Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–86) saved around 6000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish Jews who faced being forced into Soviet citizenship. When the Soviets annexed Lithuania and ordered all consulates be shut he asked for a short extension. Dubbed 'Japan's Schindler', he disobeyed orders for 29 days by signing 300 visas per day, and handed the stamp to a Jewish refugee when he left. Sugihara House tells his life story.
Sugihara House
Top choice in Kaunas
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.22 MILES
Lithuania's dark 20th-century history is poignantly told here, 7km north of Kaunas. Begin in the sombre, church-like gallery with striking stained glass…
MK Čiurlionis National Museum of Art
1.02 MILES
One of Lithuania's oldest and grandest galleries, Kaunas' leading art museum (founded 1921) is the place to acquaint yourself with the dreamlike paintings…
27.32 MILES
Housed inside a former 18th-century Carmelite monastery, this is a particularly thorough introduction to the history of the region and the town. Displays…
1.06 MILES
This museum is devoted to the Devil, Lucifer, Satan, the fallen angel, the seducer, the cajoler, with over 3000 statuettes, carvings, masks and other…
1.21 MILES
Artist Vytenis Jakas moved into this courtyard over a decade ago and turned it into an ever-evolving art project, creating murals and transferring onto…
1.24 MILES
Built in 1871, the only functioning synagogue of those that survived since 1941, and one of the few remnants of Kaunas' once-strong Jewish community, this…
3.74 MILES
Built by Camaldolese monks in the 17th century, this striking baroque monastery lies 9km east of central Kaunas, on a promontory jutting into the Kauno…
1.89 MILES
With ornate arches and turrets rippling from its brick facade, this late-15th-century mansion is a treasure of Kaunas' late-Gothic architecture. Built by…
Nearby Kaunas attractions
0.21 MILES
This small mosque is one of four in Lithuania and the only one made of brick in the Baltics, constructed here to replace the original wooden mosque from…
2. Museum of Deportation & Resistance
0.3 MILES
The Museum of Deportation & Resistance documents Lithuania's struggles with foreign oppression, between 1940 and 1990. The spirit of resistance was…
3. Lietūkis Garage Massacre Memorial
0.37 MILES
This small memorial in the courtyard marks the spot where, on June 27, 1941, during the first days of the Nazi occupation of the city, Lithuanian …
4. Kaunas Museum for the Blind
0.55 MILES
The catacombs of St Michael the Archangel Church are set up to let you experience a short spell as a person without sight.
5. St Michael the Archangel Church
0.55 MILES
The Soviets turned this blue-domed neo-Byzantine church, which fills the sky so dramatically at the eastern end of Laisvės alėja, into a stained-glass…
0.57 MILES
This branch of the many-tentacled Čiurlionis museum exhibits works by 20th-century Lithuanian artists, including a particularly poignant Lithuania In…
7. Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery
0.57 MILES
This art museum on three floors is based on the private collection of Mykolas Žilinskas, but is now operated by the National Čiurlionis Art Museum. The…
0.58 MILES
The statue of ‘Man’ in front of the Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery was modelled on Nike the Greek god of victory; it caused a storm of controversy when its…