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Banknotemaniac
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| Panevėžys Cathedral |
How do I arrive to Panevėžys?
Panevėžys is a strategic city in Lithuania so there are many places where you can go from here.
- Train: there are trains to Šiauliai (aprox. 1.5 hours).
- Bus: there are regular buses to Panevėžys from Šiauliai (aprox. 1.5 hours; 6€), from Kaunas (aprox. 2.5 hours; 8€) and from Vilnius (aprox. 3 hours). As an important city it has connections with other countries like Riga (aprox. 3 hours; 6 buses every day) in Latvia. There are very frequent buses to Biržai from Panevėžys (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) or Vilnius (aprox. 2 hours).
- Car: if you rented a car Panevėžys can be reached from Anykščiai (aprox. 50 minutes), from Biržai (aprox. 1 hour), from Utena (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes), from Kaunas and Šiauliai (aprox. 2 hours) and from Vilnius (aprox. 3 hours).
History
Panevėžys was first mentioned in 1503 in a document singed by Alexander I, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Alexander II is considered the founder of the city. During the 16th century the city kept the status of royal town, with important Polish and Karaite minorities till WW2. Panevėžys played an important role in November Uprising and January Uprising after the Polish Partition. At the end of the 19th century the first factories were established in the city, becoming a strong economic and cultural center in the region. It was also a center of operations by knygnešys (book smugglers who transmited Lithuanian language) like Juozas Masiulis. In 1923 the city had an important Jewish community (36% of the local population) and hosted one of the most notable Haredi yeshivas in Lithuania. In 1940 Soviet forces took over the city and then German forces occupied Panevėžys, like in WW1. During this period, almost all the Jewish population was killed. Later the Soviet Union occupied again Lithuania and in those years, Panevėžys was transformed into a major industrial center and the old city center was partially destroyed. After Lithuania's independence the city faced some major changes in its plastic industry, the most important in the city.
What can I visit in Panevėžys?
Panevėžys isn't very visited but has some interesting touristic places. The most important square and the center of the city is Laisvės aikštė. These are Panevėžys's main attractions:
- Panevėžys Cathedral: ecclectic Neoclassic and Baroque style cathedral built in 1929 after Panevėžys became a diocesan seat. The façade is dominated by the rectangular tower topped with an octagonal dome and the ceiling of the apse is decorated by a fresco depicting Saint Casimir appearing to Lithuanian soldiers during the 1518 Siege of Polotsk. It has the custody of some Baroque sculptures from Sts. Petro ir Povilo Catholic Church in Vilnius.
- Sts. Petro ir Povilo Catholic Church: Neo-Romanesque church built in 1885 in red brick that has three naves and two towers. The origin of the church dates back to the 16th century and was destroyed in 1944 too. It's a good example of how façades of church are illuminated in Lithuania.
- Panevėžys Local Lore Museum (8-17 Mon-Thu, 8-15:30 Fri; 1.50€/ 0.50€ adults/ students and kids): this museum focused on ethnography with an important insects collection and temporary exhibitions.
- Museum of the Soviet Occupation (8-17 Mon-Fri): museum, part of the Local Lore Museum, that shows objectes and teaches about the resistance to the Soviet occupation in the region.
- St. Trejybės Catholic Church: romantic Neoclassic style church from 1803 with Gothic and Baroque elements, considered to be the oldest in Panevėžys. After 1831 it worked as a Russian Orthodox church (till it was returned to Catholics in 1918), resulted badly damaged in WW2 and closed by the Soviet authorities untill 1989.
- Viešpaties Prisikėlimo Russian Orthodox Church: wooden church of Panevėžys was built in 1892. In the interwar period, the temple was an important center of Orthodoxy in Lithuania.
- Panevėžys Old Believers Church: single-towered wooden church built in 1906 (when Old Believers stopped being persecuted). The church was burned down during the First World War, but restored in 1926.
- In the south of the city (20 km) can be found one of the most beautiful estates in Lithuania, now converted into a hotel, Bistrampolis Manor. It's a 15th century building with a garden from the 19th century that is very linked to literature because Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkewicz (and a relative of the family) wrote a trilogy of historical novels set in the 17th-century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (With Fire and Sword, The Deluge and Sir Michael) at the estate.
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| Sts. Petro ir Povilo Catholic Church |
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| St. Trejybės Catholic Church |
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| St. Mato Catholic Church |
Going 60 km east it can be found the town of Anykščiai (Onikszty in Polish Они́кшты in Russian, Onikschten in German), 10,575 inhabitants town with a very popular sky-resort among Lithuanians, Kalitos Kalnas. It has other interesting places for sightseeing like St. Mato Catholic Church (red brick Neo-Gothic church with 79 m spires, highest in Lithuania) or the Narrow gauge railway Museum (9-17 from May to Sep; booking in advance from Oct to Abr; 2.50€/ 1.80€ adults/ students and kids), former railway station that has tours during the weekends in narrow gauge trains to Rubikiai and Troškūnai (trips begins at 11 and is finished at 15; it costs 5.80€). Just 6 km north, in Niūronys, is placed the Horse Museum (9-18 from May to Sep; 9-17 from Oct to Abr; 10-17 Sun; 4€/ 2.50€ adults/ students and kids), nice museum of horse lovers and 10 km south is located Puntuko akmuo, rock linked with St. Mato (holy person to whom Anykščiai Church is consecrated).
| Biržai Castle |
In case of heading to Latvia, or if you just want to explore this part of the country, 70 km north from Panevėžys is located Biržai (Birże in Polish, Биржай in Russian, Birsen in German),
a 14,277
inhabitants town close to the border with Latvia (one of the most
septentrional ones in Lithuania), once the center of Protestant Reformation in Lithuania. It's a calmed town but there are
interesting things to do like visiting Biržai Castle (10-17:30 Tue-Sun from May to Sep; 9-16:30 Tue-Sun from Oct to Apr; 3€/ 2€/ free adults/ students/ kids; taking pictures or video costs 3€), a restored
castle from the 16th century that belonged to the Count of Biržai, Kristupas
Radvila, and nowadays it host some expositions about military history and local
ethnography. It also has two nice churches: St. Jono Krikštytojo Catholic Church (19th century church with white walls and built in Neoclassic and Baroque style) and Biržai Evangelical Reformed Church (Neo-Gothic church from 1874 with a magnificent interior) plus a very typical brewery, Rinkuškiai Brewery (10-16 Mon-Fri; 10€), and the picturesque Footbridge across Širvėna Lake from 1928, nice to walk and savour the calm tranquillity of the lake and observe Astravas Manor (a 1862 manor built by Count Mykolas Tiškevičius). Near Biržai can be found Biržai Regional Park,
just outside Biržai. This park is unique due to its karstic landscape,
karst lakes and sinkholes. The most important places on it are Kirkilai Lake and its View Tower, the caves Karvės Ola) and Velniapilio Ola, outcrops of Muoriskiai and Tabokiė.
Where can I eat in Panevėžys?
As Panevėžys
is a quite big but not very touristic city in Lithuania, the
gastronomic offer isn't quite important but its prize isn't very high.
In low budget circunstances the restaurant Galerija XX (Laisvės aikštė 7)
or supermakets can be a very nice solution. Otherwise there are more
international food restaurants you can try like the Italian food
restaurant Taverna (Laisvės aikštė 6). With a higher budget Hotel Romantic (Kranto
gatvė 24) terrace restaurant is a good choice.
Biržai
is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries so trying
them is a very good idea. There are many biers, like largers, stouts or Butaunų alaus bravoras (bier produced since 1750). A good choice for eating with low budget can be Pilies Skliautai (Radvilos gatvė 3), placed in the basement of the castle.
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