• Museums and museum expositions
• Tourist routes
• Information for fishermens and mushrooms pickers

The Ethnographic Homestead of Dzūkija National Park

The homestead– the house and barn were built in 1905. In 1991 articles began to be collected for the exposition. The Dzūkija National Park’s Ethnographic Homestead-Museum opened its doors to visitors in 1994. The exposition is constantly being replenished with new materials that were collected in the Park territory. Here you will find out how pinewood Dzūkians walked through mushroom “neighborhoods”, fished, hunted, lighted with slips of pine wood fired with strikers, went to the land of the White Russians to pick cranberries, and wearing woven slippers, lured bees into the hollowed pine by climbing into the trees with a rope and sitting board. You will also learn about the pinewood Dzūkian lifestyle, traditions and craft. You will hear legends and stories about Marcinkonys and surrounding areas, and hear old, lyrical and melodic Dzūkian songs. In addition, you will learn about special holiday dishes that they used to prepare.

VISITORS ARE WELCOME:
Tuesday-Friday 08.00 – 17.00 h
Lunch break from 12.00 until 12.45.

Saturday 09.00 – 16.00 h

Closed: Sundays and Mondays

Contacts:
Miškininkų st. 6, Marcinkonys, Varėna District Municipality 
e-mail: muziejus@dzukijosparkas.lt

Entrance to the exhibition costs:
Adults - 1,00 €,
Pupils, students and seniors - 0,50 €,
Preschool age children and disabled people - free.

 

In 2006, an old-fashioned tree trunk hive apiary was created, and in the neighboring forest hollows, bees settled in. Now, in this apiary, you can see how the bees are taken care of in the hives in the trunks, and how the honey and wax are handled. You can also see how traditional log hives and smaller hives called– vabikai, are used to lure swarms of bees. At the beginning of summer, new swarms are allowed into the hives. You can also try a number of crafts at the apiary. One week is designated as braiding week (the end of July – the beginning of August), or one can also get acquainted with the old village of Musteika and with surrounding territory.

 

Contacts:
Musteika village,Varėna District Municipality
Tel: +370 624 15543
e-mail: taurupis@yahoo.com

Entrance to the exhibition costs:
Adults - 1,00 €,
Pupils, students and seniors - 0,50 €,
Preschool age children and disabled people - free.

VISITORS ARE WELCOME:
Tuesday-Friday 08.00–17.00 h
Lunch break from 12.00 until 12.45h

Saturday- 9.00–16.00 h.
Closed: Sundays and Mondays

Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius (1882–1954), a classic author of Lithuanian literature, has a museum named in his honor. In 1959, the work began on this memorial museum in Subartonys Village. The 19th c Dzūkian family cottage with a straw roof was rebuilt. The author’s and his parents’ furniture was recovered and decorates the cozy museum.
In 1972, the museum and village library were housed in that building. The exposition is regularly replenished with publications from various years, copies of handwritten notes, and biographical photographs.
The museum also has a comprehensive copy of the author’s biography.

VISITORS ARE WELCOME:
Wednesday-Sunday 09.00–18.00 h.
Lunch break from 13.00 until 14.00
Closed: Monday-Thuesday

Contacts: Subartonys village, Varėna District Municipality
Tel: +370 310 57210
e-mail: evelbur@gmail.com, kreve@walla.com

 

The Tatars have been living in Merkine since the 15th c, and were well-known as craftsmen and fishermen. Before the war, they had even established a fishing association. This is a private museum, established in the homestead of the owners Liusė and Vladas Gaidukevičius, which housed a school before the war. Museum visitors are greeted with the words of a prayer written above the door. “The worship of God was in every farmhouse.” The music of the Tatar’s echoed through the buildings as well. An open copy of the Koran is displayed in a respectful place. The museum has two copies of the Koran-one printed and one written by hand. The national Tatar folk costumes are also displayed. These are sewn by single-colored, expensive fabric decorated in gold thread and decorated with multi-colored beads. You will also see household articles, get acquainted with the crafts, music and cuisine of this nationality. Among the exhibited items, you will see old blacksmith prongs used to dig up potatoes, passed on by ancestors from long ago. There is a small section in the museum for the history of the Tatars in Merkinė, including information about military personnel of Tatar decent, who fought for Lithuania’s freedom in various battles. The hosts might provide a sampling of Tatar cuisine, and offer a short excursion around the surrounding area with a special carriage called a bričkele.

Contacts:
Subartonys village, Varėna District Municipality
Phone to arrange your visit at +370 614 78316

 

In 1968, the executive committee of the folk deputy council in Merkinė turned the unused and neglected Orthodox church over to the Merkinė Middle School, it was remodeled and then displayed items from the middle school were moved over to the museum. This regional studies museum can be called by its founder’s name- the teacher Juozas Vitkus. The museum had various managers over the years, including: Vincas Krukonis, Eugenijus Peikštenis, and Juozas Kaupinis. The museum has 14 sections. The expositions displaying ancient history cover the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. You will also find more on the history of Merkinė, Dzūkian households, Jewish life, local businesses, and black pottery. A bird collection, donated by Prof. Tadas Ivanauskas, is displayed. One of the most valuable items in the exposition is the old bell from the City Hall in Merkinė that was cast in 1670 by J. Delamarsas in Vilnius. On the side of the bell there is a Latin inscription which indicates the year, displays the coat of arms of Merkinė, and the words, “Its sound will spread across the entire Earth.” The bell cracked as the City Hall was being torn down, and later was further damaged by a fire at the parish house where it was stored. Other items displayed include a rock from the Kibyšių Dominican Chapel, old liturgical garments and other items from the church in Merkinė, stone cannon balls, the pole that marked the line of demarcation with Poland (it was located near Merkinė), and a canoe used by fishermen on the Nemunas. In 1990, after Lithuania regained independence, the museum director at the time, J. Kaupinis, created a Soviet exposition of communist party propaganda books, flags and other paraphernalia in the basement of the old City Hall’s remaining bell tower.

VISITORS ARE WELCOME:

1st of September-30 th of April: Tuesday - Sunday 09.00 - 18.00 hours
Lunch break from 13.00 until 13.45
1 st of May-31st of August: Tuesday - Sunday 9.00-18.00 hours

Contacts:
Dariaus ir Girėno str.. 1, Merkinė  town, Varėna District Municipality
Tel: +370 310 39 136, +370 616 52 907, e-mail:vienaragiui@gmail.com

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