• Samogitian Museum of Art
• The Samogitian Alka Museum
• The Museum of Kretinga
• Mazeikiai Museum
• The Samogitian Outdoor Museum
• The Amber Museum of Palanga
• Other museums

The museum was established in 1993 in the former manor house (built in 1793) of Stanislovas Silingas – landowner and supporter of the 1863 Uprising. The exibition tells the story of the 1863 Uprising, its development and suppresion. A special display commemorates the Roman catholic priest and the leader of the Uprising, Antanas Mackevicius (1828-1863), who lived and worked in Paberze in 1859-1863.

RASEINIAI AREA HISTORY MUSEUM

Muziejaus str. 3, 4400 Raseiniai

Tel.: (8-228) 50892, 54085

Opened in 1975, the museum contains collections of coins, photographs and publications, and ethnographic exibits relating to the history of the area. The man exibition tells the story of the Raseiniai area from ancient time to 1940, focusing on etnography, folk art and the development of the flax industry in the area. Another exibition is dedicated to the post-war resistence movement.

The museum-reserve was established in 1992 in the birthplace of Jonas Maciulis-Maironis (1862-1932), a priest, poet and doctor of theology. The etnographic dosplay recreates the authenthic environment in which the maironis family lived. In 1993 the road to the birthplace was decorated by pillar-type wooden crosses and miniature chapels. A memorial room was opened in the Maironis Secondary School in Betygala displaying the poet’s personal relics, books and the Mačiulis family portraits.

The museum was opened in 1986 and contains collections of Jonas Kuzminskis’ (1906-1985) early paintings, prints of various periods, book illustrations and ex-libris. The display atso tells the local history of Betygala and famous people af area.

The forerunner of the museum – The Klaipeda Area Museum – was founded in 1924, having grown out of the „Sandara’ society museum which opened in 1912. The museum houses collections of archeology, local history, etnography and cartography, folk and fine arts, including Caspar Hennenberger’s (1529-1600) maps. Archeological finds and historical exibits reflect changes in the political situation of the Balts, and the history of the area. The oldest coins testify to links with the Roman Empire and silver alloys remind visitors of the monetary system of the Balts in the 14th -15th centyries. Furniture, crockery and other household articles illustrate the life in towns and villages in Klaipeda area. The museum has a rich collection of photographs and picture postcards depicting the city of Klaipeda and the Klaipeda area in the first half of the 20th century.

The museum was founded in 1979. A smithery equipment and various artefacts such as iron heads of pillar-type crosses, ornaments, household articles and tools are on display. Crosses and weathercocks typical of seaports are displayed in the museum yard. There is a functioning smithery, and ertefacts are for sale.

The gallery was founded in 1971. It exibits contemporary Lithuanian art and the heritage of Pranas Domsaitis (1880-1965) and other emigrants artists from Lithuania Minor.

The museum was opened in 1984 in a resorted 19th century building. On the ground floor visitors can acquaint themselves with the history of the development of time measuring devices, which begins with primitive knotty and wooden calendars. Also on display are sun, water, fire, sand and mechanical clocks, and precise 20th century time measuring devices. The clocks exibited on the first floor are grouped by style, with the development of the forms and designs of mechanical clocks very clearly shown. Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Art Nouveau clocks are on display. The furniture, pictures and angravings recreate the historical context of the important role of clock in the interiors of different epochs, There is a sun clock and carrilon in the courtyard of the museum. Concerts are also held here.

The museum was opened in 1979 in the redoubt and casemates of the restored fortress of Kopgalis. Its collections include the sea fauna and insects, archaeological, ethnographis and iconographical items, coins, documents, ships and their equipment. The exibition illustrates the nature of Kursiu nerija and the history of Lithuanian navigation. The ehibits also include the ethnographic farmstead of a maritime fisherman, anchors, sea fauna and flora. Visitors can observe freshwater fish found in Lithuania, fish from the Baltic Sea and of the tropical seas in the aguariums, as well as sea mammals and sea-birds in the pools.

Dolphin shows on days the museum is open at 12, 14, 16, in winter at 12, 15.

The museum was founded in 1966 and was a branch of the Klaipeda Museum of ethnography until 1988. Its exibitions include a fisherman’s ethnographic homestead, weather-vanes, tombstones typical of this region, and other exibits reflecting the history of fishing traditions in Kursiu Nerija.

SKUODAS MUSEUM

Siauliu str. 3, 5670 Skuodas

Tel.: (8-216) 52438

Founded in 1991, the museum displays exibits relating to the local history of area and its crafting. Numismatic collection is also on view. A memorial exibition devoted to Pranas Zadeikis (1870-1933), the founder of Skuodas secondary school.

The museum has been open to the public since 1979. Its collection includes samples over 1000 plants spacies and 20.000 stones – bolders from the Baltic Sea region abundant in the North, East, West and central Lithuania. The museum has also been collecting cross-sections of trees growing in Lithuania.

KRETINGA MUSEUM

Vilniaus str. 20, 5700 Kretinga

Tel.: (8-258) 53505, 53315. Faks.: (8-258) 52782

The museum was founded in 1935 on the initiative of the school inspector and local ethnographer Juozas Zilvitis (1903-1975). Its collections consist of archaeological finds, numismatics, collections of 17th -19th century applied art and paintings, folk sculpture, athnographic and historic domestic life exibits. Exibitions devoted to estate culture, archeology, the history of the town, and exibitions of old folk art are on display. At present the museum is located in Count Tiskevicius’ 19th century mansion. Near the mansion there is a winter garden-hothouse and a 19th century park containing more than 1500 valuable decorative bushes and trees. Musical and literary events are held in the White Hall and the winter garden of museum. The club „Descendants of Kretinga area”, the folk group „Volungele” (Little Oriole), and youth art groups function on the museum’s premises.

Vytauto str. 17, 5720 Palanga

Tel.: (8-236) 53501, 51319

The museum was opened in 1963 in the palace count Feliksas Tiskevicius had built according to the designs of architect Franc Schwechten in 1897. The park was designed by Edward Rene Andre (1897).

The museum’s exibitions and collections reflects the history of the formation of amber in the contex of the Earth’s evolution, its spread throughout the world. Visitors can familiarize themselves with amber, its morphology, samples of fossil resins found in other parts of the world, unique pieces of amber and collection of amber from the Stone Age to the present are displayed. The exibits atso contain archaeological finds including amber adornments dating back the first centuries of our era, and 17th-19th century amber artefacts. The displays include amber jewelry by contemporary artists and samples of mass-production.

Opened in 1995, the exibition illustrates the life and work of dr. Jonas Sliupas (1861-1944), a prominent figure of Lithuanian’s struggle for nationhood.

A memorial exibition in the Rubiskes farmstead (now the Darius village) where Steponas Darius (Steponas Jucevicius) was born 1896 and spent his childhood. He graduated from the Kaunas military scholl and served in Lithuanian war aviation. In 1927 he left for USA where he came to an agreement with Stasys Girenas to fly to Lithuania across the Atlantic. With donations from American Lithuanians they bought an aeroplane which they named the „Lituanica”, reconstructed it and in 1933 left New York for Lithuania. After crossing the Atlantic, „Lithuania” crashed in a forest near Soldin (now Mysliborz, Poland) and they perished. Accoring to the precision of their flight theiy were the first in the world, the second according to the long distance flying record to that time and the forth according to the time spent in the air.

The museum opened in 1932 on the initiative of Alka, a society devoted to the history of the Zemaiciai (Samogitians). Designed by architect Steponas Stulginskis (1908-1995) the museum’s building dates back to 1937. The museum contains collections of archeological finds, numismatics, exibits related to history and nature of the Zemaiciai area and fine art. The permanent exibitions „A Geological Survey of the Area” and „The Fauna of the Zemaitija Area” are open to visitors. The archaelogical collection reflects the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages in Zemaitija, and tells the story of Lithuanian tribes before the establishment of the Lithuanian State. The historical exibitions on display focus on the history of Zemaitija in the period of the 15th-20th centuries: the introduction of Christianity to Zemaitija, the annexation of Lithuania to the Russian Empire, the 1831 and 1863 uprisings, and the restoration of Lithuanian statehood. It also features exibition of Lithuanian and West European art, as well as articles of Lithuanian folk art.

The museum was founded in 1994 in the formed manor house of Duke Mykolas Oginskis (1849-1902), which was built in 1879. A musical school established by M. Oginskis functioned in the estate in 1889-1892, and the artist and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875-1911) is known to have attended it. The manor house is surrounded by one of the biggest parks in Lithuania.

The collections of Adomas Galdikas’ (1893-1969) ir Juozas Bagdonas’ (born in 1911) works, wood carvings by folk artists Stanislovas Riauba (1904-1982), the personal library of the historian Zenonas Ivinskis (1908-1971), and historical and etnographic exibits about the Plunge area. Travelin exibitions contemporary art are also presented.

The museum was established in 1967 on the territory of Telsiai Park. An exibition opened in 1982 reflects everyday life in Zemaitija and includes sixteen buildings: three farmstead, a windmill and a smithery.

RIETAVAS MUSEUM

Parko str. 10 a, Rietavas, 5663 District of Plunge

Tel.: (8-218) 68622

The museum was opened in 1995 in Bogdanas Oginskis’ (1848-1909) former music school, which is part of a 19th century architectural ensemble. Exibitions about Lithuanian estate traditions and local story of the Rietavas area are being mounted.

The great Lithuanian writer Zemaite (Julija Beniuseviciute-Zymantiene, 1845-1921) was born and grew up in Count Plioteris’ estate in Bukante. An exibition in her memory was set up in the writer’s in Bukante. An exibition in her memory was set up in the writer’s birthplace and childhood home in 1966.

Opened in 1993 the exibition contains the poet Vytautas Macernis’ (1921-1944) personal possessions, furniture, manuscripts photographs and various documents.

The museum was founded in 1959 on the initiative of Kuliai secondary school teachers in a former parsonage dating from 1790, in wich the priest and writer Juozas Tumas Vaizgantas (1869-1933) lived from 1898 to 1901. It contains an exibition about local history and ethnography.

MAZEIKIAI MUSEUM

V. Buros’ str. 9, 5500 Mazeikiai

Tel.: (8-293) 32637, 32091

The museum was founded in 1928 on the initiative of the teacher and etnographer Stasys Lickunas (1894-1944), and other members of a circle devoted to the study of the historical past of the Mazeikiai area. The museum contains archeological, etnographic, folk art and numismatic collections. Permanent exibitions on local history and folk art are on display.

The museum was founded in 1974. The writer Satrijos Ragana- Marija Peckauskaite (1877-1930) lived in Zidikai from 1915 until her death and wrote her best works there. The exibition is devoted to her life and creative work.

The museum was established in the birthplace of the founder of Juozas Vaickus (1885-1935). The exabition tells the story of his life and creative work.

Opened in 1971 in the birthplace of sculptor Bronius Pundzius (1907-1956), the exibition is devoted to his life and creative work.

In 1990 an exibition was opened in the restored 19th century mansion which was devoted to the culture of Lithuanian estates. At the beginning of the 17th century the estate Gaure became the property of the Roenne baron family and was called Renavas. In 1880 the Renavas Mansion was built with a park and ponds in front of it.    

© Samogitian Cultural Association Editorial Board, 1998. Page updated 2001.09.19. Comments to: samogitia@mch.mii.lt