Discover Birzai and Birzai Castle Lithuania – Your Ultimate Travel Guide

Birzai Castle Lithuania

Birzai Lithuania
Birzai Lithuania

A Birzai (Biržai) estate is first mentioned in written sources in 1450, and a church in 1510. It’s thought that the name comes from biržis – birch grove. From the mid-15th century until 1811 the area belonged to a branch of the Radziwiłł family founded by George Radziwiłł, father of Barbara Radziwiłł.

Construction of a fortified castle in the mid-16th century involved damming the Agluona and Apaščia rivers. This resulted in the formation of Širvėna, Lithuania’s oldest artificial lake.

The castle was completed in 1589, the year that Biržai gained the rights of Magdeburg. The city became a hearth of the Reformation at the end of the 16th century and a strategic base during the war with Sweden at the beginning of the 17th century.

The Birzai Castle

Birzai Castle
Birzai Castle

Biržai Castle was a crucial fortification during the war with Sweden from 1600-1629 and the Northern War from 1655-1660. The city was seriously damaged in 1625 and acquired a new bastion-type castle (used less for defense and more for official purposes), designed by the military engineer Adam Freytag, advisor and physician to the family Radziwiłł, in 1669.

King Augustus II of Poland and Tsar Peter I signed a pact against Sweden in the castle in 1701. The Swedes destroyed it when they occupied the town in 1704.

The building was reconstructed in 1985 as the Sėla Biržai Regional Museum. It has archaeological exhibits, examples of estate art, a 1563 Brest bible, and environs by local photographer Petras Ločeris.

Sėla Regional Museum
Sėla Regional Museum

Sėla Biržai Regional Museum

The museum is situated within the Biržai Castle complex, which dates back to the 17th-18th centuries. The castle, built in a Dutch-style fortress design, once served as a defense against northern border threats.

In 1988, the dilapidated palace of the castle complex was restored, and it now houses the Jurgis Bielinis Public Library and the Biržai Regional Museum “Sėla” since 1989.

Collections and Exhibitions

The museum’s collections vividly represent the culture and history of the region. Visitors can explore archaeological finds from the Selonian and Semigalian tribes, learn about life in the area from the 18th to the second half of the 20th century, and delve into the history of religious confessions in the region.

The interactive warfare exhibition in the arsenal focuses on the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, providing a unique glimpse into historical conflicts.
Additionally, the museum offers an exhibition on ancient brewing traditions, allowing visitors to experience the Aukštaitija region’s hospitality and see ancient brewing equipment.

Address: J. Radvilos street 3

Opening Hours:

April to October: Sunday, Tuesday 10 am – 5:30 pm; Wednesday to Saturday 10 am – 6:30 pm
October to April: Sunday, Tuesday 9 am – 4:30 pm; Wednesday to Saturday 9 am – 5:30 pm

The Biržai Estate

Footbridge Širvėna
Footbridge Širvėna

In 1822 Dominik Radziwiłł sold the city to count Józef Tyszkiewicz, who built a house that became the Astravas ensemble (1849-1962, architect Tomasz Tyszecki), opposite the castle ruins on the north shore of Lake Širvėna.

A 0.5 km footbridge across the lake leads to the estate, the development of which began with landscaping and land reclamation work, and construction of an extant arched red brick bridge and dam.

Tme Manor House

Erected in the middle of the estate was an ornate Neo-Classicist style manor house with an elegant main entrance portico and multi-tiered observation tower. Its spacious halls, wood finishing, and decor fragments including columns with Ionic and Corinthian capitals testify to its former splendor.

Biržai Town

Astravas Birzai Lithuania
Astravas Birzai Lithuania

Tomasz Tyszeckiat built the Historicist-style Church of St. John the Baptist at about the same time as the Astravas ensemble. In 1865 the family Tyszkiewicz funded the construction of an Orthodox church, and in 1874 the town acquired a Neo-Gothic style Evangelist Reformed church.

The latter has an integral Neo-Gothic interior with authentic wood installations and a lovely pulpit. One of the oldest surviving buildings in town served as an apothecary in the 17th century.

During the inter-war period, the city had Lithuanian and Jewish high schools, several primary schools, and libraries with reading rooms. a printing house, some cooperative organizations, branches of various banks, a huge steam dairy, and the “Siūlas” flax and tow spinning factory.


Birzai City Festival – Video

Birzai Lithuania Map


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