KELIONĖ AUTOMOBILIU PO LIETUVĄ. 12 / A CAR TRIP AROUND LITHUANIA. 12
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Paprastas maršrutas automobiliu po Lietuvą, 12 / A Car Trip Around Lithuania, 12
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2024-03-30 / 30 March 2024
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Maršrutas / Route:
Šiauliai – Rėkyva – Pakapė – Tytuvėnai – Šiaulėnai – Tyruliai – Šilėnai – Rėkyva – Šiauliai
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Daugiau informacijos
https://www.visitsiauliai.lt/lankytinos-vietos/rekyvos-ezeras
http://tytuvenai.lt/
https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/tytuvenai/
https://www.infotytuvenai.lt/index.php/lt/
http://www.trp.lt/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Da-Piero-pizzeria-100063568631292/
https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/siaulenai/
https://www.inforadviliskis.lt/lankytinos-vietos/siaulenu-krasto-muziejus
https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyruliai
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More info
https://www.visitsiauliai.lt/en/sightseeing-places/lake-rekyva
https://www.gidas360.lt/hmd/tytuvenai/custom/en
https://www.panoramas.lt/en/panoramata/42630f089257ec187e9f
https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/1843/tytuvenai-monastery
https://www.visitsiauliai.lt/en/sightseeing-places/ensemble-of-holy-virgin-mary-s-church-and-the-bernardine-monastery-in-tytuvenai
https://www.visitsiauliai.lt/en/sightseeing-places/siaule-observation-tower
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Susiję video / Related videos
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Šis video yra parengtas / This video is created by Prof. Dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas, Vilnius University, Lithuania
http://www.lamanauskas.puslapiai.lt
Today is the 30th of March last day of the month before and we continue our travels around Lithuania so it’s Saturday today 30 March, end of the first month of spring and we set off on a new journey around Lithuania
Today’s route is not very long, but we think it will be interesting we are currently driving from Šiauliai towards Rėkyva a short stop in Rekyva later we will drive to Tytuvėnai we will visit Tytuvėnai, and later we plan to drive to Kelme we are planning to visit Kelme
Then we will return to Šiauliai from Kelmė along the old road we are also thinking of visiting Bubiai we think it will be an eventful route … The day is also beautiful
The day is warm enough … we hope the trip will be great … we have no doubt about it we visit Rekyva Rekyva – part of Šiauliai city on the eastern shore of Lake Rekyva in other words, the former western part of the village of Rekyva
Here is the Rėkyva Elderly Municipality, the Rėkyva School (progymnasium) In addition, there is a Church of St. Joseph the Worker in Rekyva To the west of the settlement is the 34 km² Rėkyva bog, where peat is mined. Sapropel deposit.
It should be said that as early as 1578 the manor of Rėkyva is mentioned and in 1940-2007 the Rėkyva thermal power plant operated here, for whose employees the settlement was built we go to see the lakeshore as you can see, there is a bridge to the lake
Well, and it kind of resembles the bridge in Palanga (the bridge to the Baltic Sea) the lake is really quite interesting Lake Rekyva attracts not only passive recreation enthusiasts, but also kiteboarding and windsurfing enthusiasts in general, it’s a great place well, here we are at Lake Rekyva
More precisely, on the bridge to the lake this lake is the tenth largest lake in Lithuania sometimes even called the Šiauliai Sea because the lake’s water ripples in the wind…. waves are formed so it makes perfect sense to call the lake the Šiauliai Sea
Maximum depth of up to 5 metres the average depth is around 2 metres and it’s a truly spectacular lake which is located in Rėkyva, on the outskirts of Šiauliai length of the coast – 14.10 km there is also a beach … swimming in high season
Entertainment and other leisure activities there is also a yacht club here of course, this lake is also a favourite with fishermen … all in all, it’s a good recreational spot the lake has no tributaries, but has two artificially regulated headwaters only groundwater and precipitation feed Lake Rekyva
Near the lake is the Rėkyva botanical – zoological reserve the lake itself feeds Prudelis, Talša and Ginkūnai lakes as already mentioned, there is a nature trail here the nature trail is called Around Lake Rėkyva this is a trail approximately 15 km long
It is indeed possible to have a great route … especially as most of the route follows forest tracks next we go to see the church there is a Church of St. Joseph the Worker in Rekyva, catholic church the church is located in the former chapel of Rėkyva Manor Farm
The building is an architectural monument of local importance In 1935 the building was reconstructed into a chapel the church is covered with a gabled roof covered with tin the architecture of the building’s facades has modernist features we go for a little more sightseeing in Rekyva
Rekyva School is just visible in the front it is a general education school with a science oriented curriculum and activities the school is beautifully landscaped and recently renovated the natural motto of the school is to nurture a successful child in the midst of nature
Continuing our journey… After visiting Rekyva, we continue our journey we drive towards Pakapė and also visit this village also passing Einoraičiai Einoraičiai is a village in Šiauliai District Municipality, 15 km south of Šiauliai, on the southeastern shore of Lake Rėkyva we are approaching Pakape
Pakapė is a village in Šiauliai district municipality, 5 km south-west of Einoraičiai on the same Tytuvėnai-Pakapė-Siauliai road there also is a Pakapė Church of the Assumption of St.Virgin Mary There is also a school in Pakape and some other institutions the village is really old
The village is mentioned in historical sources from 1594 and the Pakapė church built at the end of the 18th century just as we turn a little sideways and head towards the church as we have already mentioned, there is a Pakapė Church of the Assumption of St.Virgin Mary which is located in this village
The green color in the Church liturgy symbolizes the hope of eternal life and salvation – the pursuit of God’s grace the church is of vernacular architectural forms, cross-plan, with a tower the fence of the churchyard is of stone masonry there is a bell tower
It should be mentioned that the village once had a manor in 1860, the owner of Pakapė Manor Eustachijus Karpis built a wooden church a new church was built in 1879, which has remained almost unchanged to this day well time flies really fast and we continue our journey along the planned route
Air temperatures rise … a really nice, warm day we go to see the Pašimšė defensive fortification there is a mound in the former Pašimšė Manor the fortification (5111) is located on a separate elongated hill with steep slopes up to 7 m high
The site is quadrangular, elongated NW-SW, 44×17 m in size, with a 1,5 m wide terrace flanked by 2 m wide terraces on all sides soon we pass another village – Kiaunioriai the village is situated in the Samogitian Uplands, south-east of the village is Tytuvėnai Regional Park
The river Šimša flows along the western boundary of the village territory we make a short visit to see the church Kiaunoriai St. Joseph’s Church stands in the village of Kiaunoriai, by the road Tytuvėnai – Pašiaušė the history of the church is complex and it would be difficult to tell it
Of course, we don’t miss the opportunity to visit the nature trail these are stretches of stones In Lithuania it can be found only in Tytuvėnai Regional Park and north of the park towards Šiauliai
As we walk along the trail, we can see what the sections look like and admire some interesting individual stones and to get outdoors in general and there are plenty of information stands
Here you can find information on the origin of the stones, the types of stones, the ice ages and the formation of the stone sections in these forests, the unique stretches of stones, known since ancient times as “ruzas”, are stone dykes formed by the last ice age
And it’s not just natural glacially deposited stones that you’ll see here but also stone sculptures and art installations by famous sculptors a stone in art, a stone in science, a stone in life, a stone in mythology, etc. this nature trail has a circular shape the 1.3-kilometre-long nature trail focuses on stones
The route follows a path on compacted ground, which can also be used by a pushchair there are no steps on the path and the terrain is fairly flat it’s really comfortable to walk on this trail there is only one trail, so it is clear where to go even without arrows
Although arrows are also available but even without arrows it is clear information stands at the start of the trail as well as on the trail itself we walked a considerable distance along the nature trail we saw many great stone installations that’s what the trail is for
And now we are at the furthest point on the trail and we’ll take the other trail (on the other side) back to the starting point so beautiful forest, birds chirping violets (Anemone hepatica, the common hepatica, liverwort,) are in bloom the truest springtime ever so clean, fresh air
We definitely recommend visiting this place as seen at the start of the runway there is a seating area next to the car park benches are also blackened… the infrastructure is really user-friendly
And the main objective of this trail is not only to tell visitors about the sections of stone formed by the glacier, but also to provide information about the historical, cultural and mythological significance of stone the most interesting part of the trail are the sculptural compositions and installations
Famous sculptors have improvised on the theme of stones we finally reach the furthest point of this day’s journey, namely Tytuvėnai is a town in western Lithuania, in the municipality of Kelme District, in the eastern foothills of the Samogitian Uplands, 17 km east of Kelmė, by the Tytuva river
Lake Bridvaišis is located in the southern part of the city nearby is Lake Gilius … we are heading towards it there is also the Tytuvėnai Castle Mound Tytuvėnai Regional Park was established in the surrounding area there is a nature trail around Lake Gilius, which is a circular route
With a length of 3,3 kilometres wooden plank paths in wet areas, elsewhere the route follows a natural dirt path the trail is interesting… because the lake is not big so the best way to see the lake is to go around it
Well, we didn’t go around because there isn’t that much greenery yet, and besides it’s time to move on you can also visit the Forest Museum however, the visit must be arranged in advance the Forest Museum first opened its doors to visitors in 1962
The Forest Museum invites you to admire an interesting collection of garden and forest birds, learn about forest animals and their lifestyle we follow the nature trail to the lake as already mentioned, this is a nature trail around the lake there are beaches and recreation areas on Lake Gilius
During the high season, the lake can be used for bathing in the bathing facilities provided the lake is located in central Lithuania, on the territory of Kelme district municipality the lake is 0,98 km long in a north-south direction and up to 0,47 km wide
The lake shores are low in the north and north-west, higher elsewhere the lake is surrounded by forest on the south side the lake covers an area of approximately 37 ha and a maximum depth of 23 metres the lake is probably rightly called there is a water sports facility by the lake
The lake is adjacent to the northern edge of Tytuvėnai, as well as the village of Kuršiai continue driving towards the town centre we’re going to take a look at it … and some more etymological facts Tytuvėnai is a place name derived from the river Tytuva formerly known as Tytava
By adding the suffix -ėnai earlier the settlement was called Tytavėnai, but from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century the current name gradually took hold there are other versions of the origin of the name, but the main one is still related to the Tytuva River here we are in Tytuvėnai
The town is located by the Tytuva stream (small river) and it is quite likely that the name of the town is related to the name of the river it is a town in western Lithuania, in Kelme district municipality approximately 17-18 km from Kelme in front we see the church and monastery ensemble
It is a historic Baroque architectural ensemble we’re going to take a look at this architectural ensemble… Also on the other side is Tytuvėnai Gymnasium we’ll try to see other places of interest a few more historical facts Tytuvėnai has been known since the end of the 14th century
Tytuvėnai manor mentioned at the end of the 15th century the first Tytuvėnai church was built in 1555 a town appeared near the church (mentioned in the manor inventory from 1581) later, in 1633 the Tytuvėnai Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a monastery were built we continue to see the church
A truly remarkable architectural ensemble which consists of a church and a monastery the church has late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque features Tytuvėnai Bernardine Monastery is located next to the church and it is a place of Catholic pilgrimage next, we visit the Tytuvėnai Chapel of the Stairs of Christ (Holy Stairs)
The chapel is part of the Tytuvėnai Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Bernardine Monastery ensemble it is a significant place of interest the chapel has been included in the Register of Cultural Heritage since 1996 is famous for the staircase for pilgrims to ascend to the chapel on foot
It is an example of Holy Stairs architecture which began to spread in Europe following the Council of Trent in 1775, the construction of the Chapel of the Holy Staircase, or Christ’s Staircase, began in Tytuvėnai, in the very centre of the churchyard the staircase is made of stone imported from Sweden
As we can see the chapel has a stone staircase and a wooden step-down staircase be sure to go inside the church should be inspected from the inside as far as possible the history of the church is varied and complex it would be impossible to tell it here
The church contains a painting of the Virgin Mary (Madonna) of Tytuvėnai painted in the 1930s on the church’s high altar, which is of important cultural significance there is also a chapel of Pope John Paul II and other places and sites of interest
The church is quite large, basilican (with late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque features) and has a high roof, 2 facade towers there are 8 altars the monastery consists of 3 connected blocks in front of the south façade of the church the buildings are massive, two-storey, red brick, with high roofs
It should be noted that on 26 January 2012 the church and monastery were badly damaged by a fire the monastery’s museum, which housed ancient church artefacts, burned down. The roof of the monastery and the church were also burnt the monastery has been fully restored
European Union funds were obtained for the restoration of Tytuvėnai Church, except for the roofs as already mentioned, the town is located in western Lithuania in Samogitia, on the Taurage – Radviliskis road the town has a population of 1774 (2023 data) on 28 December 1956 Tytuvėnai was granted town rights
The coat of arms of Tytuvėnai was adopted in 2002 Tytuvėnai has long been known as a resort town because it is surrounded by three lakes – Bridvaišis, Gilius and Epušis the town is located in the Tytuvėnai Regional Park
Tytuvėnai is now known not only as a resort, but also as a cultural and pilgrimage centre For example, since 2004 the city has hosted an international arts (mainly music) festival in September, during Šilines, one of the biggest feast days in Lithuania, a pilgrimage procession takes place along the Tytuvėnai – Šiluva road
Tytuvėnai – a place of nature, architecture and art monuments in Samogitian Land well-maintained, picturesque countryside shaped by hilly pine forests and lakes surrounded by hilly pine forests and a chain of lakes, the town beckons not only with its picturesque nature trails, winding cycling routes and water activitie
Tytuvėnai is famous for one of the most beautiful Baroque monuments in the whole of Northeastern Europe – the state-protected ensemble of the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Angels and the Bernardine Monastery built in the 17th century it’s lunchtime and it’s definitely time for lunch
Surprisingly, this is where you can taste the most authentic Italian pizza because there is a Da Piero pizzeria, https://www.visitsiauliai.lt/maistas/piero-pizzeria Da Piero Pizzeria Ristorante Italiano pizzas and other specialities cooked in a real pizza oven by the Italian owner Piero
Hosted by Pier Agnoletti, a pizza maker from Bologna, who picked up the craft from previous generations of his family after tasting the delicious pizzas, we move on and we are now on our way to the regional park visitor centre we’ll visit the centre and see the natural installations in the area
We’ll take a walk along the nature trails and, of course, to learn more about the activities of the Regional Park the park was established in 1992 in order to preserve the hilly, marshy, lake-like landscape of the surrounding area,
And the ancient urban monuments of Šiluva and Tytuvėnai, the distinctive nature and cultural heritage values the territory of the Regional Park is located at the junction of the districts of Kelme, Raseiniai and Radviliškis almost 60% of the park’s territory is covered by nature reserves: areas where the protection regime has been tightened
The Užpelkių Nature Reserve was established to protect the hard-to-enter, swampy forests we also visit the centre … here we are greeted by a member of staff she gives a brief overview of the centre and its activities Tytuvėnai Regional Park Directorate recommends various sightseeing excursions to visitors, provides guide services
For example, there is the Tytuvėnai Cycle Route, which is 13.5 km long of course, you can get to know the most important cultural and natural objects of Tytuvėnai region and admire the picturesque surroundings of the region the already mentioned Gilius Lake Nature Trail is interesting
There is also a route by car and on foot through Tytuvėnai and its surroundings this way you can see a lot quickly and … the route takes about 2 hours
As well as the Forest Museum … The exhibitions here introduce visitors to the fauna of the region, the work of folk craftsmen, the relief of the regional park birdwatching is also possible and other fun activities and entertainment
The aim of the park is to preserve the lake-like marshy wooded landscape of Tytuvėnai which is repeated in the ancient towns of Šiluva and Tytuvėnai the most beautiful lakes in the region are near the town there is also an old forest (centenary forest)
In the northern part of the park, the ancient protected wet forest of Šimšai with its stretches of glacially formed stones we’ve already checked out the stone trail in the visitor centre, we also visited a unique exhibition this is the Ada Alejūnaitė photography exhibition “Lithuanian Mansions” as we’ve noted before,
The visitor centre has short nature trails around it a wide range of natural materials, installations … there are benches you can rest … admire the surroundings really nice, well-maintained surroundings it should be mentioned that there is also a pilgrimage centre in the town
Which was established on 28 March 2008 the main objective of the Centre is to implement the reconstruction of the Tytuvėnai Bernardine Monastery and adapting the monastery building for tourism, pilgrims, faithful and spiritual needs in addition, the centre offers various services such as guided tours of Tytuvėnai tours of Tytuvėnai Bernardine Monastery
Excursions to places of interest in Kelme district individual itineraries can be created as well as advice and other services driving around the city centre and we’ll take a little stroll around the cleaned-up city centre it should be said that the renovated Tytuvėnai Town Square was inaugurated on 6 July 2017
Successful completion of the project “Phase I of the improvement of the Tytuvėnai central square and the adjacent recreational area and its adaptation for public use” and as we can see, the environment is perfectly landscaped when visiting Tytuvėnai, it is necessary to visit the observation tower
The tower is located slightly outside the town we’re on our way to the tower right now the tower is located 1 kilometre from Tytuvėnai The observation tower stands on a hill in Kokmaniškės village the 15-metre-high tower on the hill is of typical construction and made of metal structures
Information boards are located at the tower and at the top although the tower itself is not tall, it is certainly interesting to see and climb to the top travelling has already taken a lot of … climbing the tower is not easy but definitely curious and worthwhile
From the Kokmaniškės hill itself, you can look around the Tytuvėnai Regional Park the hill itself is 162 metres above sea level with binoculars you can see further and more we have already visited Tytuvėnai as much as possible, and as much as we could again, we unexpectedly had to change/adjust our route
We decided not to go to Kelme anymore, but to go back the other way to Šiauliai … because it’s already evening and the planned route turned out to be much richer, more complex and varied soon we reach Šiaulėnai it is a small town already in the municipality of Radviliškis district
Next to the road Raseiniai-Tytuvėnai-Radviliškis and we’ll be sure to visit this little town we will also try to take a look there is a St. Anne’s Church – a church named after St. Anne built in 1857 according to the project of the famous architect Fulgento Rimgaila also, there is Šiaulėnai M. Šikšnys gimnazium
There is also a library and a local museum the river Šušvė flows through the town Šiaulėnai Manor is also preserved by the way, Šiaulėnai manor is mentioned from 1492 we go to see the museum a small but quite unique museum in the region
As you can see, the museum is housed in an old pre-war house an authentic kitchen with a bread oven and a chimney in the central part of the building, where meat was smoked and who owns the museum? the museum belongs to Šiaulėnai neighborhood
Eugenijus Arbušauskas, an employee of the museum, agreed to tell us about the museum he says we are happy to have such a museum it’s clear that more serious repairs are needed here but still waiting for the opportunity to repair we are happy for ourselves, and so are the people who come
Well, what’s more unique to show here we have an interesting collection of locks … have you seen it? here are the locks for tying horses from that time there was still a metal chain between them … here is the key
In the old days, they used to steal horses, so people used to chain them and, in order that they might not easily drive the horse out of the pasture, they used to tie the horses horses were not only shackled with a rope, but also with a metal chain with a lock
Here is the antique textile room we see a wide variety of ancient artefacts, such as looms one of the museum’s halls is dedicated to the brothers Balys and Jonas Buračai: Balys is a famous photographer, local historian, and pedagogue, Jonas is a painter
Well, we’ll make a short video, it will be a promotion for the museum the museum has a wealth of information about famous people of the region continuing our journey … we keep going we’ll stop at the church and visit it the church of St. St. Anne
Standing in Šiaulėnai, on the left bank of the river Šušvė the church has Romanesque and Gothic architectural features historical sources say that the first church was built in 1514-1518 by Mikalojus Butrimavičius and Barbora Butrimavičienė after the church declined, a new church was built in 1731
Since 1805 a parish school has been attached to the church the church is rectangular, with two naves the churchyard is enclosed by a metal openwork fence in 1938, the interior of the church was painted and marble altars were added there is a lookout (observation) tower near the town
A 21-metre-high observation tower is erected in the land of Šiauliai, on the hills between Šiaulėnai and Šaukotas we will try to see the tower specifically, in the village of Kalnai, a 21-metre-high observation tower is standing stands on the highest hill in the area, which adds another 9 metres of height
From the tower you can see the towns of Radviliškis and Šiauliai the tower is round in shape the observation deck at the top can be reached by climbing a spiral staircase information boards at the top of the tower the building itself is constructed using metal structures vertically fixed boards chosen for finishing
The observation tower stands at the point where the plains of central Lithuania, stretching from Radviliskis, become a mass of hills after visiting the tower, we head back to the town we’ll take a little more time to see it we head towards the gymnasium, then back to the centre
Although small, the town is distinctive and interesting reasonably well maintained and landscaped nowadays the town is also the centre of Šiaulėnai neighborhood (elderate) there are other smaller settlements and villages in the territory of the neighborhood (elderate) information sources state that the population of the elderate is more than 1600
Šiaulėnai, a town in the territory of Radviliškis district municipality there are various places of interest and attractions there is also an art gallery here the school also has its own museum in addition, there is the Šiaulenai Cemetery Chapel there is also the preserved homestead of Balys Buračas
There is also a monument to Balys Buracas in Šiaulėnai town square on 30 July 2011, a monument was unveiled and consecrated in Šiaulenai Town Square in honour of Balys Buračas, who was born here Balys Buračas Lithuanian educator, photographer, ethnographer, local historian, press collaborator after visiting Šiaulėnai, we continue our sightseeing tour
Towards Šiauliai … we are still planning to visit Tyruliai and explore this small town Tyruliai – a small town in Radviliskis district municipality to the west of Radviliškis the railway line to Tilžė runs along the eastern edge of the town
There are many wetlands around Tyruliai, most of which are covered by the Tyruliai Botanical Zoological Reserve the settlement was established in 1953 (under Soviet occupation) after the exploitation of the Didžioji Tyrulis peat bog the name of the town is formed from the plural of the swamp Tyrulis
The latter is related to the noun “tyras” – “a viscous swamp covered with rare small trees” Tyruliai was established in 1953 as a peat extraction settlement later, on 15 May 1958, it received the status of an urban settlement on 8 April 2003 it was granted the status of a town by Government Decree
It’s a really small town but maintained and managed as far as possible the central square is quite original there are several shops the buildings are, of course, quite old buildings in need of renovation … this is likely to be sorted out in the future
Tyruliai State Botanical and Zoological Reserve – Protected natural area in Lithuania specifically, in the Tyruliai wetland was established in 1992 and is included in the Natura 2000 network of nature reserves we continue our journey and our route comes to an end we are approximately 7 km south-east of Šiauliai
We are in Šilenai … a village in Šiauliai district municipality here is the Šilénai railway station there is also a school and several shops in 2004, a memorial stone with the inscription “Šilėnai 1649” was unveiled and consecrated in Šilėnai village the village is located 2 km from Šiauliai Airport
As we have already mentioned, Šilėnai has been known since 1649 it is interesting to note that the village of the same name is located in the west of Vilnius District Municipality, 3 km south-west of Čekoniškės, on the right bank of the Neris but this is a completely different area
Well … after a long day we finally arrive in Šiauliai we will finish our journey, as planned, in Rekyva here we are back from today’s trip we changed the planned route twice first of all because we stayed much longer in Tytuvėnai
So we had to change our route … we didn’t go to Kelme we came back the other way … … just past Šiaulėnai… we visited this town and in Šiaulenai we visited the Easter Egg exhibition and, of course, the lookout tower outside the town
And later, passing through Šilėnai, we returned to Šiauliai more precisely, to Rėkyva, where we started this morning’s journey the trip was excellent, informative, interesting … the day flew by very quickly practically unnoticeable travelling really is everything without travel, without self-discovery, we are nothing
And, as Mark Twain said, travel is the antidote to superstition, blind attachment and narrow thinking so let’s travel and get to know … until next time