Places to visit in Pasval district

The wooden church of folk architectural shapes was built in 1853. Later, it was enlarged and a brick belfry was built at the expense of the landowner Pranciškus Karpis and the parishioners. Antanas Juška, a well-known collector and researcher of Lithuanian folklore, was a provost in Pušalotas in 1855-1862. He renovated the church, built a rectory. An organ was installed in 1882. During the period of the press ban, priest Jonas Jaskevičius organized the distribution of the Lithuanian press, patronized secret Lithuanian schools, and built a shelter. J. Jaskevičius was active in the Pušalotas company of the Joniškėlis partisan battalion in the years of independence struggles in 1919-1920, and is buried in the churchyard.

The water mill in the village of Rauboniai was first mentioned in 1775. The wooden mill stood by Tatula River and belonged to the Raudonpamūšė estate managed by Baron Ulrich Saken, a general of the Tsarist Russian army. The Rauboniai mill was controlled by Baron Ludvik von Rop in the second half of the 19th century. He was probably the one, who built the current red brick building. Latvian Jonas Ribė bought and built wool carding and spinning facilities in 1907, thus expanding the company’s services. There was no other such company in a wide area around Rauboniai. Later, the Jew Chackelis Zivas installed new powerful English and Swedish equipment: carding machines and spinning machine. These authentic mechanisms operated daily until 1997. The building is a state-protected historical, technical, and architectural monument. Its greatest value is the preserved old technological wool processing equipment. Today, her work can be observed in the restored spaces of the mill. Educational sessions on wool processing are organized. The traditional craft festival “Vilnonės dienos” is held every year.

The first church of Saločiai was small, wooden. Radvilos of Biržai expropriated the property of the Catholic parish, destroyed the church and built a prayer house of Reformed Protestants in its place in 16th century. Catholics sued Radvila in 1632 and won the case. A new wooden church was built approximately in 1755. It burned down on 26 July 1944, the belfry bell melted during the fire. Under the care of administrators-priests Kazimieras Pukenis and Antanas Balys, the church was set up in a brick two-story rectory in 1945.

There was a will to build a church in the village even before the WWI. The priest Adomas Kačkus sent to Skrebotiškis in 1918 finally started the works. The old brick granary was converted into a church, a wooden tower and belfry were added. Farmer Juozapas Žagrakalys donated 15 hectares of land to the church in 1922. The interior of the church was badly damaged by fire in 1993, luckily the people, who got there quickly, managed to put it out.

The first wooden chapel of Vaškai was built around 1665. It was served by the provost of Saločiai. In the early 18th century, during the wars with the Swedes and the plague, the chapel was abandoned. The landowner of Zvanagala Andriejus Staševskis built a new wooden church in 1766, it was granted parish rights (before that it was a branch of Saločiai). The landowners of the area assigned a volok of land and 13 thousand auksinas to the church. After the church became old in 1793 a new wooden belfry was built next to it.

The current church was built in 1881 through the efforts of pastor Bronius Stasevičius. 25-register organ was installed in 1887. The sanctuary has features of Romanesque and Classicism style.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the middle of the 19th century, the family of the landowner Aleksandaras Chodakauskas bought the Vytartai manor. On the side of Pasvalys, on the picturesque bend of Mūša River, the mansion was once haunted by the silhouettes of famous women. Sofija Smetonienė, the wife of Antanas Smetona, the first president of Lithuania, often visited here, at the house of her grandmother Šarlotė Osten Saken Chodakauskienė. Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, godmother of S. Smetonienė, also from the Chodakauskai family, was a frequent guest in Vytartai. Grandfather of S. Smetonienė and father of G. Petkevičaitė-Bitė were brothers.

On the road to the manor an arched bridge was built over Mūša River in 1928. President A. Smetona himself participated in the opening of the bridge. There was a school in the Vytartai manor from 1931 to 1968. Currently, the manor belongs to private individuals.