Samogitian Village Museum
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It is a museum space whose vision is to preserve the heritage of architectural buildings typical of the Samogitian region, to continue the traditions of ethnic culture and to foster the Samogitian identity. The Ethnographic Museum reflects the heritage of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The Ethnographic Museum of the 19th century-19th century is a picture of the Samogitian countryside. Today, there are three authentic farmstead ensembles, complemented by the most important objects of the old settlements: a cemetery, a mill and a smithy. The museum only grows traditional crops and animals typical of the Samogitian countryside: Samogitians, sheep, goats, rabbits, etc. It organises education and events, and introduces visitors to old crafts and Samogitian customs.
History of the Samogitian Village Museum:
The Museum was founded in 1963, when the Lithuanian Council of Ministers, following a proposal by museum and cultural activists, decided to establish a Folk Museum (now Rumšiškės) by the Kaunas Lagoon, and three regional museums in Telšiai, Rokiškis and Alytus. In Alytus, work had not even begun, in Rokiškis only a few huts had been built, and in Telšiai, the second largest household museum in Lithuania (after Rumšiškės) was built. The first exhibit to be moved to the museum in 1967 was a bathhouse from the Tryškių area. In 1982, the Samogitian Village Museum was opened to visitors. Today the museum has 16 buildings. All of them are equipped with exhibitions, authentic furniture, tools, household utensils and dishes. The interiors are decorated with crosses, paintings and other objects reflecting the historical interiors.
The Samogitian Village Museum was renovated in 2012, with all the buildings reconstructed, fences fenced, and new crosses and chapels built. The facility is accessible to people with reduced mobility. Every year, the museum hosts: a carnival, night dances, threshing theatres and other events related to ethnic culture, which have become traditional. In May, the museum hosts an annual festival - Žemaitiu gīvastis - to continue and preserve the Samogitian ethnic identity.
