Anykščiai: Toboggan Run, Views and Museums

When planning a trip to Anykščiai, you can choose between several different highlights: views, activities and culture. The toboggan run on Kalitos kalnas, the platform in the tower of St. Matthew’s Church, and museums focused on railways, individuals and collections offer concrete ways to plan your visit. If you’re looking for a hotel in Anykščiai, you can first consider whether you want your stay to focus on an activity, views of the surrounding area, or collections about people and specific subjects.

Toboggan Run and Views

A 500-metre-long, two-lane toboggan run is located on Kalitos kalnas. It is the first two-lane toboggan run in Lithuania. It can be used in both summer and winter. Its length and design make it a clearly defined activity, distinct from the viewing options. Because it is open in both seasons, the run may also appeal to travellers who don’t associate Anykščiai solely with a winter outing.

The Medžių lajų takas is located near the destination, in the village of Dvaronių. The path is 300 metres long and rises steadily to 21 metres above the ground. At its end is an observation tower with a platform 34 metres high. This gives you two different activities to choose from: tobogganing on Kalitos kalnas, or an uphill path with an observation tower nearby. The distinction can help you decide: would you prefer the toboggan run or the path that leads to a platform at the end?

Views and Church History

Another place to enjoy a view is the right-hand tower of St. Matthew’s Church. An observation platform is located there, 33 metres above the ground, and 186 steps lead up to it. From the platform, visitors can take in the panorama of the Anykščiai area and learn about the church’s history and origins. A visit to the church therefore combines a view with information about the church. Access differs from that at the Medžių lajų takas: here, you climb the tower steps, whereas the 300-metre path in Dvaronių village rises steadily to 21 metres and leads to a platform 34 metres high at the end. The platform heights are similar, but the routes to them are different.

Museums Focused on Railways and Collections

The Siaurukas Museum displays the “Škoda” “Kukuška” steam locomotive and other narrow-gauge railway vehicles. Visitors can also try out a working handcar and a rail-running tricycle. The railway theme ranges from viewing the vehicles on display to trying out two working exhibits. This offers a different way of engaging with the collections than those focused on individual people or a shared visual motif.

The Antanas Baranauskas memorial cottage preserves and displays authentic furniture, household items and books belonging to Antanas Baranauskas and his family. The authentic domestic and creative world of the writer has been preserved at the Antanas Žukauskas-Vienuolis Memorial House Museum. These are two distinct types of person-focused collection: one features everyday objects and books belonging to an individual and their family, while the other preserves a writer’s way of life. The Angelų muziejus has a different focus. Its collection includes more than a hundred angels in various forms, including painted, wooden, ceramic and glass figures. While the memorial house presents a particular person through their way of life, this museum focuses on a motif represented in different materials.

Discover more destinations: Leliūnai, Bičionys, Užpaliai, Alanta, Molėtai, Rimšė, Utena, Videniškiai

For the broader travel overview: Utena County.