K. Donelaitis Memorial Museum

Mode of work: from 10 to 18 hours (cash register - up to 17 hours). The weekend is Monday.

In the village of Pure Ponds of Nesterovsky district, on a hill, among tall centuries-old trees, stands a small white building of the former Lutheran church and not far from it – a modest pastoral house. Here lived, worked and created his immortal works outstanding Lithuanian poet of the XVIII century, the founder of the realistic direction in Lithuanian literature Christionas Donelaitis (1714-1780).

An active, versatile talented person, Kristionas Donelaitis tried his best to benefit his people and help the peasants. Instead of a dilapidated church, he built a new stone church in 1756, rebuilt the pastoral house, built a house for pastoral widows and a new school instead of the burned old one. Through his sermons in Lithuanian, K. Donelaitis instilled faith in the future, in goodness and justice, often using excerpts from his works, including the poem “The Seasons”. In his spare time he composed poetry and music, engaged in mechanics and gardening.

In 1964 it was decided to restore the building of the former Lutheran Church in Pos. Clean Ponds. Restoration and restoration work was carried out by the team of Kaunas workshops of the republican trust for the restoration of cultural monuments, headed by the architect N. Kitkauskas. On June 14, 1979, the remains of the poet were reburied in the crypt of a restored church. Here come to honor the memory of the great poet. On October 11, 1979, the K. Donelaitis Memorial Museum was opened under the arches of the church. More than 200 exhibits of the museum tell about the era in which the poet lived, about his life path, creative and social activities. The exposition presents facsimile editions of the works of K. Donelaitis, items of ethnography. Part of the design of the museum are colored stained glass windows in the windows created by A. Garbauskas. They depict the poet and the heroes of his famous poem.

In 1998, the Kaunas Restoration Department restored the pastoral house, which was included in the memorial complex of the museum.