Attractions

In this, Kaunas' leading gallery, you'll find extensive collections of the romantic paintings of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911), one of Lithuania's greatest artists and composers, as well as Lithuania…

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 marios (Kaunas Sea). Given to the Russian Orthodox order by Tsa…

A poignant memorial to the tens of thousands of people, mainly Jews, who were murdered by the Nazis, the excellent Museum of the Ninth Fort, 7km north of Kaunas, comprises an old WWI-era fort and the bunker-like chu…

The open-air museum consists of re-created 18th- and 19th-century villages representing Lithuania’s main regions (Dzūkija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija, Žemaitija and Lithuania Minor). Potters, weavers and joiners demonst…

Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900-86) saved 12,000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish Jews who faced being forced into Soviet citizenship. When the Soviet…

The Museum of Deportation & Resistance documents Lithuania's struggles with foreign oppression, between 1940 and 1990. The spirit of resistance was encompassed by the partisan Forest Brothers, who fought against…

Beloved Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stanislovas Girėnas died on 15 July 1933, just 650km short of completing the longest nonstop transatlantic flight at the time. Two days after the duo set off from New Yo…

This handsome 19th-century building was the seat of government for the Republic of Lithuania between the wars. Restored to its original grandeur, it now houses an exhibition on independent Lithuania including histor…

Diabolical is the best word to describe the collection of 3000-odd devil statuettes in this museum, collected over the years by landscape artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius (1876–1966). While the commentary aims for a p…

With its single tower, this church owes much to baroque reconstruction, especially inside, but the original 15th-century Gothic shape of its windows remains. The largest Gothic building in Lithuania, it was probably…