Places to visit in Pasval district

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.

The first bridge in this place was very different from the current one. It was wooden, built in 1920. The adopted name of the “Freedom” bridge has been firmly established in the minds of local residents for a long time. The wooden bridge stood only for six years. The swift and watery Mūša River constantly destroyed the wooden parts, and ice jams threatened to collapse the bridge every spring. The ice flow reached the lower parts of the bridge and severely damaged the structures. The bridge buckled and it became dangerous to drive on it.

The new reinforced ­concrete bridge that connected the banks of Mūša became a symbol of Ustukiai village in 1928. This is one of the most beautiful structures in Pasvalys region.­ It was designed by Pranas Markūnas from Anykščiai. ­President Antanas Smetona took part in the ­opening ceremony of the bridge on 10 August 1928. The bridge was named after him. At the initiative of the Ustukiai community, the national flag of Lithuania is constantly flying over the bridge.

The bridge was built in 1929. It was brought in parts from Kaunas. Two steel trusses from Kaunas Panemunė bridge that collapsed in 1928 were used for the construction of the bridge, and the third was made in Lithuania.

In order to commemorate the tragic feat of the transatlantic pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas, the Saločiai bridge was given the name of Darius and Girėnas in 1933.

An attempt was made to blow up the bridge during the war in 1944, but only its wooden parts burned. Later, no one looked after the bridge anymore, heavy machines and tractors destroyed the wooden pavement. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997, no authentic wooden pavement remained, but pedestrians still walk on wooden sidewalks of the bridge.

The partisans of the Green Forest set up a bunker in this place in autumn of 1944, named it “Near the path of Margiai Mountain-ash”. Jonas Tamošiūnas-Vyturys, a partisan from the village of Margiai, was killed in a battle with Russian soldiers near the bunker on 06 October 1945. At that time, another partisan was killed, whose name, unfortunately, is unknown. Others successfully retreated.

Bunker was restored in 2004 by the young riflemen of the Pasvalys rifle company, led by Algis Kalvėnas. In memory of the partisans, their comrade Juozas Tamulionis erected a wooden cross.

The bunker, built in 1948, was one of the headquarters of the partisan commander Povilas Žilis-Klevas. The fighters of his unit belonged to the Green Detachment of Vytis County.

The authentic bunker was never discovered nor destroyed by the enemy, it was destroyed by nature. Bunker was restored in 2003 by the young riflemen of the Pasvalys rifle company, led by Algis Kalvėnas.

A place that gives an authentic experience. We suggest you go to a bunker in the middle of the forest, where you will sit down on wooden deckchairs and read the underground press by candlelight, get acquainted with the partisan oath, sing partisan songs, and open a prayer book… The partisans of Pasvalys region, led by Jonas Alenčikas-Dragūnas, hid here when they were tired after the battles or when they were wounded. The actual bunker was built in 1945, but was destroyed during the battle. First rebuilt in 1997, but time and nature have taken their toll… The bunker was restored by the Pasvalys Regional Museum in 2019. After travelling in time you can go back to today again! You will see the real life of the partisans in a 3D movie when you will visit the Pasvalys Regional Museum.

The homestead of the Vileišiai family of farmers stood in this place, where a group of people, who distinguished themselves for Lithuania, were born and grew up. Vileišiai – fighters for the freedom of the Lithuanian press, educators, entrepreneurs, revivalists of Lithuanian spirit, supporters of culture and art, statesmen, creators of self-government, builders of a reborn Lithuania… A roofed pole for the Vileišiai family was unveiled in the homestead on 16 February 1991 (sculptor Arūnas Grušas). It depicts five brothers: Petras, the engineer, Jonas, the lawyer and the signatory of the Act of Independence of 16 February 1918, Antanas, the doctor, Juozas, the priest, and Kazimieras, the farmer. The creation of Vileišiai Park began in 2001. Oak trees rustle here for the six brothers, and the two sisters are symbolized by fir trees. Trees are planted in the park on various occasions significant for the region of Pasvalys.

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė (1861–1943), writer, publicist, and educator, spent almost 40 years of her life in Joniškėlis. It was the period of the town’s cultural rise, the prosperity of Lithuania, when the most prominent personalities of the Lithuanian nation of that time arrived to town.

G. Petkevičaitė was born in Puziniškis manor (Panevėžys District), in a family of intelligentsia nobles. The writer’s father, Jonas Leonas Petkevičius, practiced as a doctor, and her mother, Malvina Chodakauskaitė, graduated from the Vilnius ­Gymnasium. Petkevičius was appointed head of the Joniškėlis hospital in 1865 and moved here with his large family. Gabrielė was taught by the famous Lithuanian linguist and journalist Laurynas Ivinskis for two years (1866–1868).

G. Petkevičaitė was elected to the Constituent Seimas of Lithuania in 1920. As the oldest member of the Seimas, she had the honor of presiding over the first session. She even took part in the Lithuanian presidential elections, being the first female candidate. Joniškėlis gymnasium is named after her.

A windmill was built in the town of Pumpėnai in 1925. Jonas Kulalis invested here his capital that he earned in America. The investments were considerable, the body of the building is made of red bricks, the foundations are made of broken field stones. The Soviets, who occupied Lithuania, nationalized the mill and exiled the owner to Siberia. In the days of the collective farm, the mill was already powered by electricity, so the wings rotted and fell off. An attempt was made to restore the building in the 1980s, adapt it for festivals and a museum, but due to a change in the political system, it was not possible to do so. The privatized mill housed a cafe for several years, then stood empty for two decades.

The mill, which has the status of a state-protected object, was once again made famous by its new owners – “Būk geresnis” PE. The proactive youth organization successfully collected the funds needed for the preparation of the project of maintenance works. Institutions, organizations, communities and individuals bought the symbolic bricks and thus supported the mill. The prepared project was favorably received by the public, it was evaluated by specialists and recommended for state funding. If all goes well, the restoration of the mill should be completed in time for the centenary of its history.

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 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 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.