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Christs Resurrection Basilica
Looking a little like a Soviet-era power station, this truly monumental cathedral took 70 years to build. A Nazi paper warehouse, then a radio factory under the Soviets, it was finally consecrated in 2004.
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Field of Sacrifice
The Field of Sacrifice – a name engraved on paving slabs in front of the City Garden – is a tragic tribute to the young Kaunas hero Romas Kalanta, who, in 1972, set himself alight in protest at Soviet rule.
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Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum
With over 250,000 specimens, including an astonishing 13,000 examples of taxidermy, this museum really has the animal kingdom covered. It was founded in 1919 by the eponymous Tadas, a famous Lithuanian naturalist.
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Kaunas Picture Gallery
This underrated gem, another branch of the many-tentacled Čiurlionis museum, exhibits works by late-20th-century Lithuanian artists, with a room devoted to Jurgis Mačiūnas, the father of the Fluxus avant-garde movement.
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Funicular to Gediminas Hill
This is the quickest and easiest way to the top of Gediminas Hill, with great views en route. The entrance is behind the northeastern side of the Cathedral, inside a small courtyard at the rear of the Museum of Applied Art.
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Statue of Maironis
Maironis was the pen name of Kaunas priest and poet Jonas Mačiulis (1862–1932) whose writings helped to awaken the country’s nationalist longings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Stalin banned his works.
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Ethnographic Museum
Housed in an early-20th-century homestead, this exposition explores the everyday life, traditions and material culture of Dzūkian people. There are great examples of woodcarving, weaving, basket-making, beekeeping and more.
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Mary Queen of Peace Church
This is that rarest of beasts: a Catholic church built during the Soviet era (it is, in fact, unique in the Baltics). Its 46.5m tower is one of the highest points in the city, and visits can be booked through the tourist office.
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Thomas Mann Memorial Museum
The German writer and Nobel laureate Thomas Mann used to own this beautifully situated villa, which is now a museum. Mann spent each summer between 1930 and 1932 here, with his wife and children, before fleeing Germany in 1933.
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St Catherines Church
This twin-towered 18th-century church, rich with baroque and Rococo detail, was once part of a Benedictine monastery. Damaged in WWII and used for storage by the unsentimental Soviets, its now renowned as a classical-music venue.
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Trakai History Museum
The exhibits inside the island castles cellars and tower tell the long history of the building. Theres a bewildering variety of objects on display: hoards of coins, weaponry, pipes and porcelain, as well as interactive displays.
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Blacksmith’s Museum
One branch of the quadripartite Lithuania Minor History Museum, the cute Blacksmith’s Museum displays ornate forged-iron works such as elaborate crosses transferred from the town’s former cemetery (Martynas Mažvydas Sculpture Park).
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Medicine & Pharmaceutical History Museum
Dating back to the 1930s, this unusual little museum details the progress of medical science in Lithuania over the centuries. There are also expositions on Lithuanian and Siberian folk medicine and a reconstructed 19th-century pharmacy.
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Ethnographic Fishermans Museum
The Ethnographic Museum is a peek at Nida in the 19th century, with original weathervanes decorating the garden, and rooms inside arranged as they were a couple of centuries ago. Closes on Sundays and Mondays between September and May.
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Lithuania Sea Museum
This popular museum, set in a 19th-century fort, has some fascinating stuffed sea animals, aquariums and live shows featuring seals, sea lions and dolphins. Admission drops to €7/4 between September and April, but opening hours also contract.
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Amber Gallery
In an old fishermans hut on the north side of town is this museum, with a small amber garden and exceptional pieces of amber jewellery. It runs a second gallery, Kurėnas, in a striking glass box encased in an old wooden boat near the harbour.
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Kleboniškiai Rural Life Exhibition
This beautiful farmstead, with 19th- and early-20th-century farm buildings, offers a picture-postcard peek at rural Lithuania. It is brimful with collectors’ items, including wooden sleds, farming tools and a tractor dating from 1926.
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Memorial Complex
On the grounds of the Tuskulėnai Manor is the Memorial Complex of Tuskulėnai Peace Park, commemorating victims of Lithuanias violent 20th century. A former royal manor, it was used by the Soviets to dispose of murdered political opponents.
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Energy and Technology Museum
Vilnius first power station, in operation from 1903 to 2003, now houses exhibitions on energy, technology and their historical development. The original machinery used for power generation has been preserved, and is particularly impressive.
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St Francis Xavier Church & Monastery
The southern side of Rotušės aikštė is dominated by the twin-towered St Francis Xavier Church, college and Jesuit monastery complex, built between 1666 and 1720. Take a peek inside and then climb the tower for the best aerial views of Kaunas.
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