Museum in Rokiskis, the pearl of Lithuania

VILNIUS - Rokiskis, a town of some 17,000 inhabitants, is situated in northeastern Lithuania, not so far from the border with Latvia. The name of the town originates from Saint Roch. This saint is the patron of dogs as well as other animals and his name now is very popular in some Catholic countries – he is known as Rokas in Lithuania, Rok or Roko in Croatia, Rok in Slovenia, and Rocco in Italy. The district of Rokiskis also has an interesting exotic feature – in it live some descendants of the followers of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church, also known as Old Believers, who escaped persecution in Russia by moving to Lithuania some 300 years ago.

They live in the district of Rokiskis, though only the root of the surnames of their young and middle-age generation make them different from the rest of Lithuanians now. Some 10 percent of the Rokiskis dwellers are employed at the local cheese-producing company Rokiskio Suris. Its main owner (59 percent of shares) is Antanas Trumpa (No. 19 on the Lithuanians’ richest list, according to the magazine Veidas). Thanks to his donations, the old part of Rokiskis looks like scenery for some romantic movie about the nice life of nobility in the 19th century. The main attraction of the town of Rokiskis is the Museum of Rokiskis District, situated on Tyzenhauzu Avenue 5.

The museum, in fact, is a perfectly restored huge manor, which includes the palace and 15 other buildings in a territory of 30 hectares. After the Duchy of Courland (now western Latvia) became the vassal state of Lithuania in 1561 (later, Courland was the vassal of the commonwealth of Lithuania and Poland, until 1795), the local German-origin noble family of Tyzenhauz (kind of oligarchs then) expanded deeply into Lithuania with their manors. The palace, which was designed in the style of classicism, was finished by the Tyzenhauz family in the Rokiskis manor in 1801. Later, via marriage, the ownership of the manor in Rokiskis was passed on to the Przezdziecki family. The museum’s employees recreated all the details of the Lithuanian nobility’s life-style in the palace as they were consulted by an elderly local who was the lackey serving dinner in the manor when it was still private property. By the way, Rokiskio Suris produces Tyzenhauz cheese, which can be found in the majority of Lithuanian supermarkets, and the palace of the Tyzenhauz family is drawn on packets of this cheese.

There is also the sub-museum in the Rokiskis manor which, since 1998, presents over 100 nativity scenes. Those traditional Catholic Christmas-time compositions of small sculptures of baby Jesus, St. Mary, St. Joseph, the Magi, and some animals are exposed on the initiative of Angelo Frosio, an Italian businessman and artist who is interested in nativity scenes in Lithuania and other countries.

There is also the exhibition of carved wooden sculptures by the district’s genius, Lionginas Sepka (1907-1985), in one of the buildings in the manor. Salvador Dali could envy those crazy works. Sepka started to carve sculptures in the 1950s. He was regarded by locals as a person with serious psychological problems, which started after he was severely beaten at a village party, and it probably saved him from KGB persecutions, which could be possible due to some Catholic and patriotic motives in his phantasmagoric sculptures.

For a long time the museum in Rokiskis was the best hidden treasure in Lithuania. This month, the Lithuanian State Department of Tourism awarded the Rokiskis manor with the EDEN award, which is an acronym for European Destinations of Excellence. The EDEN project for 27 EU member states, as well as EU candidate countries and EU-associated countries, was launched by the European Commission. The project is based on national competitions that have taken place every year since 2006 and results in the selection of a “destination of excellence” for each participating country. The EDEN award is kind of an Oscar in the EU tourism industry. Some parts of the Rokiskis manor were restored using EU structural funds.
The museum is open from 10:00 to 18:00. Closed on Mondays. Guide service in English is available. Tel.: (+370 458) 52261; (+370 458) 52639. More info at www.muziejusrokiskyje.lt

It is also worth visiting one of the museum’s branches in the nearby small town of Obeliai (Vytauto Street 18). It is a private collection by a local man, Andriejus Druckus, a former anti-Soviet guerilla fighter, a lover of the songs of Cesaria Evora, and sometimes of a good cognac. The exhibition in his house presents mostly the post-WWII anti-Soviet guerilla war against the Soviets in northeastern Lithuania. There are military uniforms, photos and flags of this most powerful anti-Soviet guerilla movement in Eastern and Central Europe on show in the house of this local. Open from 12:00 to 16:00. Closed on Mondays. It is advisable to call in advance (+370 458) 78825.