Šiauliai or Radviliškis – Anykščiai
Šiauliai is a city in the north of Lithuania. Šiauliai is also called the city of the Sun. The most magnificent building in the downtown of Šiauliai is the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In Šiauliai, it is easy to spend a spare afternoon at thematic museums as the city has many of them (photography, bicycles, chocolate, radio / TV, railroad, cat memorabilia...). In the Sundial Square you will see one of the main dominants of the city - 'The Archer'. Not far, on Talksa lake shore, stands 'The Iron Fox', which is included in the Lithuanian Guinness Book of Records as the largest animal sculpture.
- Liudvika and Stanislovas Didžiulis Homestead Museum was opened in 1968. The garden is an integral part of the homestead, maintained and cultivated by the museum staff. The garden was started by the very first employee around 1970. It features apple varieties that have long been grown in Lithuania: ‘Suislepp’, ‘Antaninis’ (‘Antonovka’), ‘Popierinis’ (‘White Transparent’). In addition, it has a fruit tree from the ‘Adersleber Calville’cultivar group whose apples takes on flavour after almost a year and are particularly suitable for drying. Traditional village flower gardens are cultivated at the homestead, and there is also a medicinal herb corner. Contemporary plants are not shunned here either, because according to the staff, the former owner loved flowers and was always introducing new ones. It is an authentic homestead with trees and shrubs from that era that have a history intertwined with objects of biological heritage.
The A. Baranauskas and A. Vienuolis-Žukauskas Memorial Museum preserves and popularises museum valuables which reflect the evolution of culture, literature, history, agrarian culture, and technical history in the Anykščiai region. Year round, visitors can explore the Writers’ Hill Memorial Park and discover the 12 most important places in it. New educational elements are also presented here: “herb lawns” – Lithuanian herbs that Antanas Baranauskas and pharmacist Antanas Vienuolis-Žukauskas knew and used.
The museum grounds are home to two apple trees that have a historic link with the celebrated writer, Antanas Vienuolis-Žukauskas. One of them is the very rare ‘Lietuvos cukrinis’ (‘Lithuanian Sugar’), which can only be found in old gardens. Next to the museum building there is an authentic flower garden from the writer’s time, as well as a medicinal plant exhibit.
At the Bronė Buivydaitė Memorial Museum, the setting of the last years of the writer’s life has been preserved in the old part of the house. The museum was founded around 1990. The orchard, which has a history linked to the writer Bronė Buivydaitė, was planted in 1935. The writer’s beloved flowers bloom in the museum garden, and the orchard features a few surviving heritage apple varieties – ‘Lietuvos pepinas’ (‘Lithuanian Pippin’), ‘Popierinis’ (‘White Transparent’) and cherry varieties- ‘Žemaičių rūgščioji’ (‘Local Sour’), ‘Žagarvyšnė’. The flower garden is notable for its huge variety of ornamental plant species. It is filled primarily with cultivated perennials and popular plants found in nature, such as lily of the valley, ostrich fern, sweet violet and liverleaf.
Anykščiai tour - Visit the Treetop Walkway and Labyrinth Park (during the warm season), and take a train ride on Aukštaitija’s narrow-gauge railway.
For meals we recommend:
- Homestead “Girelė”, Šiauliai District
- Restaurant „Forto dvaras”, Panevėžys
- Resraurant „Deja vu”, Panevėžys
- Restaurant „Nykščio namai”, Anykščiai
- GRADIALI ANYKŠČIAI, Anykščiai District
Accommodations:
- Homestead “Ravilių sodyba”, Anykščiai District
- GRADIALI „Saulės vila (Sun Villa) and „Vėjo vila „Wind Villa), Anykščiai District
- GRADIALI „Ežero vila (Lake Villa) and „Vėjo vila „Wind Villa), Anykščiai District
