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Šiauliai is one of Lithuania’s largest cities and is in the northern part of the country close to the Latvian border. The city was probably founded in 1236 as a defense post against unrest in the region, and from the beginning of the 15th century Šiauliai began to develop as a town with agriculture, a church and other structures that formed a civil society. In the 16th century, the town gained city status and became the main town in the area.
However, it did not take long before Šiauliai was marked by new unrest and several plague epidemics, and in the 18th century the city practically had to be re-established. Antoni Tyzenhaus was responsible for a city plan that was inspired by classicism. He decided to rebuild Šiauliai with a rectangular street grid and with the construction of stone buildings, and the town plan can still be seen.
However, Šiauliai was largely burned down during the First World War, and at the end of the 1920s the city center was rebuilt. In the end, construction continued in Šiauliai based on typical Soviet urban planning, and as a result the city is today a place where you can explore sights and urban environments from several different periods. In the center you can e.g. see Šiauliai’s cathedral, St. George’s Church and the city’s towering town hall.
The most famous sight in and around Šiauliai, however, is the Hill of Crosses, located a few kilometers northeast of the city. The Hill of Crosses is a Catholic pilgrimage site, where Lithuanians in recent centuries have set up hundreds of thousands of crosses and crucifixes as a sign of the desire for peace, but symbolically, the hill has also been a symbol of the peaceful Lithuanian struggle for independence over time.
Šiaulių katedra is one of the most important churches in Northern Lithuania. It is called the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and was built between 1617 and 1634 under the direction of the Polish-Lithuanian architect Tomasz Jesinski. The church was built on the initiative of the local nobleman Mikalojus Daukša and replaced an earlier wooden church from the Middle Ages. It was built in the late Gothic style with some Renaissance elements, with a 70-meter-high tower, which historically served both as a bell tower and as a viewpoint for the city’s population.
The interior of the cathedral is three-nave with a significant separation between the central and side aisles through high rows of columns. The main altar dates from the mid-18th century and was made in Baroque style with gilded decorations and figures of the apostles Peter and Paul, to whom the church is dedicated. There are also several side altars representing different periods in the church’s development, including elements from both the Renaissance and early Classicism. During restorations in the 1950s, the murals and stucco decorations were partially restored after extensive damage during World War II.
The cathedral has played a significant role in the religious and political history of Šiauliai. It survived both the city fires of the 19th century and the devastation of World Wars I and II, when large parts of Šiauliai were razed to the ground. After the war, the church was used as the cathedral of the newly established Šiauliai Diocese and has since been the center of Catholic life in the region. The most recent restoration was completed in the early 2000s, when both the roof and the tower were reinforced, and the building was reopened as both a place of worship and a historical monument.
Šiaulių Aušros muziejus was founded in 1923 as a local history museum and is today one of the oldest and largest regional museums in Lithuania. The institution was established on the initiative of local teachers and cultural figures with the aim of preserving and documenting the cultural heritage of northern Lithuania. The museum grew rapidly in size and in the interwar period became an important collection institution for ethnographic objects, archaeological finds and documents of the Lithuanian national movement. During the Soviet period, the museum was reorganized, but continued its activities with expanded collections in the fields of natural history and industrial history, reflecting the economic development of the region.
Today, the museum has more than 100,000 objects distributed across several departments in Šiauliai. The main building houses permanent exhibitions on archaeology, ethnography and the history of the city, while special sections deal with topics such as the front lines of World War I, railway history and the role of industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the museum’s most famous units is the Chaim Frenkel Villa, located in a restored Art Nouveau building from 1908. The villa was built by the Jewish industrialist Chaim Frenkel, who ran a large tannery in Šiauliai, and today houses art and cultural history exhibitions. The museum also operates the Fotografijos muziejus, which documents Lithuania’s photographic traditions over 150 years.
Today, the Aušros Museum plays a central role in the city’s cultural life, serving as both a research institution and a dissemination centre. It organises exhibitions, lectures and educational projects covering themes from prehistoric settlements to modern urban development. The museum has also established a digital archive and cooperates with international museums on the preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage. In 2012, the museum’s main building was restored and the exhibitions were modernized with interactive elements and audiovisual presentations.
The Chaim Frenkel Villa was built in 1908 as a private residence for the Jewish industrialist and factory owner Chaim Frenkel, who was one of the most prominent businessmen in Šiauliai in the early 20th century. Frenkel owned one of the largest leather factories in the Russian Empire, and at its peak, the company employed several hundred workers. The villa was designed by an unknown architect, but the building is a clear example of the Art Nouveau style that was widespread in Lithuania in the period before World War I. It is located along Vilniaus gatvė and was placed close to the factory area. The villa was nationalized after World War II and used for various institutional purposes, before being restored and incorporated into the Šiaulių Aušros muziejus as a museum building in the 1990s.
The building is characterized by its facade, high mansard roofs, and decorative elements in stucco and wrought iron. The interior consists of several large halls with original parquet floors, door panels and stucco decorations, which were reconstructed from historical photographs during the restoration. Particularly noteworthy is the large vestibule, where the wall panels and staircase were made of dark oak. The villa has also preserved parts of the original garden, which was laid out in the English style of the time with walkways, flower beds and pavilions. During the operation of the museum, the rooms have been decorated with period furniture, works of art and objects from Frenkel’s time, which provide an insight into the city’s industrial elite in the early 20th century.
Today, Chaim Frenkel Villa functions as one of the main departments of the Aušros Museum and houses exhibitions on industrial history, urban life and Jewish culture in Lithuania. It displays objects from Frenkel’s factory, documents from the Jewish community in Šiauliai, as well as changing art exhibitions. The museum also conveys the story of the multi-ethnic environment that characterized the city before the Holocaust, when a large part of Šiauliai’s population were Jews. Outside the villa, annual cultural events are held, including concerts and literary evenings.
The Museum of Photography in Šiauliai is the only specialized museum in Lithuania dedicated exclusively to the history, technique and artistic development of photography. It was founded in 1973 as a department of the city’s Aušros Museum and has since developed into a national institution focused on the preservation and research of photography. Originally established to collect and preserve the works of Lithuanian photographers from the 19th century onwards, the museum currently houses a collection of over 200,000 images, negatives and photographic equipment. It covers both documentary and artistic genres and contains works by some of the country’s most famous photographers, including Antanas Sutkus, Vitas Luckus and Aleksandras Macijauskas.
The museum is located in a 19th-century building on Vilniaus gatvė. The exhibition space is spread over several floors with both permanent and changing exhibitions. Part of the museum is dedicated to the technical development of photography, displaying cameras, optical devices, darkroom equipment and various production methods from the time of the daguerreotype to the digital era. Another area focuses on the Lithuanian photographic tradition, which gained international recognition in the 1960s for its humanistic style and experimental approach to black and white photography. The museum also has a rooftop terrace where visitors can use a large camera obscura to view the city’s surroundings as moving images, making the place a popular attraction.
Šiaulių geležinkelio muziejus or Šiauliai Railway Museum was established as a department of the Aušros Museum in 1982 and has since functioned as a specialized museum of the history of the railways of Lithuania. Šiauliai has been an important transport hub throughout the 20th century, and the railway has been of crucial importance for the city’s economic and industrial development. The first railway line was opened in 1871 as part of the construction of the Russian Imperial Railway between Riga and Königsberg, making Šiauliai a strategic centre in the region’s transport network. The museum was established in the historic station building from 1871 and documents the technical, economic and social development brought about by the railway.
The collections include a number of original objects from the early history of the railway, such as uniforms, tickets, tools, locomotive parts and models of station buildings. There is also archival material on the operation of the railway in the interwar period and on the destruction that followed during both world wars. A large part of the exhibition deals with the role of the railway during the Soviet period, when the transport sector was developed and centrally controlled, and Šiauliai became one of the most important marshalling areas in all of Lithuania. Several instruments and control systems have been preserved, showing the development from mechanical signalling to electrical control systems.
A number of railway carriages and small locomotives are displayed outside the museum building. The museum also cooperates with the railway operator Lietuvos Geležinkeliai to convey technical knowledge and historical understanding of the importance of the railway for the development of society. Themed days are held regularly, where visitors can experience rolling stock in operation, and the exhibition is constantly supplemented with new documentation.
Šiaulių dramos teatras is a theatre institution founded in 1931 as a municipal theatre with the support of local cultural figures and the city authorities. The theatre was established during the period when Šiauliai was developing as a regional cultural centre, and it played an important role in the spread of Lithuanian language and drama. The original theatre building was destroyed during World War II, after which performances were staged in temporary premises for a number of years. The current building in the city centre was rebuilt in the 1950s in a sober Soviet style, with a large hall and associated facilities.
Over the years, the theatre has played a central role in the development of Lithuanian performing arts outside the capital Vilnius. During the Soviet era, it became an important forum for cultural identity, used for both classical dramas and modern plays. In the 1960s and 1970s, the repertoire was expanded to include international works by authors such as Chekhov, Brecht and Shakespeare, while focusing on Lithuanian playwrights such as Kazys Saja and Juozas Grušas. After Lithuania gained independence in 1991, the theatre’s structure was modernised and a more open organisational form was introduced, allowing for cooperation with international theatre groups and festivals.
Today, Šiaulių drama theatre functions as a modern cultural centre with both a permanent ensemble and guest productions. The building has been extensively renovated with new lighting and sound equipment, as well as a small experimental stage for contemporary drama. Every year, the Šiaulių Teatrų Festivalis is held here, with theatres from all over the Baltic States participating.
Katinų muziejus is a museum that is the only one in the Baltic States dedicated exclusively to the cat as a cultural-historical and zoological phenomenon. The museum was founded in 1990 on the initiative of local zoologist and cat enthusiast Vanda Kavaliauskienė, who began collecting objects related to cats from all over the world. The collection grew quickly, and the museum officially became part of the city’s Aušros Museum. It is located in a building near the city’s zoological park and functions as both an exhibition space and an information center.
The museum’s collection consists of several thousand objects, including porcelain figurines, paintings, toys, literature, stamps, coins and posters, all with the motif of the cat as a common theme. In addition, there is a biological section with information about the anatomy, behavior and role of the cat in the ecosystem, as well as exhibitions about the place of the cat in folklore and mythology. The museum also houses contributions from visitors who have donated objects from travels and private collections. One of the most notable parts of the exhibition is a section documenting the representation of cats in Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture, with illustrations, film posters and advertisements.
Talkša is a lake located in the northeastern part of Šiauliai, which constitutes a central recreational area of the city. The lake has an area of about 56 hectares and is a natural freshwater lake that has played a role in the development of the city since the Middle Ages. It is first mentioned in written sources from the 15th century, where it served as a fishing resource and as a water supply for the early settlements around the current city center. During the 19th century, the lake was gradually surrounded by industrial facilities, including tanneries and mills, but it remained an important recreational area for the population. During the Soviet era, the shoreline was regulated, and paths and bathing facilities were built as part of a larger urban planning project.
Today, Lake Talkša is part of a larger city park complex, which includes promenades, green areas and sculpture parks. The most striking work of art by the lake is the sculpture Gulliver and the Little Men/Guliveris ir nykštukai, created in 1986 by sculptor Henrikas Orakauskas. The monumental figure stands partially in the water and has become an unofficial symbol of Šiauliai. The area around the lake also contains several memorials and modern art installations, which were erected after Lithuania’s independence in 1991. Since the 2000s, the municipality has been working to improve the accessibility of the area and has built bicycle paths, viewing platforms and new paths connecting the lake with the city’s historical center.
Kryziu Kalnas is one of Europe’s most distinctive and historically charged sights. It is located about 12 kilometers north of the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai. The site consists of two low hills where visitors have erected crosses since the Middle Ages as a symbol of faith, hope, and national identity. The earliest crosses on the site are believed to have been erected in the 14th century, shortly after the first Christian missions in the area. The tradition gradually spread, and during the 19th century the site developed into an important symbol of the Catholic faith in Lithuania, especially during periods of foreign rule when religious and national freedom were suppressed.
The number of crosses increased significantly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This happened especially after the Lithuanian uprisings against the Russian Empire in 1831 and 1863. Many crosses were erected at that time in memory of fallen and missing Lithuanians, and the place thus also acquired political significance as a symbol of resistance to the regime. During the Soviet era in the 20th century, Kryžių Kalnas was repeatedly cleared by the authorities, who considered it an expression of nationalist and religious resistance. Despite this, the population rebuilt the crosses each time. This often happened at night, and the rebuildings thereby created an unusual expression of civil and spiritual defiance.
Today, there are an estimated over 100,000 crosses of various sizes on Kryžių Kalnas. They range from small wooden and metal figures to large carved wooden crosses with engravings and artistic decorations. Many of the crosses bear names, prayers or dedications to the deceased, while others are erected as expressions of personal faith, gratitude or hope. Between the crosses hang rosaries, icons and small figures, and the area appears as a dense and almost incomprehensible tangle of religious symbols.
After Lithuania gained independence in 1991, Kryžių Kalnas was officially recognized as a national monument, and the site is visited annually by tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the site and held a mass at the foot of the hill, which strengthened its status as a holy place in the Catholic world. A small Franciscan monastery was subsequently built nearby, which today serves as a center for pilgrimage and maintenance of the area.
Today, the Hill of Crosses is a rare example of a religious and cultural monument that arose completely without official planning and is maintained by popular will. Over the centuries, the site has served as both a tomb, a protest and a sign of hope, and it stands as a physical testimony to the faith and perseverance of the Lithuanian people. At the same time, Kryžių Kalnas illustrates how religion and national identity can merge into a single symbolic landscape, where each cross carries its own personal and historical narrative.
Klaipėda is the third largest city in Lithuania and at the same time the country’s most important port. The city is located on the Baltic Sea coast at the point where the Curonian Lagoon empties into the sea. Klaipėda is an old city whose history dates to the Teutonic Order’s construction of the castle Memelsburg in the middle of the 13th century. Hence the name Memel, which Klaipėda was called until 1923.
Through centuries of German rule, Klaipėda developed with e.g. extensive fortifications, parts of which can still be seen like the Neringa Fort, which was constructed in the 19th century. Today, Neringa Fort houses the city’s exciting maritime museum and aquarium. The fort is located on the northern tip of the Curonian Spit, and the popular site also offers a dolphinarium, which has been a popular attraction since Soviet times.
Riga is the largest city in Latvia and in three of the Baltic countries, and a visit here is like coming to a major European metropolis with everything that you can imagine, i.e. sights, churches, culture, events, cafes, gastronomy and shopping.
The old town, with cobblestones in the streets, churches in brick gothic, fine museums and well-preserved buildings from the last many centuries, is a very cozy neighborhood. There is an abundance of beautiful buildings here, and it is a nice area just to explore with the narrow streets and tiny alleys.
Kaunas is an old town which is dominated by houses built in Gothic and Renaissance architecture. With the center around the fine town hall square in the old town, pleasant streets lead in all directions, where you will find churches, monasteries, museums and Kaunas Castle. The town hall is in itself a great sight on the square.
To the east of the town hall you find the newer parts of the city, which offer both fine boulevards and beautiful buildings from the recent centuries. The Garrison Church stands as the centerpiece of this part of the city, which has the pedestrian street, Laisvės alėja, as its central axis and the connection between the church and the old town.
Šiauliai, Lithuania[/caption]
Overview of Šiauliai
Šiauliai is one of Lithuania’s largest cities and is in the northern part of the country close to the Latvian border. The city was probably founded in 1236 as a defense post against unrest in the region, and from the beginning of the 15th century Šiauliai began to develop as a town with agriculture, a church and other structures that formed a civil society. In the 16th century, the town gained city status and became the main town in the area.
However, it did not take long before Šiauliai was marked by new unrest and several plague epidemics, and in the 18th century the city practically had to be re-established. Antoni Tyzenhaus was responsible for a city plan that was inspired by classicism. He decided to rebuild Šiauliai with a rectangular street grid and with the construction of stone buildings, and the town plan can still be seen.
However, Šiauliai was largely burned down during the First World War, and at the end of the 1920s the city center was rebuilt. In the end, construction continued in Šiauliai based on typical Soviet urban planning, and as a result the city is today a place where you can explore sights and urban environments from several different periods. In the center you can e.g. see Šiauliai’s cathedral, St. George’s Church and the city’s towering town hall.
About the Šiauliai travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Šiauliai travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Lithuanian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Šiauliai is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Šiauliai and Lithuania
Lithuania Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/lithuania
City tourism: https://visitsiau-liai.lt
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