika €€ Padise village, Padise parish, 76001
∑ lahemaja.com Guesthouse Road Map C2 Tel 608 7877
In a century-old villa, this Mäe farmstead, Ranna village, ∑ padisemois.ee
peaceful family-run guesthouse Hanila parish, 90115 In an 18th-century manor house
has large, classically furnished Tel 5556 6088 overlooking the ruins of a 13th-
rooms. It is set in beautiful ∑ algallika.ee century monastery, this hugely
gardens a short walk from the This delightful rural guesthouse atmospheric hotel has an elegant
sea and local sights. sits amidst acres of natural interior and flawless service.
For more information on types of hotels see pp292–5
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298  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

PÄRNU: Rannahotell €€ SAAREMAA ISLAND: Ekesparre
Spa hotel Road Map D2 Boutique Hotel €€€
Ranna puiestee 5, 80010 Luxury Road Map C2
Tel 444 4444 Lossi 27, Kuressaare, 93815
∑ rannahotell.ee Tel 453 8778
Most of the rooms at this elegant ∑ ekesparre.ee
seafront hotel overlook the beach. Ekesparre is the island’s oldest hotel
There is a spa centre, sauna, and one of its best. Outstanding
tennis court and kids’ play area. service and great location right
beside the Bishop’s Castle (see p98).
PÄRNU: Villa Ammende €€€
Luxury Road Map D2 SOOMAA NATIONAL PARK:
Mere puiestee 7, 80010 Guesthouse Linnamehe €
Tel 447 3888 Guesthouse Road Map D2
∑ ammende.ee Kuiaru village, Tori parish, 86806
A glorious hotel in an Art Nouveau Tel 517 8379 The functionalist Rannahotell, Pärnu, built
man sion with a wonderful restau­ ∑ linnamehe.ee in the1930s
rant (see p317). The service is fault­ A pretty wooden cottage close to
less and the rooms are beautifully Soomaa National Park offers LAHEMAA NATIONAL PARK:
furnished in authentic period style. simple accommodation, verdant Merekalda Guesthouse €€
Close to the beach and Old Town. gardens, a children’s play area and Guesthouse Road Map D1
swimming pond. The hospitable Neeme tee 2, Käsmu village, 45601
PÄRNU: Frost Boutique owners organize local tours. Tel 323 8451
Hotel €€€ ∑ merekalda.ee
Luxury Road Map D2 VORMSI ISLAND: Elle-Malle € Snug apart ments have a patio or
Kuninga 11a, 80011 Guesthouse Road Map C1 balcony and a kitchenette at this
Tel 5303 0424 Hullo village, 91301 seaside getaway in a stunning
∑ frosthotel.ee Tel 473 2072 spot ideal for hiking and cycling.
A lovely Old Town hotel with This restful guesthouse has
individ ually designed rooms several rustic rooms, a romantic LAHEMAA NATIONAL PARK:
incorporating wood and double in a converted windmill, Sagadi Manor Hotel €€€
stone with modern accents. and a separate cottage. Bikes are Luxury Road Map D1
Transparent bathroom doors are avail able to get around the island. Sagadi village, Vihula parish, 45403
one of the more unusual features. Tel 676 7888
VORMSI ISLAND: Rumpo ∑ sagadi.ee
SAAREMAA ISLAND: Mäe Farm € In the grounds of the beautiful
Toomalõuka Tourist Farm € Guesthouse Road Map C1 Sagadi Manor estate (see p113),
Guesthouse Road Map B2 Rumpo village, 91309 this hotel has charming rooms in
Kopli farmstead, Toomalõuka village, Tel 472 9932 the elegantly converted stables.
Salme parish, 93261 ∑ rumpomae.ee
Tel 5646 6567 A charming converted farmstead NARVA-JÕESUU: Pansionaat
∑ toomaloukaturism.ee and campsite by the sea, Mäe Valentina €€
This fantastic rustic farm complex Farm offers simple, tidy rooms Guesthouse Road Map E1
has a thatched guesthouse and self­catering facilities. Aia 47, 29023
boasting comfortable wood­ Activities include sea­kayaking, Tel 357 7468
panelled rooms and a barn that archery, fishing and cycling. ∑ pansionaatvalentina.com
sleeps up to 20. The energetic In a spectacular location amidst
owners organize fishing, sea­ dense woods beside the sea, this
kayaking, cycling and diving tours. guesthouse has a choice of two
Eastern Estonia simply furnished rooms and a
SAAREMAA ISLAND: much smarter pair of apartments.
Georg Ots Spa Hotel €€ KUREMÄE: Kuremäe Hostel €
Spa hotel Road Map C2 Hostel Road Map E1 NARVA-JÕESUU: Meresuu Spa
Tori 2, Kuressaare, 93810 Kuremäe village, Illuka parish, 41201 & Hotel €€€
Tel 455 0000 Tel 525 0896 Spa hotel Road Map E1
∑ gospa.ee Basic but adequate twin rooms, Aia 48a, 29023
Outstanding facilities and service some with a shared bathroom, Tel 357 9600
feature at this hotel that boasts are offered in this cosy house ∑ meresuu.ee
views of the sea or castle from close to Pühtitsa Convent. The A smart, modern hotel towering
many rooms. Generous breakfast small café­bar serves light meals. over the tree tops, near the
and great restaurant (see p318). beach. The spa facilities are first­
LAHEMAA NATIONAL PARK: rate. Many rooms have sea views.
SAAREMAA ISLAND: Kuursaal Sae Hostel €
Guesthouse €€ Hostel Road Map D1 ONTIKA COAST: Toila Spa
Modern Road Map C2 Koljaku village, Vihula parish, 45419 Hotel €€
Lossipark 1, Kuressaare, 93815 Tel 5656 0901 Spa hotel Road Map E1
Tel 453 9749 ∑ saehostel.weebly.com Ranna 12, Toila 41702
∑ kuressaarekuursaal.ee In an idyllic cottage in the woods, Tel 324 2900
A charming place next to the this hostel has simply furnished ∑ toilaspa.ee
castle, this guesthouse has airy rooms, a shared kitchen and living The accommodation at this vast
en­suite rooms with mosquito area, and a sauna. The friendly seafront complex includ es
nets and a restaurant serving owners hire out bikes and can self­catering apartments and a
French and Estonian cuisine. advise on local trips. camp site. Rather dated interior.
For key to prices see p296; Road Map see back inside cover
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