Kaunas

9th Fort Museum

Kaunas Fortress was a military defensive complex encircling the city, with ten forts built by the Russians 1882-1915 to protect their empire from the growing power of Germany. But when World War I came, after 11 days of assault the forts surrendered, so the Fortress had impeded the enemy advance but proved far from impregnable. From 1920 much of it was demolished or turned over to other state use. The Ninth Fort was the best preserved and was put to horrific use during the Nazi occupation of 1941-44. You enter via the Exposition of Occupations which has the ticket office, and documents the wartime terrors, and the ensuing Soviet terror under Stalin. You then visit the 9th Fort and the 32-m-high memorial to the victims; the fort tunnels can only be seen by special tour.

Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00·Adult €8, conc €4, child 0-6 free

Aleksotas Funicular

At the south end of Vytautas bridge is this 133 m funicular, built in 1935 to connect the Old Town with Aleksotas district up the hill. It runs every 10 minutes with a midday lunch break.

Daily 07:00-12:00, 13:00-19:00·Adult €1

Bank of Lithuania

Grandiose neo-classical building of 1928. Primarily a commercial bank, it has a small exhibition of Lithuanian banknotes and coins of the First Republic, and occasionally hosts larger art installations.

Mon-Fri 08:30-15:30

Cathedral of Sts Peter & Paul

This is first documented in 1413, in the reign of Vytautas the Great, but construction dragged on to 1624, nicely in time to get smashed up by the Russians and Swedes. It's 84 m long by 34 m wide and mostly red-brick Gothic, but refurbishment added Renaissance and Baroque features. It was promoted to a cathedral in 1895: notable burials include bishop and author Motiejus Valančius (1801-1875), poet Jonas Mačiulis (1862-1932) and Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius (1920-2000).

Daily 08:00-19:00·Free

Choral Synagogue

Built in 1872 in reformist decorative style, though the façade looks neo-baroque. It remains in use, hours erratic, with a display of rabbis' paintings on the second floor.

Church of St George

A wooden church was built outside the castle in 1471, then rebuilt in Gothic redbrick from 1492. It's been much bashed about over the years.

24 hours

Church of St Michael the Archangel

Garrison Church; Soboras

This beautiful domed building closes off the prospect down Laisvės Aleja. Opened in 1895, it was built in neo-Byzantine style for Russian soldiers based here, and to remind the townsfolk who was in charge. However the main reason to visit is the Catacombs (accessible M-F 10:00-14:00). You descend a spiral staircase into total darkness then feel your way through an underground obstacle course, eventually re-ascending a similar staircase into the light. It started out as an art installation but is now run by the Museum for the Blind, donations welcome. Not for the fainthearted, small children or anyone with difficulty moving around.

Church of Vytautas the Great

Church of the Assumption of Holy Virgin Mary

Gothic redbrick church built in 1400 for the Franciscan monks. It's suffered repeatedly from river floods, occupying armies and religious upheavals, but since 1919 has been Roman Catholic.

24 hours

Church of the Resurrection

Striking modern RC church, completed in 1940 but suppressed by the authorities, so it was only repaired and consecrated in 2004. You can climb the stairs or take the lift to the rooftop terrace.

Daily 10:30-18:00

Devils' Museum

Antanas Žmuidzinavičius (1876-1966) was a distinguished landscape painter but now is better known for his huge collection of sculptures of devils. Some 3000 of them are here, from around the world but mainly central European.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00 (Thu until 19:00)·Adult €8

Evangelic Lutheran Church

Small church at the north end of Vytautus bridge built in 1682-83 in Baroque style.

Galaunė House-Museum

The house was built in 1932 for soprano Adelė Nezabitauskaitė-Galaunienė (1895–1962) and art historian Paulius Galaunė (1890–1988). The architect was Arnas Funkas (1898–1957).

Gemstones Museum

Small private museum with rare minerals and precious stones from around the world.

Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-16:00·Adult €2

Historical Presidential Palace

Lithuania was first independent from 1918 until 1940, when the Soviets crushed the "First Republic". This neo-baroque palace was home to its presidents. It houses furniture, artwork and other material from the period.

Tue Wed Fri–Sun 10:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-19:00·Adult €5, conc €2.50

House of Sugihara

Diplomats for Life

In 1940 thousands of Jews from Poland and Lithuania were desperate to get out, but they needed visas. The Dutch issued many visas for Curaçao and their Caribbean colonies, but getting there became much more difficult when Italy joined the Nazis and closed the Med. The main escape route was then across the USSR to the Pacific. In Kaunas the Japanese vice-consul Chiune Sugihara (1900-86) issued hundreds of Japanese transit visas, blithely disregarding orders to conduct all sorts of checks. He may have saved thousands of lives, as a whole family could travel on one visa; from Japan they moved on to North America and elsewhere. His mission ended when the embassy closed, Germany crushed Lithuania, and anyone who hadn't got out was exterminated. Sugihara spent his later years in obscurity in Japan; his Kaunas residence is now this museum.

Adult €10, child or conc €5

Kaunas Botanical Garden

Extensive gardens and greenhouses established in 1923 and managed by the university.

Daily 09:00-21:00·Adult €6, conc or child €3

Kaunas Castle

The first castle was built mid-14th century at the confluence of the rivers Nemunas and Neris. It was destroyed in 1401 and the new castle was constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is the oldest building in Kaunas. Today the round tower houses an art gallery, and the castle hosts occasional festivals. The tip of the confluence is Santakos Park.

Sep-May: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-17:00; Jun-Aug: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-16:00·Adult €4, conc €2, child free

Kaunas Mosque

Dinky little whitewashed brick mosque and minaret built in 1930. The city's first Muslims were Tatars in the 15th century, and this patch was their graveyard, hence the street name Totoriu. It was their quarter of Ramybė Park, which elsewhere interred Catholics, Lutherans and Orthodox. Eventually a wooden mosque, imam's house and school appeared on the site.

Fri 12:00-23:00, Sat-Thu 13:30-23:00

LLB Museum

Skansen-type outdoor ethnography museum on lake shore, with traditional buildings brought from around the country. In winter their interiors are closed up but you can still stroll around the park. Dogs permitted on leash outdoors.

Daily May-Sep 10:00-18:00, Oct-Apr 10:00-16:00·Adult €10, conc or child €5

Lithuanian Officers' Palace

Grandiose chunk of interbellum architecture, built at huge cost in 1937. Part of the "Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919–1939" UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main façade is adorned by the granite sculpture Three Giants (Trys Milžinai) that became a symbol of the Club. The second floor is the piano nobile with the Grand Hall, Hall of Vytautas, Hall of Dukes and Hall of the President, festooned with chandeliers, paintings, frescoes, furniture, and stained glass. It's now an events venue.

Mon-Thu 08:00-17:00, Fri 08:00-16:00

Lithuanian Zoo

Within Ąžuolynas Park, this was renovated in 2023 and now offers a better experience for animals and visitors.

Daily 10:00-20:00·Adult €10, conc or child €5

M K Čiurlionis Museum of Art

The Art Deco main branch of the museum was built in the 1930s and is next to the war museum. It showcases Lithuania's cultural heritage and especially the works of M K Čiurlionis (1875–1911), whose style ranged over symbolism, secessionism, abstractionism and romanticism. The building also houses the War Museum. It was designed by V Dubeneckis and is considered a significant example of Lithuanian modernist architecture; it is a candidate for UNESCO recognition.

Tue Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed Thu 11:00-19:00. Closed Mondays·Adult €10, conc or child €5

Museum of Aviation

Two km south on the former Darius & Girėnas Airport, which now only has light aviation. The indoor exhibits (such as the flight simulator) closed during covid and have yet to re-open. So you can only see the outdoor collection of vintage aircraft.

Mon-Sat 9:00-17:00·Adult €2, child €1

Pažaislis Monastery

Built from the 17th century as a Camaldolese monastery, this is a riot of Baroque thanks to its Italian architects and sculptors. During the 19th / 20th centuries the complex was variously a military stables, psychiatric hospital and art gallery but restored as a convent in the 1990s. The main sight is the Church of the Visitation.

Tue-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat 10:00-15:30·Adult €6, conc €3, child free

Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum

Old-style natural history museum with thousands of stuffed animals and skeletons.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00·Adult €6, conc or child €3

Vytautas the Great War Museum

Display of Kaunas' turbulent times from prehistory to the present day, with an immense collection of weapons and armour. One poignant highlight is the remains of Lituanica, a modified Bellanca Pacemaker in which Darius and Girenas flew east across the Atlantic in 1933; they were 650 km short of Kaunas when they crashed. You can climb the tower on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00·Adult €5, conc or child €2.50

Church of Holy Trinity

Built as a Bernardine convent church 1624-1634 in late Renaissance and Gothic style, it now serves the city's seminary.

Church of St Francis Xavier

This was built in rococo style from 1666 to 1720. The Jesuits had already established a school here, where poet Adam Mickiewicz was a teacher 1819 - 1823. The building was then transferred to the Orthodox church, and had various secular uses in Soviet times until 1989. Sacral music concerts are organised in the church.

Kaunas City Hall

Built in renaissance style in the mid-16th century, when Kaunas was a flourishing city of merchants, and nowadays dubbed The White Swan. In 1836 it was reconstructed as a residence for Russian czars. The Wedding Hall (marriage registration office) was opened on the ground and first floors in 1973. The cellars house the Kaunas Ceramics museum' with hand-crafted crockery, tile stove ornaments, and roof tiles of impressive size The city history museum has of archaeological findings from the Old Town and surroundings of Kaunas. The exposition also reflects the lifestyle of the townsmen of the time.

Tue Wed 10:00-17:00, Thu-Sun 12:00-18:00·Adult €10, conc €5, child free

Kaunas Picture Gallery

This is a branch of the MK Čiurlionis National Art Museum in New Town. It houses 20th-century Lithuanian and émigré art, and a collection of North American Indian art.

Tue Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed Thu 11:00-19:00·€8. You can also get a combined ticket with the M K Čiurlionis Museum of Art for a discount