Telšiai County: Nature Trails, Museums and Manor History

The nature trail in Jomantų Forest combines exercise with learning about nature: it features 23 information boards and seven rest areas. The trail is 4 kilometres long. Allow about 3 hours for the entire route, including the information and the crossword puzzle at the end. This approximate duration therefore covers the experience, its stops and the puzzle. If you include the trail in your day’s plans, you can set aside enough time for it.

Nature Trails and Landscapes

The Germantas Landscape Reserve covers 924 hectares. It protects a landscape typical of the Central Samogitian Upland, with lakes, forests, streams and wetlands. Its appeal lies in the interplay of these landscape features within a protected area, rather than in any one natural feature alone.

There are walking and cycling paths along the shore of Lake Mastis. As well as the forest trail, the region therefore offers lakeside paths that you can explore on foot or by bike. The two options offer different experiences: the Jomantų Forest trail explicitly includes information and a crossword puzzle, while the walking and cycling paths along Lake Mastis are all about the lakeside.

Museums and Exhibitions

The Bear Museum in Telšiai houses more than 5,837 bears and teddy bears. The collection includes pieces made from a range of materials and in different sizes and shapes. This variety makes the museum an unusual destination for anyone interested in the design and different forms of teddy bears.

The Mažeikiai Museum explores a very different subject: it preserves and presents the history, archaeology and ethnography of the Žemaitija region, as well as folk art. The permanent exhibition “Naftos kelias” (The Oil Road) explores a particular aspect of regional history. It covers the extraction and processing of petroleum products, the products made from them and their uses, as well as the history of the Mažeikiai oil refinery.

The Viekšniai Pharmacy Museum is Lithuania’s only museum of a rural pharmacy from the 19th to the 20th century. The pharmacist’s living quarters have been preserved, along with the pharmacy’s history, handwritten in its entirety. The museum therefore focuses both on the pharmacy’s history and on the pharmacist’s home.

The Žemaitija Art Museum is located in Plungė Manor Palace. It presents cultural heritage reflecting the history of Plungė Manor and the Oginski family. The museum is open and has seasonal hours; check them before your visit.

In Plateliai, the Žemaitija National Park exhibition presents the history of the local manor, as well as the region’s Samogitian ethnography and nature. The exhibition “Keliaukime aplink Platelių ežerą” (Let’s Travel Around Lake Plateliai), at the National Park Visitor Centre, focuses on Lake Plateliai: its formation, underwater relief and aquatic life. It also covers water activities, places to visit in the park and nature trails.

The Žemaitija Diocese Museum is a department of the Alka Museum. It is housed in the historic buildings of the Žemaitija Seminary in Varniai, Telšiai County. The Cold War Exhibition offers a very different historic setting: it is located in a former underground Soviet ballistic missile launch complex.

Manors and Local History

At the restored 19th-century Renavo Manor estate, a museum exhibition offers insights into Lithuanian manor culture. Ponds, islands and old trees shape the landscape of Rietavas Manor Park, also dating from the 19th century. The park is well suited to walks, relaxation and exploring the manor’s history.

For a brief introduction to local history, the Kuliai Regional Museum offers visitors the chance to learn about the town’s history, way of life and notable figures. Alongside the manor and museum themes in Plungė, Renavo and Rietavas, it offers a range of historical perspectives, from the history and notable people of a town to Lithuanian manor culture.

Discover more destinations: Ubiškė, Plungė, Mažeikiai, Telšiai, Gečaičiai, Plateliai, Varniai, Luokės Seniūnija, Rapaliai, Mažeikių rajono savivaldybė, Telšių rajono savivaldybė, Rietavo savivaldybė, Plungės rajono savivaldybė.

For the full travel overview: Lithuania.