Kaunas

Among the old buildings present in the city, the Church of Vytautas and the House of Perkunas, the old Hanza merchants’ house, stand out for their originality and unique style. The well-preserved Old Town, located on a strip of land between the two rivers, is filled with historic monuments such as the castle, numerous churches, monasteries and elegant residences.

Kaunas is home to numerous museums: the museum dedicated to M. K. Ciurlionis, a genius of Lithuanian painting, the War Museum of Vytautas the Great, the Žilinskas Museum with works from all over the world, and the “Devil Museum”, the only one of its kind in the world with more than 3,000 sculptures and carvings of devils. During Soviet rule some nine military forts were built around Kaunas. The fort known as the “ninth” today houses a museum that remembers those who perished under Nazi rule and the genocide of the Lithuanian Jewish community.

 

Vilnius can be comfortably reached by bus from Kaunas. The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius is well known for the variety of its architectural styles, magnificent churches, winding alleyways and Medieval courtyards. The Old Town of Vilnius is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and covers an area of 360 hectares. The symbols of Vilnius are the tower of the Castle of Gediminas (founder of the city), the Cathedral at the foot of the mountain and the main place of worship for Lithuanian Catholics, the Church of St Anne, considered a masterpiece of Gothic art, and the Church of St. Peter and Paul, a triumph of the Baroque style housing masterpieces of Italian and Lithuanian art.