Southeast Lithuania

Southeast Lithuania

We will start the tour from Medininkai Castle. It is the largest castle in Lithuania. By the way, one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe! It was seen by our great dukes starting with Gediminas and ending with Vytautas the Great, which has been here more than once. Today, Medininkai is famous for Giedrius Kazimierėnas’ impressive painting “Day of Rust,” collections of silverware, hunting trophies of President Algirdas Brazauskas, and that’s not all. On the upper, the fifth, floor there is a representation hall. From here you can enter the observation deck of the main tower and admire the Medininkai Heights!

The Lithuanian landscape is full of jokes. Here we will be convinced when we find ourselves in the highest place in Lithuania. The Hill of the Hight is called after one of the names of the Baltic deities. We will rise even 293.84 m above the level of the Baltic Sea. And let’s take a look at the nearby Juozapinė hill, which for a long time was considered the highest point in the territory of Lithuania, but it lacked only 1 meter and 1 centimeter to preserve the crown of the highest.

We will continue our journey in the town of Tabariškės, to 18th century baroque wooden church of st. Archangel Michael, in the construction of which not a single nail was used! Inside the church itself you will see five altars, the main and central ones, a  painting of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus, painted by the artist Anna Krepštul.

You will learn about one of the most interesting and beautiful personalities of Šalčininkai district, Ana Krepštul, whose life was extraordinary, and who loved art, she painted over 3,000 paintings herself, although she never studied professional art.

You will visit the only one yet established in the manor of the Republic of Paulava established in the 18th century. The founder of this republic, Povilas Ksaveras Bžostovskis, who graduated in Italy, returns to Lithuania and acquired the Merkinė manor in Vilnius Voivodeship, which he named after himself – Paulava. It abolished slavery and had the parliament that elected the president for life. The Republic also had its own police, teacher, paramedic and many more interesting things about its existence we will learn walking among the masonry ruins of the former Republic. Filmmakers have loved the incredible atmosphere in Paulava: “Tadas Blinda. Home ”movie scenes; the BBC series “War and Peace” scenes were taken here. On weekends or in better weather, individual tourists or tourist groups like to visit Paulava on wedding day  couples take photos.

In the wooden Vilkyškiai manor in the Merkys Valley, we will count the wooden carvings with which it is decorated. Believe me, they will definitely be plentiful, and the most intricate carvings will make you think about how they are carved. You can also relax in the gazebos here, take a walk in the wonderfully magnificent linden tree Alley or try the coolness of the Merkys River.

From here, we will unobtrusively move to a patch of land in the Provence of France and visit the port of Lavender, which is filled with purple. You will find out why this place is called a port and how many varieties of lavender there are and you will be able to send a lavender-scented postcard to your friends. Visit the Lavender Port Museum, dream in the gazebos of Česlovas Milošas or Kukutis.

After regaining our strength, we will travel to the palace of the rector of Vilnius University Jonas Sniadeckis – Jašiūnai manor. At that time, in the 19th century, Jašiūnai became a cultural center, where professors, young people gathered, discussions, poetry evenings and hunting took place. Jašiūnai manor was famous for its library, which contained many valuable books and incunabula. During the tour, we will not only walk around the manor park and palace, but also try to find out how many poets of the Romantic era, other famous historical figures have visited this area.