Tauragė Castle

The Tauragė castle ensemble is located in the centre of Tauragė city. The castle was built for customs needs by Russian Empire in the 1844-1847. 

In the second half of the 19th century the ensemble was rebuilt - the territory was surrounded by a masonry fence, a sauna was built in the courtyard, new buildings for economic purposes, a well was dug, and corner towers were installed.

The entire architectural ensemble acquired character of a "romantic" Renaissance castle. Customs officials lived and worked in the buildings, inspected stagecoaches and a border prison was located in the Castle. Smugglers, violators of the German-Russian border, Lithuanian book smuggler - all were temporarily imprisoned there. After the war, in 1971 and 1986, two more new buildings were built in the castle yard. 

Today the Tauragė Region Museum "Santaka" is operating in the castle premises. The Santaka Museum has been operating since 1990 September 1st. At that time, the museologists consulted with the heads of schools and organizations about the transfer of their museum collections. The exhibits obtained formed the beginning of the sets. There are now more than 20,000 exhibits in the museum’s collection.

Currently, the museum consists of archeology, history, ethnography, nature expositions, a photo gallery, castle arts, and the “Tower of the Ages” full of innovations. Skaudvilė Region Museum, Alfonsas Čepauskas Art Gallery and the Exile and Resistance Museum are departments of Tauragė Region Museum.