Places to visit in Pasval district

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.

Velniakalnis is an archaeological site of the Iron Age. It is believed that in the times of paganism, there was a place of religious rites here – a site of alkas. Only isolated archaeological finds are known.

A sundial is installed on Velniakalnis, the highest hill in the Pasvalys Region. The height of Velniakalnis is 75.2 m. above sea level. The sky luminary observatory in Velniakalnis was created based on the old tradition of Balts. Back then, large stones marked important places: crossroads, burial places, land borders, celestial observation points. The sky luminaries observatory and the sundial were created by folk artist Arūnas Grušas (Pasvalys). The sundial was opened on 22 September 2019, commemorating the Day of Unity of Balts. Velniakalnis sundial is unique in its form, it is included in the virtual world sundial atlas www.sundialatlas.net.

St. John’s Day, 6th of July – State Day, 22nd of September are celebrated at Velniakalnis, the fire of Balts’ unity is lit here.

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.

A hydrological natural monument of national significance. The Spring is unique in its pungent smell and yucky taste. The pebbles of the bottom of the stream and the grass on the edges are so white that the spring is nicknamed White. Its water is clear, colorless, has a sharp smell of hydrogen sulphide, unpleasant taste, because it contains a lot of sulphates (gypsum) and other chemical compounds. With the help of a lever, water can be drawn from the tank.