Kaišiadorys Museum

Contacts
Address: Gedimino g. 85, LT-56144, Kaišiadorys.
Tel. (+370 ~ 346) 54 161.
Director (+370 ~ 346) 51 192.
E-mail: verdasa[at]takas.lt
http://www.kaisiadoriumuziejus.lt/
Director – Olijardas Lukoševičius.

Information for visitor

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 8–17.

Collection
The museum's collection consists of  archaeology, history, ethnography, art and nature exhibits.

Exposition
The museum has no premises for expositions yet.

Cultural, educational activity
The museum prepares and distributes books and other publications.

Departament
Jonas Aistis Museum
Address: J. Aisčio g. 1, Rumšiškės, LT-56335, Kaišiadorių rajonas.
Tel./fax (+370 ~ 346) 47 611.
E-mail: verdasa[at]takas.lt
More information >

History of the Museum
The museum was started being established in the 4th decade of the 20th century when a priest Nikodemas Švogžlys-Milžinas arranged an exhibition of antiquities in the parish hall. 
The idea to establish a museum was supported in 1962 when Kaišiadorys branch of the Lithuanian Society of Ethnography was established.
With this view antique things were started being collected but the museum was not established and the things accumulated did not remain.
Another attempt to establish the museum was made immediately after the Restoration of Independence in 1991. The museum formally existed for 2 years, later it was re-organized into the Center of Ethnic Culture.
Kaišiadorys museum was established following the decision of the Council of the district of May 27, 1998 and commenced its activity on September 28 of the same year. In the meantime, the museum has no exposition yet.
Museum’s establisher – Lithuanian Republic’s Ministry of Culture.

Kaišiadorys
Kaišiadorys is town and district center in east central Lithuania between Vilnius and Kaunas.
The town began as a railroad station in 1862, when a railway line was built from Vilnius to Kaunas and the German frontier beyond. The town expanded further in 1871, when another railway line united the seaport Liepaja in Latvia with Romny in the Ukraine, from which grain and anthracite were transported across Lithuania. 
After World War I, when Poland occupied Vilnius (1920) and Lithuania had to sever all relations with the neighbor, Kaisiadorys was no longer a major railway link. Only after diplomatic relations with Poland were resumed in 1938 was the line opened, but its use was moderate until after World War II.
Kaišiadorys gained some advantages because of the political situation. The town became a county seat instead of Trakai, the latter remaining behind the demarcation line, which separated the Polish-occupied area of Vilnius from the rest of Lithuania. Kaišiadorys became the center for many administration offices the district court, forester's district, and cultural organizations. In 1926 the diocese of Kaišiadorys was established and a cathedral built. The first Bishop was Juozapas Kukta from 1926–1942.
Under Soviet Union rule in the post World War II period, Kaišiadorys again became a busy railway hub. However, the typical Soviet drive for industrialization and urbanization did not have a great effect on Kaišiadorys.
The town is no longer a religious center.

Photos by Olijardas Lukoševičius