Tauras District Partisans and Deportation Museum

Contacts
Address: Vytauto g. 29, LT-68300, Marijampolė.
Tel. (+370~343) 50754.
E-mail: markrmuziejus@gmail.com
Head of the Museum – Justinas Sajauskas.

Information for Visitor

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 9–17.

Additional services:
Reservation of excursions;
Consulting of political prisoners and exiles.

Collection
The Museum accumulates and exposes relicts, archival documents, photographs, reminiscences of people, arms etc. from the Soviets’ deportation and partisan period.

Exposition
The exposition commemorates the Tauras district partisans, who in post-war years were active in the Suduva area and the life of deportees from Sūduva.

Hall 1
It displays the history of the Tauras Command partisans, photographs of Rev. A. Ilius and his brothers in arms. On the left is a big map of the Tauras Command. An individual stand is dedicated for Juozas Luksa, the legendary partisan.

Hall 2
It is dedicated for the Tauras command corps “Geležinis vilkas”, “Vytautas”, “Žalgiris”.

Hall 3
On the top of exposition there are portraits of partisans granted the honorable name of Freedom Warrior-Hero and stands with photographs.

Hall 4
Here the exposition tells stories about victims of genocide and their executors.

“Deportations. Prisons. Lagers.”

Exhibitions
The Museum arranges exhibitions of photography, as well as those on postwar fights and deportations.

Cultural, educational activity
Organizing of meetings;
Educational activities on themes of history.

History of the Museum
The museum was established on the initiative of local political prisoners and deportees.
In 1993 the museum was opened to visitors. Aldona Vilutienė, the political prisoner, became its manager.
The solemn opening was held on April 10, 1999.

Marijampolė
Marijampolė, city in southwestern Lithuania, 53 km Southwest of Kaunas on the Šešupė river. Under Soviet rule, in 1953, its name was changed to Kapsukas.
Until the 16th century, almost the whole of southern Lithuania (Sūduva) was heavily forested with few inhabitants. The first inhabitants along the Šešupė appeared in mid-16th century.
In 1717 Count Martin Butler built a chapel in Pašešupys hamlet and planned out a village, which, in documents dated 1736, was called Starapolė. Near this village, between the Šešupė and Javonis rivers, Countess Frances Butler established the Marian Fathers, providing them a wooden church and monastery. Around these structures the small town of Marijampole began to grow.
After the third partition of Lithuania and Poland in 1795, Sūduva was apportioned to German Prusia.
When the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) set up an autonomous Kingdom of Poland under the Russian protectorate, Sūduva, including Marijampolė, was incorporated into this kingdom. In 1831 the Kingdom of Poland was suspended and from this time until World War I Sūduva was governed by the Russian governor general residing in Warsaw.
Marijampolė, located in the center of Sūduva, has played a notable role in Lithuania’s cultural and national life.
Marijampolė High School was the spawning ground for the leaders of the national revival, church dignitaries, educators, artists, and writers, including J. Basanavičius, P. Bučys, K. Grinius, M. Gustaitis, J. Jablonskis, V. Kudirka, P. Mašiotas, J. Matulaitis-Matulevičius, V. Pietaris, P. Vaičaitis, and T. Žilinskas. The 1918 declaration of Lithuanian independence was signed by six Marijampolė High School graduates, namely J. Basanavičius, S. Banaitis, P. Dovydaitis, P. Klimas, J. Staugaitis, and J. Vailokaitis.
After the reestablishment of an independent Lithuania (1918) the city expanded. Many modern public and private buildings were erected. A number of new industrial enterprises were established, including a cotton textile company, woolen cloth factory, sugar factory, milk-processing company, seed-oil refinery, beverage workshops, stockyards, agricultural machinery workshops, some brickyards, and clamshell workshops.
The town had two Catholic churches, 1 Protestant church, and one synagogue.
During the first Soviet occupation of Lithuania (1940–1941) the economic and cultural life of the city was paralyzed.
The city was destroyed during the second Soviet occupation in the summer of 1944. Only in 1958 were the ruins finally cleared at the city replanted.

The photographs from the funds of the Marijampolė Local Lore Museum