Folk Music Museum
The Folk Music Museum, situated in the Old Town, offers a space dedicated to learning about Lithuanian music traditions. Contemporary and interactive exhibitions showcase traditional Lithuanian music and the broader cultural context of folk music. Visitors to the museum are not only welcome to view unique old Lithuanian musical instruments, but also to hear them being played. Here, you will be able to play music instruments, dance and play musical games, and make music with utterly unusual objects.
Branch history
The Folk Museum of the Lithuanian SSR opened a new branch, the Lithuanian Folk Music Instruments Museum, in 1985. The name and subordination of the museum changed several times afterwards. In 1989, the museum separated from the Lithuanian SSR Folk Museum, and in 1995 it was named after Povilas Stulga. In 2013 the museum became a branch of Kaunas City Museum and is today called the Folk Music Museum.
The museum is housed in a complex of several buildings. The cosy courtyard surrounding the buildings exudes the Old Town’s unique mood and character. The building at 12 Kurpių St. is a Gothic-style residential house built in the second half of the 16th century while the building at 12 L. Zamenhofo St. was built in 1876. The Museum’s permanent exhibition was launched in these buildings in 1985. Between 1985 and 2003 the museum was home to the Tututis Music School.
Museum Today
Besides housing an engaging exhibition, the museum today offers exciting excursions and educational activities, children’s birthday parties, and, most importantly, the real pleasure of music making.
The Folk Music Museum hosts Lithuanian Dance Evenings which have already become an established tradition; every September, the annual event entitled ‘Dancing L. Zamenhofo Street’ brings together Kaunas residents and visitors for open-air dancing; and there is an annual festival dedicated to the tradition of kanklės music, entitled ‘Kanklės in My Hands’.
During the warm season, the Dūzgės gastro bar is open in the museum’s cosy courtyard.
