Discover Marijampolė County

In Marijampolė County, you’ll encounter different perspectives on culture, history and landscape: street art and museums stand alongside manor houses, burial mounds and nature trails. When planning your trip, you can focus on one theme, such as collections and historic sites or paths through forests and wetlands. The combination of these themes makes the county appealing to travelers with different interests.

Museums and cultural history

In Marijampolė, street art has become a landmark. New drawings are added to buildings every year, attracting local and international tourists. The exhibition “City by the River Šešupė” explores the city’s history from its founding to Lithuania’s restoration of independence. It covers the changes to its name, its heraldry and city plans from different eras. “Spirit of the Nation” presents the prehistory and the spiritual and ethnographic heritage of Suvalkija (Sūduva).

The collections of the Marijampolė Regional Museum and the President Kazys Grinius Museum include around 40,000 exhibits on everyday life and ethnography, fine arts, literature, photography, numismatics and archaeology. Their scope ranges from everyday objects to subjects in art and history.

Jono Basanavičius’s birthplace presents a reconstructed farmstead belonging to a prosperous Suvalkija farmer. It includes traditional residential and farm buildings typical of the region, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum has been operating since 1991. It presents the everyday life of a prosperous Suvalkija farmer, the ethnic culture typical of Sūduva, and the life and work of Jono Basanavičius. The Vincas Kudirka Museum exhibition introduces Vincas Kudirka, the author of Lithuania’s national anthem, and the place where he spent the final years of his life.

Historic sites and distinctive collections

Until the Second World War, the synagogue complex on what is now Sodų Street was the main center of Jewish community and religious life in the local community. The Sudargas burial mound complex is considered the most important in historical, archaeological and cultural terms after the burial mounds of Kernavė.

Paežeriai Manor is a cultural heritage ensemble with historical, architectural, urban and landscape value. In 1992, it was included on the list of protected sites as a cultural asset of national significance. The two-story brick granary is all that remains of Gižai Manor, which has been mentioned since the 18th century.

Smaller collections also have distinct themes. The Hammer Museum in Degučiai displays around 1,000 exhibits; the hammers are numbered and labeled with their country of origin and purpose. The Cross-Stitch Pictures Museum displays a world map measuring 1.6 meters long and more than 1 meter high, made using over 250,000 cross-stitches.

Landscape, forests and nature trails

The landscape of Vištytis Regional Park was shaped by the tongues of glaciers during the last Ice Age. They formed the highest hills of the Suwałki Upland, nestled Lake Vištytis among them, brought large boulders to the surface and turned flatter areas into wetlands. The Vištytis windmill is a striking feature of this landscape. Near the Polish border lies the 150-year-old Maumedžių Grove. More than 60 larch trees grow there, reaching around 30 meters in height; there is also a rest area.

The Amalva educational trail leads into Amalva Bog, one of the largest bogs in Suvalkija. Information boards explain the bog’s history, ecosystem, wildlife and plant life. The trail is in Marijampolė Municipality. The Buktos nature trail is also in this municipality, 6 kilometers southeast of Liudvinavas. Visitors can take walks of 1.3 and 1.7 kilometers. At seven stops, visitors can learn about hornbeam forests, floodplain forests and swampy deciduous forests, as well as the area’s plant and animal species.

The Buktos trail rest area has a shelter, swings, waste bins and a toilet. At a specially equipped fire pit, you can hang a pot, cook soup and eat in the forest. The information about the route lengths and stops will help you choose between the two walks based on how much time you want to spend.

Guided tours, events and planning your visit

Sudargas Burial Mound Day is held every year during the Joninės (Rasos) celebrations at the burial mounds. If you’re planning to attend, check the dates for your trip. The Vincas Kudirka Museum offers guided tours in Lithuanian, and a tour of Kudirkos Naumiestis is also available. Tours must be booked in advance. The museum offers historical educational programs for families on the Lithuanian national revival, Vincas Kudirka and the history of literature. Check in advance which programs will be available during your visit.

For meals, tastings or festive lunches at Zypliai Manor, the “Kuchmistrai” kitchen restaurant is recommended. Check in advance whether the offering is available on your chosen date. The adventure park in the town of Kazlų Rūda opened in September 2011 as a recreation area for active leisure. If you plan to visit, check its current operating status beforehand.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Marijampolė, Šakiai, Kazlų Rūda, Gudeliai, Sasnava, Gelgaudiškis, Vilkaviškis, Šakiai District Municipality, Marijampolė Municipality, Kazlų Rūda Municipality.

For the wider travel overview: Lithuania.