Discover the treasures of Panemunė!

Discover the treasures of Panemunė region!

Panemunė, with its fabulous landscape by the largest river in the country, the Nemunas, enchants with its natural beauty and history. One of the oldest roads in the country, once used for trade between Lithuania and Prussia, meanders here. The abundance of old hill forts reminds me of the fighting past here. Even 150 years ago, the Nemunas marked the front line between Lithuanians and Crusaders.

Today, the Panemunė road is a very popular, scenic route leading to the Baltic Sea. We offer to start the journey from one of the most impressive Renaissance architectural monuments in Lithuania – Raudondvaris manor castle. It would be a sin not to stop here and see all this beauty. This castle was ruled by many noble families, but the most striking trace in the history of the castle was left by its last owners, Counts Tiškevičiai. Under their rule, the castle became a magnificent residence of the Counts, which housed a huge collection of paintings, works of art, rare books, exotic plants and animals. Today, the reborn castle of Raudondvaris manor is a place where a rich history intertwines with the present, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in a cultural journey through time full of excitement and new experiences.

We will continue our journey in Vilkija, called Switzerland of Lithuania. Located on the high bank of the Nemunas, the town is proud of its church. The towers of this shrine, which reach a height of up to 35 meters and appear to rest on the bedrock of heaven. It looks so majestic and invites you to stop by there.

We hurry to the former old Vilkija rectory, where the Antanas and Jonas Juškai Museum of Ethnic Culture is located. This building is the oldest in Vilkija town and dates back to the 18th century. Antanas Juška, a priest, folklorist, ethnographer and linguist, lived here. His accumulated spiritual riches of the Lithuanian folk – a rich dictionary of old Lithuanian words, songs, collections of melodies – surprised even the bishop Motiejus Valančius, who arrived here!

Panemunė is famous for its mounds and one of them is Seredžius hill fort. Legend has it that duke Palemon, who had fled the Roman Empire, stayed here. The legend is true, proved by a pot with Roman coins found here by the archaeologists. Climbing this mound, maybe we will discover something new?

We will also admire an exceptional natural object, even two hill forts next to each other, also called Veliuona hill forts, which are on the slope of the Nemunas Valley. One of them is the Hill of Peace, on which in the 13th – 14th Junigeda Castle stood. The second hill fort is called Gediminas Tomb Hill. Legend has it that Gediminas was buried in Veliuona. The people of Veliuona poured a grave in his honor, therefore the mound was named Gediminas Grave Hill.

Veliuona was considered by Duke Vytautas as a representative place where negotiations with the Crusaders took place, the representatives of other countries participated in them: they had to see with their own eyes that Lithuania was already a Christian state. Here we can also see the church of Veliuona – one of the oldest in the country, standing since the middle of 17th century.  The sanctuary is extremely rich in historical and artistic values ​​of various centuries.

In 16 – 17 the Nemunas became an important commercial artery, castles took a new form –  rich merchants and nobles began to build castle-type residences. For this reason, rectangular Red Castle arose. It is surrounded by an old park with entire alleys of rare trees.

And when you visit Panemunė Castle, you will not be disappointed, because you will discover not only the castle, but also the museum and even the restaurant. The history of the castle dates back more than 400 years. Construction was started by Hungarian landowner Jonušas Eperje in O 18 c. When the castle was ruled by Antanas Gelgaudas, the flag of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, decorated it. After reconstruction it became an ornate residence with a well-groomed park and representative rooms decorated in the spirit of classicism. In terms of architecture, today it is the most authentic Lithuanian residential castle of 17th – 18th century.

We hurry to the “Valley of Honey”. Here the experts of this sweetness will introduce us to the types of honey, its healing properties. Well, how without the taste of honey, which we will taste more than one kind! And we will also taste the honey cake baked by the hostess and recognized as a culinary heritage.

With frozen hearts from honey tasting, we will end the trip around Panemunė region in the Šilinė tavern where travelers stopped to eat and spend the night, to rest the horses in 18 century. Today, the Panemunių Regional Park Directorate is located here, as well as an exposition introducing the peculiarities of fishing in the Nemunas and a nature school. The exposition is based on the statement of the old residents of Panemuniai that the Nemunas feeds, warms and prepares. How it happens- we will find out only on this tour.