Discover Kėdainiai: Old Town, architectural history and city park

Kėdainiai combines a protected Old Town with buildings from different centuries and a city park offering a variety of activities. As you plan your trip, you can first consider whether you are particularly interested in the market square and synagogues, churches and architectural history, traditional crafts, or the park’s paths and sports areas. If you are looking for a hotel in Kėdainiai, these themes provide a concrete framework for choosing what interests you on your trip.

Market Square and Historic Building Phases

The Old Market Square was established in the 15th century as the city’s first market square. Kėdainiai Old Town is a state-protected national urban monument. The synagogue complex at the Old Market Square was built from the late 18th century through the first half of the 19th century. The Great Summer Synagogue on the square was built in the 18th century, after an earlier synagogue was destroyed in a fire. The different periods of construction place the synagogues in several historical phases rather than presenting them as a single building project.

The Glaser Houses in Kėdainiai also date from the 17th century and are among the city’s historic landmarks. A Multicultural Center opened in a synagogue at the Old Market Square on 16 August 2002. Together with the older buildings, this precisely dated event adds another point of reference to the city’s history.

Churches and Notable Buildings

Original 17th-century wall paintings have been preserved in the single-nave Lutheran church. The Evangelical Reformed Church, set within the Renaissance-influenced Old Town, was funded by Krzysztof II Radziwiłł and Anna and completed in 1652 by their son Janusz II Radziwiłł. The churches offer different points of historical interest: preserved paintings in one case, and a documented source of funding and a precise year of completion in the other.

Another building with a clearly dated history is the 28-metre-high minaret. It was built in 1880 to adorn a park and commemorate the wars with Turkey. The minaret is Lithuania’s only free-standing minaret; it is the only one of the structures built at the time that has survived. Its height, year of construction and commemorative purpose each give the building a distinct historical significance.

Crafts, City Park and Walking Tour

Arnet’s House is an architectural monument and a tangible testament to the Scottish community that lived in Kėdainiai in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Traditional Crafts Center in the house offers workshops for adults, as well as university and school students. The program includes weaving, ceramics and wood carving. If you are interested in traditional crafts, you can include these activities as a separate theme in your trip planning.

Kėdainiai City Park is part of the former Kėdainiai manor estate. It has paths for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as an area for inline skating and skateboarding. The park therefore offers different ways to get active: paths for walking or cycling, and a dedicated area for activities on wheels or skateboards. These details can help you complement a culturally focused stay with some time outdoors.

A walking tour of the Old Town offers insights into its most significant historic buildings and the city’s history. If you would like to plan this tour, confirm the booking details with the provider. This will help you decide whether to explore the historic sites on your own or include a guided introduction to the history of the Old Town in your stay.

Discover more destinations: Ariogala, Ramučiai, Garliava, Čekiškė, Karmėlava, Altoniškiai, Šiluva, Prienai.

For the broader travel overview: Kaunas County.