Page 282 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

280  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

9 Jurbarkas The terrible event took place on
the nights of 24 and 25 June
Road Map C5. * 29,000. @ from
Kaunas. n Vydūno 19, (447) 51 485. 1941, shortly after Nazi Germany
∑ jurbarkotic.lt invaded the then Soviet Union.
Today, a granite cross marks the
The ancient Karšuva Forest, spot and the Rainiai Chapel of
about 3 km (2 miles) west of the Suffering, consecrated in 1991,
tiny industrial town of Jurbarkas, stands nearby. Just 30 km
was the site of one of the (19 miles) southeast of Telšiai,
earliest fortresses built by the Šatrija Hill offers splendid views
crusaders on the Nemunas river, of the Žemaitija land scape.
in 1259. The pagan Lithuanians Lake Lūkstas, 40 km (25 miles)
erected their own castle above south of Telšiai, has beaches
the Imsrė river, a tributary of the that liven up in July during the
Nemunas, and both sides fought Blues Night festival.
bitter battles for the next 150
years. Although nothing rem-
ains of the castles, the forest can Embellished interior of the Cathedral of q Mažeikiai
be explored. One of Lithuania’s St Anthony of Padua, Telšiai Road Map C4. * 57,000. £ from
largest and most secluded Šiauliai. @ from Šiauliai. n Ventos
forests, the 427-sq-km 0 Telšiai 8a, (443) 67 177. ∑ mazeikiutvic.lt
(165-sq- mile) stretch has Road Map C4. * 47,000. £ from
enchanting trails leading Vilnius, Šiauliai, Klaipėda. @ from A minor village in the mid-19th
through its towering pines. Vilnius, Šiauliai, Klaipėda. n Turgaus century, Mažeikiai rapidly grew
21, (444) 53 010. ∑ telsiaitic.lt into Lithuania’s eighth-largest
Environs city by the end of the 20th
In Gelgaudiškis, 10 km (6 miles) According to legend, Telšiai was century. The Vilnius–Liepāja
east of Jurbarkas, lie the ruins of founded by a knight named railway, which reached Mažeikiai
the 19th-century manor of the Džiugas on a hill above Lake in 1869, was responsible for its
Gelgaudas family, the Polish- Mastis. In 1765, the Franciscans initial growth; it is also home to
Lithuanian ancestors of actor built a church here, which the Baltics’ only oil refinery.
Sir John Gielgud. The manor became the Cathedral of St The Mažeikiai Museum has
boasted a lavish interior with Anthony of Padua, after Telšiai displays on the town’s develop-
paint ings, silver, crystal, bronze was made a diocese in 1926. ment and regional folklore, and
and porcelain works until it was The second-floor gallery has its paintings by Alfonsas Dargis
ransacked during World War II. own altar and paintings framed (1909–96), a Lithuanian artist
Today, the manor hosts village by Corinthian columns. These who joined the New York
fes tivals and music evenings in include an altar paint ing of Modernist movement.
its grounds. St Anthony and Infant Jesus,
Mount Rambynas, 60 km embellished with faux gold and Environs
(37 miles) west of Jurbarkas, held aloft by angels garbed in The 4,000-ha (9,884-acre)
is a 46-m (50-yard) escarp ment, pink and green. Kamanos State Reserve, 20 km
and a mystical location for (12 miles) east of Mažeikiai,
Lithuanians. A pagan altar Environs protects one of the region’s most
that once stood here was One of the worst massacres by valu able clay fields. Richly diverse
used for rituals up until the the Soviets took place in the in flora and fauna, the reserve
19th cen tury. Today, the hill forests near Rainiai, 4 km has an area of marshland as well
offers views over Kaliningrad. (2 miles) southeast of Telšiai. as lakes and tiny islands.
In Viekšniai, a small town
15 km (9 miles) southeast of
Mažeikiai, the Pharmacy
Museum is considered miracu-
lous, having survived two fires
that devastated the town.
E Mažeikiai Museum
V Kudirkos 6. Tel (443) 26 037. Open
8am–5pm Mon–Thu (until 3:45 Fri). &
Y Kamanos State Reserve
Tel (425) 59 285. & 8
E Pharmacy Museum
Tilto 3. Tel (443) 37 420.
Rainiai Chapel of Suffering, commemorating the massacre in 1941 Open 9am–4pm Tue–Sat. &
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp306–307 and pp330–31

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