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Kaunas

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Tree line at Laisves Aleja

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Overview

A scrappy little sister compared to debonair Vilnius, Kaunas (kow-nas) sprawls out from its dainty Old Town and 14th-century fort. Strategically wedged at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers, Kaunas gained a taste for the limelight during a brief spell as Lithuania's capital in the interwar period; the town owes some of its most attractive architecture to this era.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Ninth Fort

    Kaunas

    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…

  • Sugihara House

    Kaunas

    Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–86) saved around 6000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish…

  • MK Čiurlionis National Museum of Art

    Kaunas

    One of Lithuania's oldest and grandest galleries, Kaunas' leading art museum (founded 1921) is the place to acquaint yourself with the dreamlike paintings…

  • Museum of Devils

    Kaunas

    This museum is devoted to the Devil, Lucifer, Satan, the fallen angel, the seducer, the cajoler, with over 3000 statuettes, carvings, masks and other…

  • Kiemo Galerija

    Kaunas

    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…

  • Choral Synagogue

    Kaunas

    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…

  • Pažaislis Monastery

    Kaunas

    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…

  • House of Perkūnas

    Kaunas

    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…

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