Prienai District Municipality – Davatkynas and Paci Street

Key facts

• Šilavotas Davatkynas is a branch of the Prienai Regional Museum.
• M. Dabrišiūtė settled there around 1895.
• Fourteen women, known as “davatkėlės,” lived in an informal religious community for more than 100 years.
• The women cared for the sick and supported the church.
• The plein-air painting gatherings organized by painter A. Vilpišauskas became a tradition.
• The Historic Paci Street leads to churches, museums, a library, a monument and a watermill.

Šilavotas Davatkynas: Community and cultural history

Šilavotas Davatkynas brings together a personal story and a longer history of community life. M. Dabrišiūtė settled there around 1895. Over a period of more than 100 years, 14 women, known as “davatkėlės,” lived in an informal religious community. They cared for the sick and supported the church. The story therefore encompasses both one person’s arrival and a community’s life over more than a century.

Plein-air painting is also part of this cultural picture. Painter A. Vilpišauskas organized outdoor painting gatherings at Šilavotas Davatkynas, and these became a tradition. Religious community, social assistance and artistic gatherings are distinct themes that sit alongside one another. For travel planning, this gives a multifaceted picture of the place that extends beyond a single historical event.

Stops along the Historic Paci Street

The Historic Paci Street complements this history with destinations from different fields. Church stops include Veiveriai St. Louis Church and Šilavotas St. Church of the Heart of Jesus; in Prienai, the route also leads to Prienai Church of the Revelation of Christ. The Veiveriai Region History Museum, with an exhibition about partisan Juozas Lukša-Daumantas, is another stop. Other destinations include the Prienai Region Museum and the Justinas Marcinkevičius Public Library in Prienai.

Other route destinations include a monument to Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and the Prienai water mill. The route thus includes religious sites, museums, a library, a monument and a watermill. This variety offers several ways to explore local history, rather than limiting the focus to a single building or theme.

Using your cultural interests to choose accommodation

When planning where to stay, you can first decide whether the history of Davatkynas and the stops along the Historic Paci Street will be your main focus. Additional destinations in Kaunas District offer other cultural and landscape themes.

Additional destinations in the wider Kaunas District travel area

Kaunas Castle is a notable historical attraction in Kaunas District. It is the city’s oldest historical landmark and one of Lithuania’s oldest brick castles; it was built in the mid-14th century. The restored and reconstructed tower houses exhibitions on the castle’s history, important historical figures, changes to its walls, and how its functions have evolved from the 14th century to the present. The castle also offers guided tours and educational programs.

Raudondvaris Manor Castle, a Renaissance architectural monument dating from the early 17th century, is also in Kaunas District. The interactive audio tour “Dramaturas,” created with artificial intelligence, tells the story of the manor and the romantic tragedy of Žygimantas Augustas and Barbora Radvilaitė. Its 14 stops take visitors through halls and cellars, into the park and around the surrounding manor estate. Check the tour’s seasonal availability before visiting.

Nature is another theme in Kaunas District. Naturalist Tadas Ivanauskas founded Obelynė Botanical Park in Akademija. Kadagių Valley is a five-hectare slope on the Kaunas Lagoon where common juniper grows wild; it is part of Kaunas Lagoon Regional Park. In 2010, a 1.3-kilometer educational trail was laid out along the edge of the steep slope in the upper part of the valley. From there, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the widened Nemunas, Dabinta Island and distinctive outcrops.

Kaunas District has educational and health trails ranging from 2 to 17 kilometers in length. The Šaltinių Trail consists of routes 2.6 to 6 kilometers long through the Kačerginė pine forest. Viewpoints offer views of the Nemunas, and the routes lead to Pypliai Hill and back. This wider regional area therefore offers a choice of different travel interests, from urban history and an interactive manor-castle experience to scenic trails.

Discover more destinations: Byliškės, Balbieriškis Eldership, Raseiniai District Municipality, Jurbarkas District Municipality, Kaišiadorys District Municipality, Jonava District Municipality, Kaunas District Municipality, Kėdainiai District Municipality.

For the wider travel overview: Kaunas District.