Visit

An observation deck has been built and an interactive sculpture of Antanėlis, the musician of the old bridge, has been erected. Sculpture is not only form, but content as well. When you touch the right hand, Antanėlis (in the voice of Jonas Nainys) tells about the most beautiful places in Pasvalys, when you touch the left hand, Antanėlis, in the voice of actress Olita Dautartaitė, retells the legend of Antanėlis, and when you put your palm on the button, you hear a poem by the poet Vladas Braziūnas – read in the Pasvalys dialect about the old bridge of Lėvuo.

Partisan Bunker in Žadeikiai Forest is another place that provides an interesting and authentic experience. The most exciting thing is that you can get into the bunker, where everything is set up so that you can feel like a real partisan: sit down on the wooden beds and read the underground press, get to know the partisan oath, sing partisan songs, open a prayer book. This bunker was restored last year, and you can also watch a 3D video about the real life of the partisans in the museum of the Pasvalys region or virtually on your own. 

Museum of Pasvalys Region. When you don’t know anything about a new place, the best way to get to know the city is to start with the regional museum. Museum of Pasvalys Region opened its doors in 1998 in the reconstructed premises of the Soviet cinema Svalia. Over the years, the museum has changed, grown, and was modernized many times. While visiting the museum, you will get to know the history of the Pasvalys region from the great Middle Ages to the present day, you will see exhibits that tell interesting stories, you will get to have a look at the city market square of the times of A. Smetona and you will go on a special adventure on the motorcycle of the traveller Antanas Poška! After putting on virtual reality glasses, you can travel to the post-war times for at least a few minutes, get into the everyday life of the partisans and see what conditions they lived in.

Sinkhole park. After getting to know the history, it’s time to check out the nature. The Sinkhole Park is a unique place in Pasvalys, which has no equivalents not only in Lithuania, but also in the whole world. Geologists calculated that as many as 56 sinkholes had opened here 80 years ago. The field the looked like the cratered surface of the Moon from a bird’s eye view. In the past, this place was called Avižonis pits because the land belonged to farmers Avižoniai. Homes have never been built here nor economic activities have been developed. Today, in the 8-hectare area of the Sinkhole Park, there are more than ten karst collapses of various ages and sizes. The deepest sinkhole is about 6 meters deep. This is the highest concentration of sinkholes in one place, such a phenomenon is only present in the Pasvalys region. Various cultural events are held at the bottom of one of the largest sinkholes with no water, by erecting an amphitheater there. Local residents have long been accustomed phenomenon – sinkholes that are natural to the residents. City guests, especially foreigners, are more afraid of them. Travellers preparing to come to Pasvalys often ask if it is not dangerous here, is it safe to walk around the territory of the park, if it is not fenced and locked. Guests of the sinkhole park often ask if the ground will eat them when they’ll enter it…

Sinkhole park. After getting to know the history, it’s time to check out the nature. The Sinkhole Park is a unique place in Pasvalys, which has no equivalents not only in Lithuania, but also in the whole world. Geologists calculated that as many as 56 sinkholes had opened here 80 years ago. The field the looked like the cratered surface of the Moon from a bird’s eye view. In the past, this place was called Avižonis pits because the land belonged to farmers Avižoniai. Homes have never been built here nor economic activities have been developed. Today, in the 8-hectare area of the Sinkhole Park, there are more than ten karst collapses of various ages and sizes. The deepest sinkhole is about 6 meters deep. This is the highest concentration of sinkholes in one place, such a phenomenon is only present in the Pasvalys region. Various cultural events are held at the bottom of one of the largest sinkholes with no water, by erecting an amphitheater there. Local residents have long been accustomed phenomenon – sinkholes that are natural to the residents. City guests, especially foreigners, are more afraid of them. Travellers preparing to come to Pasvalys often ask if it is not dangerous here, is it safe to walk around the territory of the park, if it is not fenced and locked. Guests of the sinkhole park often ask if the ground will eat them when they’ll enter it…

Green spring. State-protected geological monument. This is the most interesting and geologically valuable sinkhole. Currently, it is the deepest cave in Lithuania, included in the Lithuanian Book of Records. The sinkhole of the spring is about 5 m in diameter and 8 m deep. It further branches into two underground halls: “Sunny” and “Aenigma”. So far, the longest measured section of the cave reaches 21 meters (measured from the surface of the spring). The spring erupted in the sinkhole around 1960. Before it opened, the surrounding residents heard an underground rumble, and when the ground collapsed, it deformed the building standing next to it. The water is clear and has the smell of hydrogen sulphide (”rotten eggs”). It is interesting that due to the chemical composition, the water temperature is constant both in summer and winter – about 7-8 degrees. The inflowing spring water does not allow the riverbed to freeze completely, so many waterfowl gather here for the winter. It has been measured that about 10 liters of water flow out from the source to the river in one second. The green spring is like a reminder of Pasvalys of the times of A. Smetona, when the city was famous for its springs and sulphur baths, and even had the status of a resort.

Millstone Museum. A few hundred meters away, we will find another unique place in our region – the open-air exposition of millstones and bowl-shaped stones. The collection of local lore researcher Antanas Stapulionis, which includes 66 bowl-shaped stones and 300 different millstones. Stone boundary markers of estates, parts of mill equipment, etc. are also exhibited here. It took almost three decades for Pasavalys resident to collect and describe the collection.

Rauboniai amusement park. About 20 km from Pasvalys is the Rauboniai amusement park. Everyone will be impressed by the zoo located here, where some animals can be fed and petted. The set up “Tarzan Trail” is the only park of its kind where you can observe animal life from above! And, of course, in the park of giant dinosaurs and beetles, you will be able to step into the real life of the movie “Jurassic Park”.

Pajiešmeniai manor (visitors are not allowed inside the manor itself) and park. If it’s hot outside and you want to spend time in the fresh air or have fun by the water, you can spend half a day in the park of this manor. The park has a swimming place, you can rent water bikes, boats or play volleyball in the park.

Pasvalys Culture and Recreation Park. Those who wish can choose a walk in the forest – in the Pasvalys Culture and Recreation Park. The establishment of the park was started in 1923 and continued to be expanded, now it occupies an area of 70 ha. Folk artists of the region added variety to it with oak sculptures of folklore and mythological themes in 1986-1988. Šilas lake located in the park is interesting because it is of karst origin – merged from several sinkholes and formed by human hands. By the way, it took a lot of effort before it was possible to find and plug the hole through which the water drained somewhere into the dungeons. Various cultural events are held in the park during the summer, sports competitions are held in the stadium. Campsite with cabins awaits tourists.

Joniškėlis Manor and Park. One of the oldest Lithuanian landowners, the Karpiai Manor, is located on the outskirts of the town, by the Mažupė stream. The Karpiai ruled these lands since the 17th century until 1940. The original building of the central palace, part of the conservatory, and outbuildings have survived. The manor is surrounded by a 27-hectare park, which is about 200 years old. The park was renovated this year. The Joniškėlis research station of the Lithuanian Agricultural Research Institute operates in the manor building (visitors are not allowed inside).

Hundreds of exhibits are gathered in the open-air collection: An exposition of 214 millstones, 64 bowl stones, 7 “footed” stones, 2 boundary stones, and mill gears. They were collected by local researcher Antanas Stapulionis over many years. Large and small millstones bring to mind the ancient craft of grinding grain, both in mills and at home. And the bowl-shaped stones are a legacy of the old Balt religion. Balts used them during ceremonies, worshiping their deities. In later centuries, the stones of the pagan period were adapted for farm purposes: rubbing, pressing, house thresholds, foundations, etc. However, their true purpose and use is not forgotten even in our days.

The mound is located at the confluence of two rivers. It is surrounded by Tatula river from the north, and the Ūgė river from the south and southwest. The mound site is triangular, about 60 m long, the site is surrounded by the remains of defensive ramparts. Side slopes about 9 m high, almost perpendicular, eroded by river flows.  The mound was built and inhabited in the 9th-11th centuries. The wooden castle of the Žimegaliai that stood here was part of the defense system of Northern Lithuania. Archaeological research has shown that the buildings had stone ovens, a sand layer floor, and a stone-paved courtyard. The sources of the 13th century do not mention Ąžuolpamūšė mound, but people still lived here, as there is a cemetery nearby. After the German order conquered Žiemgala in the late 13th century, the last inhabitants abandoned this land and the life in Ąžuolpamūšė came to an end. 

Legends. One legend tells that there was a mansion on the hill, which vanished beneath the surface of the earth. On the first Easter day, the nobleman who lived here kicked his serfs to plow the land. After they returned from work, they the mansion was not there. Now two girls come out every night, going down the stairs to the water and rinse napkins and plates. Once the roosters crow, they would disappear right away. As they pass the mountain, people listen uneasily when they hear roosters crowing, scythes beating, and bells ringing underground.

Another legend testifies that once upon a time men were herding horses in during night grazing and sitting by a fire next to the mound. Suddenly, a handsome gentleman with a cane came down from the mountain, said hello and sat down to warm himself. One man offered him snuff tobacco. The man took it, but he didn’t sniff it through his nose, but took it in his mouth. Then the men saw that his nose was without nostrils. When the roosters crowed, the gentleman got up and walked back up the hill. Soon there was a crash and the men were suddenly doused with water. In this way, the mound defended itself from the vandals and protected its secrets with various intimidating things.

The mill has been standing on the bank of Lėvuo river since 1764. It is one of the oldest water mills in Lithuania. In those days, there were three millstones and a wool carding mill.

During the Soviet era, the mill was abandoned, the roof collapsed, and the stone masonry walls began to crumble. It was rebuilt by the Pasvalys Reclamation Construction Board in 1980s, and a ballroom was installed. The building is currently owned by a private individual. In the vicinity of the mill, there is an exposition of ancient farm equipment and ethnographic household items. The guest house, space for family festivals and other celebrations invites you to stop by.

Here, in the homestead of the former village of Stebeikėliai, the future classic of Lithuanian literature, Bernardas Brazdžionis, honorary Citizen of the city of Pasvalys, was born on 02 February 1907. The boy, who was barely a year old, left his homeland with his parents and went across the Atlantic. He will later return, attend Žadeikiai, Pasvalys elementary schools, Biržai gymnasium, and study at Vytautas Magnus University. Then long years of living abroad… The native village will often appear in the poet’s works. A narrow, dusty road leads here, and the last remaining homestead in the neighborhood reminds us of what the Brazdžioniai farm might have looked like. Today, it is reminded by a powerful hundred-year-old oak and a roofed pillar with a figure of St. Roch was erected in 1989. In the years of revival, the poet’s return to his homeland was particularly sensitive.