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…
Must-see attractions in Kaunas
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Kaunas
Kaunas-based Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–86) saved around 6000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1940, issuing transit visas to stranded Polish…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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Lietūkis Garage Massacre Memorial
Kaunas
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 …
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Kaunas
The open-air museum consists of re-created 18th- and 19th-century villages representing Lithuania’s main regions (Dzūkija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija,…
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Kaunas
Old Town's tallest tower (53m) rises from Kaunas' Town Hall, an elegant white layer-cake of a building. Built in the mid-16th century, the hall has served…
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Kaunas
This branch of the many-tentacled Čiurlionis museum exhibits works by 20th-century Lithuanian artists, including a particularly poignant Lithuania In…
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Museum of Deportation & Resistance
Kaunas
The Museum of Deportation & Resistance documents Lithuania's struggles with foreign oppression, between 1940 and 1990. The spirit of resistance was…
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Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum
Kaunas
With over 250,000 specimens spread over three floors, this museum covers the animal kingdom from the imposing taxidermy mammals (bison, muskox, big cats,…
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Kaunas
Beloved Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stanislovas Girėnas died on 15 July 1933, just 650km short of completing the longest nonstop transatlantic…
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St Michael the Archangel Church
Kaunas
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…
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Maironis Lithuanian Literary Museum
Kaunas
Even travellers unenthused by turn-of-the-20th-century literature will be enchanted by this museum dedicated to Lithuanian luminary Maironis (aka Jonas…
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Christ's Resurrection Basilica
Kaunas
There's an austerity, symmetry and simplicity to this white-washed concrete cathedral, built over a period of 70 years from 1934 onwards, though its…
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Presidential Palace of Lithuania
Kaunas
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…
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Kaunas
With its single tower, this church owes much to baroque reconstruction, especially inside, but the original 15th-century Gothic shape of its windows…
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Kaunas
Maintained by the Lithuanian Army, this museum keeps exhibitions on the history of weapons, Lithuanian military history, the period of the Grand Duchy and…
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Kaunas
A reconstructed tower, sections of wall and part of a moat are all that remain of 14th-century Kaunas Castle, an important bastion against Teutonic…
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St Francis Xavier Church & Monastery
Kaunas
The southern side of Rotušės aikštė is dominated by rosy-pink late-Baroque facade of the St Francis Xavier Church, college and Jesuit monastery complex…
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Kaunas
Known in full as Vytautas the Great Church of the Accession of the Holy Virgin Mary, this red-brick church is one of the oldest in Kaunas. Built by…
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Povilas Stulga Lithuanian Folk Music Instruments Museum
Kaunas
This museum shows that almost any raw material can be turned into a musical instrument. Housed in a 16th-century Gothic house, the wonderful 7000-piece…
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Medicine & Pharmaceutical History Museum
Kaunas
Dating back to the 1930s, this fun museum details the progress of medical science in Lithuania over the centuries. There are also expositions on…
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Kaunas
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…
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Kaunas
There's always an interesting temporary exhibition on at this gallery, such as Integration, an interesting juxtaposition between obscure, dimly lit…
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Kaunas
Maironis was the pen name of Kaunas priest and poet Jonas Mačiulis (1862–1932) whose writings helped to awaken the country’s nationalist longings in the…
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Kaunas
The Field of Sacrifice – a name engraved on paving slabs in front of the City Garden – is a tragic tribute to the 19-year-old Kaunas hero Romas Kalanta,…
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Kaunas
This untitled installation by Giny Vos, unveiled in 2018, is a memorial to the Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk, who saved thousands of Jewish lives during…
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Kaunas
This late-15th-century Gothic gem is tucked in a courtyard off Laisvės alėja. Its red-brick crypt overflows with burning candles, prompting a separate…
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Kaunas
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…
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Kaunas
This historic funicular at the southern end of Aleksoto Tiltas (Aleksoto Bridge) dates from 1935 and the viewing platform at the top affords great rooftop…
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Kaunas
Once known as the University of Lithuania, this is one of the country's leading tertiary institutions. It was first founded in 1922 and refounded in 1989…
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Kaunas
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…
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Kaunas
This 15th-century church and monastery has been ruined and rebuilt several times over the centuries, and served both Napoleon and the Soviets as a…
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Kaunas
Gardeners from Vytautas Magnus University tend 65 hectares of rare and wonderful plants. Around 2km south of the Old Town; bus 20 or 35 will get you there.
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Kaunas
Features Lithuanian ceramics and porcelain from the 20th century and earlier periods, and often houses temporary exhibitions.
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Kaunas
The western side of Rotušės aikštė is filled by the late-Renaissance (1624–34), terracotta-roofed Holy Trinity Church.