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House of Prayer

St. Thomas Chapel of Niurkonys

The chapel was dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant General Tomas Vavžeckis, commander of the uprising of 1794 against Tsarist Russia. He gathered the rebels in the vicinity of Pušalotas, later led the Žemaičiai division, and after Tadas Kosciuška was captured, he was appointed the commander of the entire uprising. The chapel was funded by Juozapas Vavžeckis, the brother of Tomas Vavžeckis, manager of Niurkoniai Manor. The sanctuary was built in 1828. Local landowners were buried in its dungeons. This is one of the most beautiful late classicism chapels in Lithuania. In addition, it is the only architectural monument in Lithuania dedicated to the commemoration of the uprising of 1794. In the nearby fields, there is a preserved stone pillar of the Niurkoniai Manor surrounded by legends. The chapel has not been restored, but church festival of St. Aloyzas takes place here every year in June.

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House of Prayer

St. Trinity Church of Joniškėlis

There was a wooden church or chapel in Joniškėlis, then called Janiškiai, since 1685. It was funded by landlady Kotryna Stankevičiūtė-Puzinienė. The shrine stood in the current old cemetery, called “Mūrinės”. It was destroyed by the participants of the uprising of T. Kosciuszko in 1794: they robbed the rectory, requisitioned liturgical supplies. During the incident, the shrine was set on fire, possibly to cover the tracks or in the heat of the conflict. It is known that already Benediktas Karpis, the landowner of Joniškėlis, started the construction of a new brick shrine on the outskirts of the town near Mažupė in 1788. The church was completed in 1792. It is a valuable monument of early classicism architecture. Its interior has expressive baroque and neo-baroque forms, a rather unified style. The large altar and the tower of a very distinctive shape stand out – a rarity in Lithuanian sacral architecture. A coffin motif can be seen in the shape of the church. According to the legend, Karpis, who killed his brother, had to build exactly such a church on the order of the Pope, which would remind him of the terrible crime every day.

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Street art

Street Art Drawing “Brothers”

The drawing is dedicated to the Vileišiai brothers.

The identity of the Pasvalys region is inseparable from Vileišiai brothers, the famous revivers of Lithuanian spirit. Everyone has probably heard about these famous brothers, but few know that their childhood was spent in a small village in Pasvalys District – Mediniai.

These are two shapes embracing each other, symbolizing brotherhood, friendship, a certain connection in time. One shape represents the modern man, the youth, and is graphically colored. The other one reflects the past, history – the Vileišiai brothers. The inside of the latter shape is a part of the suit of one of the Vileišiai brothers, reproduced according to the available photo. The street art work itself is meant to be viewed from afar, so the best viewing spot is the other bank of the Lėvuo River.

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Street art

Street Art Drawing “Flight”

The drawing is dedicated to the pilots of the Pasvalys region – Vytautas Lapėnas, Eugenijus Malinauskas, and Jonas Pyragis. The pilots who lived between the earth and the sky, between life and death, remained faithful to their passion – flying, all their lives.

A hawk that symbolizes the freedom of flight, looks as if split in half. The transition from natural colors to red is like a transition between life and death. Although these people are no longer among us, they have always been and will remain alive in our memories… The crumbling hawk feathers – stricter geometric shapes, resemble the wreckage of a crashed plane. When injured, the pilots usually rose like phoenixes, driven by the desire to feel the power of flight again and again… In the drawing, this is reflected by the transition of red into yellow.

The soaring hawk looks at the sky as the pilots – V. Lapėnas, E. Malinauskas, and J. Pyragius – once looked. When you look at a hawk, you can feel the freedom of flight and remember those without whom today is much more empty… 

The author of the drawing idea is the artist Tadas Šimkus (studio “Gyva grafika”).

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Street art

Street art drawing “Vilhelmas Janiselis with his family”

The drawing is followed by the shadow of exile. A historical camera was selected, which the famous folk artist, photographer Vilhelmas Janiselis, hidden in a loaf of bread, took to Siberia and recorded the daily life of exiles there. Today, these photographs have become a documentary chronicle and have been declared a UNESCO heritage. The exile affected not one or two people, but the whole family… Therefore, the entire family of Janiseliai carries cameras – parents Vilhelmas and Matilda, children Aldona, Emilija, Algirdas, and Jonas. The images of all of them have been reproduced based on photographs taken in exile. The legendary camera is stored in the exposition of the Pasvalys Regional Museum. The author of the drawing idea is the artist Arminas Raugevičius (studio “Gyva grafika”).

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Natural objects, parks

Svalia Valley Park

The river Svalia gave the name to the City of Pasvalys. The recreation park located in the river valley is a great place for leisure, sports, children’s games, and nature observation.

The spaces of the park are connected by bridges and paths, a cozy square with sculptures and exercise equipment, a tennis table, and a children’s area with climbing playsets. Gazebos invite you to sit down, and wooden deckchairs invite you to lie down. At the edge of the park is the old Jewish and Karaite cemetery of Pasvalys. From Svalia Park, you can walk to Sinkhole Park (Panevėžio g.).

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Natural objects

Šventabala (Mary’s spring)

There was always a belief that it has miraculous powers. During the Pentecost church festival, people would walk, ride, and cycle to the spring, and those who wanted to be healed would crawl on their knees. The spring used to look completely different. Until 1938 there was a puddle where people washed their diseased and wounded body parts.

During the Soviet era, the spring was filled with soil under the order of the authorities. After the restoration of independence, the people of Daujėnai enthusiastically revived the spring and turned it into a sacral place.

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House of Prayer

Švobiškis Church of Continental Reformed Protestants

The only legacy of the reformation movement in Pasvalys region. The Reformation reached Švobiškis in the late 16th century. Martynas Švoba, a nobleman from Upytė Powiat (county), founded the Continental Reformed Protestantism parish in 1606 by donating to it the manor of his name near Mūša.

The current brick church was built in 1789.

The community of Continental Reformed Protestants is alive to this day, services and religious festivals are held.

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Technical heritage

Švobiškis narrow gauge railway bridge

The narrow gauge railway line from Joniškėlis to Žeimelis used to run in this place. The bridge over Mūša was built during the Second World War, it was built by Soviet soldiers who were prisoners of the Germans. A camp for prisoners of war was even built in Svobiškis. The length of the bridge is 70 m, width – 2.6 m, height – 9.6 m. It is the only reinforced concrete arch bridge in Lithuania in a narrow gauge railway section. Materials of exceptional quality were used for the structure. In the Soviet era, the railway line was abolished, a road was built in its place, and the bridge was adapted for car traffic.

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House of Prayer

Synagogue of Pušalotas

The brick building of the synagogue was built in 1913 in place of a burnt wooden Jewish sanctuary. The synagogue was not only the center of spiritual, but also cultural and social life of Jews of Pušalotas, community meetings were held here. The funds for the construction were collected by countrymen living in the United States.

A tragic episode is related to the construction of the synagogue. The money that came from across the Atlantic were guarded by Reuvenas Brogas, a pharmacist and a Rabbi at the same time. Killers who broke into the house at night killed the rabbi, his wife, and seriously injured his son. Young Israelis slept in the other room. The grandchildren who survived the family tragedy were raised by their grandmother who lived in Panevėžys. As an adult, Israelis Brogas went to Israel, his son changed his ancestral last name and became Ehud Barak. This name is well known in international politics: Prime Minister of Israel, head of ministries of defense, foreign affairs, and others.

During the Soviet era, a collective farm dairy, a canning factory, an artificial leather workshop, and a mill operated in the synagogue. Pušalotas Synagogue is the only fully preserved Jewish prayer house in Pasvalys District.

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Historical places of memory

The historical center of the city of Pasvalys

From the very beginning, the city center was bustling with life – there was a market square and shops. Over the centuries, the streets running into the square have formed a unique urban plan, which today is recognized as an urban heritage. On the outskirts of the square, there are preserved buildings from the early 20th century  and a narrow stone-paved street leading past the red-brick hospital to the site of the old wooden bridge.

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Historical places of memory

The old Jewish cemetery

People of Jewish nationality who lived in the city of Pasvalys and its vicinity were buried in this place for several centuries. After the destruction of the Jewish community during the Holocaust in 1941, the use of cemetery stopped. During the Soviet era, they were destroyed, only a few fragments of the former tombstones remained. After the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, a monument was built at the site of the cemetery. Today, it is the territory of the Svalia Valley Park.

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Technical heritage

Toliūnai water mill

The old Toliūnai water mill is mentioned already in 1857. It belonged to Toliūnai Manor, it had only one millstone. The mill burned down in 1905. The fire could have been caused by oil leaking from old equipment. The new owners of the manor built a new field stone masonry mill in 1909 that still stands today.

The mill has three floors. In the upper one there were two millstones. In the lower part – devices for pouring flour and groats into sacks. In the western part there were living quarters – three rooms and a kitchen.

During the First World War, the Toliūnai manor and the mill were under the control of Germans. Later, it was bought by the Jews of Pakruojis region, who did not live here, but hired local workers. The building was purchased in 1927 by Mrs. Agnieška Jasukevičienė, who came from the USA, thanks to whom the wool processing equipment was installed in the mill. The mill was famous throughout the region, customers came here even from Panevėžys. In the Soviet era, the mill was turned by an electric motor. Then the mill stopped operating. Today it is a private property, but it stands abandoned.

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Historical places of memory

Valley of Crosses of the Baltic Way

“For this day to be immortalized, everyone will bring something for the roadside monuments. Stone by stone, same as our captivity, we will pile them up to build an altar… Maybe a bag of soil – to build the mound according to the ancient custom… Maybe a cross…” (Writer Kazys Saja, 17 August 1989).

The first crosses were erected here by the people of Pasvalys, Joniškėlis, neighbors from Pakruojis, guests from Kretinga, Akmenė, and Mosėdis on 23 August 1989, the day of the Baltic Road campaign. This is how they gave meaning to their determination to seek freedom. Later crosses were erected here to commemorate various important occasions. 14 crosses stand in the valley today.

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Technical heritage

Vaškai windmill

The date of its construction is commemorated on the wall of the mill – 1899. The mill was built by Baron Han, the landowner of Plonėnai. The powerful, 4-story, 18-meter-high building is made of local clay bricks. Foundations from field stones. The mill had four wings and a modern drawbar, a device for turning the cap against the wind. Four millstone were turning: two for grinding of feed grains, one for bread, and one for fine grinding and sorting. In the days of independent Lithuania, the mill was rented by the Jew Moderniekas, but he was kicked out due to disagreements. The new owner built a steam engine and set up a sawmill. The Soviets, who occupied Lithuania, nationalized the mill and exiled the owner to Siberia. The mill was restored in the 1980s, adapted for festivals, and an extension was built next to it. However, the work was not completed after the change in the political establishment. The privatized building housed a cafe-bar, later a second-hand clothing store. The mill no longer received the attention it needed, it lost its face, its wings fell off, and its walls began to crumble.

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