Vincas Kudirka Museum

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The author of the Lithuanian national anthem was a multifaceted personality with a wide range of interests and talents. During his relatively short life, he was a doctor, publicist, publisher, and musician, among other professions. His most notable work was done in the town of Naumiestis, where eventually the museum bearing his name was founded.

The Vincas Kudirka Museum started as an initiative of the inhabitants of the town. Local young people began collecting Kudirka’s memorabilia as early as the middle of the last century. This collection became the basis for the first exposition of the museum. The building itself was built in the late 1990s on the very same site where the original house of Kudirka stood. The museum tells two separate stories. The first is that of Vincas Kudirka himself. Here you will learn about his life and activities, discover the circumstances that led to the birth of his literary and scientific newspaper Varpas, and see the collection of his personal belongings. The second story is about the region of Suvalkija and its life at the end of the 19th century. This was a time when the written Lithuanian language was forbidden by the Russian Empire, so the literature printed in it had to be distributed illegally through smuggling. Nevertheless, the idea of an independent state did not disappear. On the contrary, it gained new life thanks to people like Vincas Kudirka.