Jurbarkas manor

At the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Jurbarkas Manor belonged to the wives of the rulers: The wife of Sigismund II, Bona Sforca, Anna Habsburżanka, the wife of Sigismund Vasa, the wives of Vladislav Vasa and John Casimir. Later it was the property of the Radvila family. In 1846, Tsar Nicholas I gave the rule of Jurbarkas to Adjutant General Duke Ilarion VasilievichVasilchikov.

In the Jurbarkas Manor belonging to the Vasilchikov family, there was a stylish palace of neo-Classical style, as well as two oficinas. In the 19th century, in 1865, a small but ornate neo-Byzantine church was built nearby. Both the Duke’s family and the Orthodox community of Jurbarkas prayed at the church.

The hosts expanded the manor park, surrounding it with a red-brick fence with two high and wide iron gates. Various festivals would take place in the ornate surroundings of the manor, the guests and people close to the Duke would gather here. The park would then be cleaned and a new white birch bridge would be built over the Mituva River.

In 1918, the Jurbarkas Manor with two parks and an orchard was handed over to the Jurbarkas High School. The park became open to the public.

In 1956, the crosses of the manor church were removed, the building was used as a dance hall and an exhibition hall for some time and later it was turned into a vegetable warehouse. Since 2002, the restored former manor house is open to visitors, it houses an exhibition and concert hall.

Two oficinas of the manor built in the style of late Classicism have been preserved to this day. Since 1991, the northern oficina of the manor houses Jurbarkas Regional Museum. The brick two-storey building with a shelter retains an ornate wood décor interior, the ceiling with wood carvings has been preserved. In 2015, the columns of the central Jurbarkas Manor house were restored.