Wooden Architecture

With a country that was, in many ways, carved from huge tracts of forest, it should come as no surprise that wooden architecture has deep and rich traditions in Lithuania. Nor should it shock us to discover that, prior to 1940, around 90% of buildings were constructed from wood. As a repository of skills that were handed down from generation to generation, as well as decorative customs and stylistic adornments taken from throughout the region, wooden architecture offers the modern viewer a unique insight into how the culture has developed. Although much of the heritage has been destroyed by fire across the centuries, a stroll through the Žvėrynas wooden house district in Vilnius will give you a feel for this most quaint and cosy of styles. But why stop there? The two premier spa towns of Lithuania also offer up fantastic examples: the Kurhaus of Birštonas, and the wooden villas in Druskininkai are particularly fine. Meanwhile, the resort town of Palanga contains the fantastically distinctive, and rather creepy Villa Anapilis, while the beautiful village of Palūšė, on the shore of Lake Lūšiai, contains one of the country’s finest wooden churches.