Permanent Exhibition at Kaunas Castle
In Kaunas Castle, the city’s oldest historical object, we invite you to visit two permanent exhibitions entitled The Mosaic of Kaunas Castle History and Experience 17th Century Kaunas: From a Tile to a Potsherd. They present the most significant historical facts and personalities, the metamorphoses undergone by the castle’s walls, and shifts in its functions from the 14th century to the present day. Spread across five of the castle tower’s spaces, these exhibitions will appeal to both visitors interested in historical facts and authentic exhibits and those looking to have a good time.
The Mosaic of Kaunas Castle History
On the ground floor of the castle tower, the most important facts of Kaunas Castle history are presented including images of the castle from different eras, authentic and reproduced exhibits that testify to the castle’s defensive and other functions.
Animated visualisations of the siege of 1362 and three-dimensional reconstructions of the castle from the 15th and 20th centuries are displayed. Special mention should be made of the archaeological findings exhibited in the displays on the ground floor that were collected during the archaeological digs at Kaunas Castle and the Old Town.
These include stone round shots used in crossbowmen and bombards, found in a cultural layer dating back to 1362, when the storming of the castle by the Teutonic Knights took place; chess pieces and other figurines from medieval board games; 17th and 18th century flintlock fire strikers and bullets; and fragments of stove tiles featuring the coats-of-arms of the state and the city of Kaunas.
The bastion space focuses on the castle’s defensive functions, covering the castle’s famed defence in 1362, led by Duke Vaidotas, and numerous legends.
On the first floor of the castle tower, visitors can experience Kaunas Castle’s unique virtual reconstruction, which not only takes them back to the beginning of the 15th century, allowing them to take a tour around the castle in those times, but also to interview Grand Duke Vytautas, the castle’s elder Jonas Sungaila, and the renowned Flemish traveler and diplomat Ghillebert de Lannoy.
In the castle’s stylised dungeon, visitors can get a first-hand experience of medieval chains or have their picture taken in front of the Pillar of Shame, used to punish criminals between the 16th and 19th centuries in Western Europe. used to punish criminals between the 16th and 19th centuries in Western Europe. The castle’s ghost also resides here, in the castle’s dungeon, where a video projection is accompanied by the haunting sounds of clanking guns, neighing horses and much more.
On the third floor of Kaunas Castle Tower, you can view the city from an angle you have never seen before On this floor, you can also become the first ones to see the Museum’s new exhibits: the New in the Museum single-exhibit display is updated every few months.
Experience 17th Century Kaunas: From a Tile to a Potsherd
On the second floor of the castle tower, you will have a chance to view samples of reconstructed 18th-century ceramics, such as pots, clay pitchers, bowls, and pans.
Daugirdo St. at 2 / Rotušės Av. The tiles found in the basement of the building are represented by shards of glazed and unglazed stove tiles with different ornamentation, fragments of cornice and frieze tiles, and fully preserved tiles (9 variants).
And of course, we invite everyone, adults and children alike, to try their hand as an archaeologist: what fun it can be to dig up a shard of tile yourself!
