Current Exhibitions
The historical palace commonly known as the residence of the Presidents of Lithuania (1919–1940) has reshaped itself. Time portals will take you to seven epochs: the Governor’s Palace, the Ober Ost Commander’s residence, the Presidential Palace, the house of the Supreme Council Presidium, Nazi Headquarters, the Teachers’ House and the revived historical palace. The motley list of its residents and visitors includes Tsars, Kaisers, military commanders, artists and even a Pope! The palace is as if a crossroads of the history of Kaunas and entire Europe.
The new exhibition will surprise city residents and its guests: here, history can be seen, heard, touched, smelled…
Exhibition Stories of the House is accessible to a variety of audiences: a remotely operating guide compatible with tablets has been prepared in Lithuanian, English, Russian and German, in Lithuanian Sign Language and as a Lithuanian version for the blind. Visitors will be able to touch copies of the most interesting exhibits specially adapted for the blind and hear audio recordings. In 2022, accessibility will be expanded further: tactile schemes and an informative marking system will be installed, and comics will be designed for the young.
Visitors of broadest variety of interests are welcome.
A new exhibition opens on July 6th to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Historical Presidential Palace to visitors. Confided memories: People, Things and their Stories – thus entitled exhibition presents the most valuable artifacts donated by people and various organizations during those 15 years.
The exhibition poses questions and tries to answer them from both the museum and donators’ points of view. What is usually considered to represent a Family Relic? Why do we donate to the Museum? Do we still need authentic items-exhibits? Where do the most valuable exhibits come from? Why do we care about the ‘everyday’ history? What constitutes the value of an exhibit?
Read more: 2020 07 06 – 2022 07 06 Confided memories: People, Things and their Stories
The exhibition Redde quod debes: State Awards of the Republic of Lithuania 1920–1940 presents the most important State Orders and Awards protected from damage and saved at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art. After Lithuania's occupation in 1940, some of the property of State institutions was transferred to museums. In May 1941, Pijus Bielskus, Chancellor of the Orders of the President's Office under liquidation, following the order of a secretary of the Supreme Council of LSSR Stasys Pupeikis, handed over to the museum the Chains of the Order of Vytautas the Great, Orders and Medals of Vytautas the Great, Orders and Medals of GDL Gediminas, Orders of the Vytis Cross (old and new issues), Medals of the 10th Anniversary of Independence, Medals of Volunteers-Founders, Life Saving Crosses, Medals of the Anniversary of Vilnius (1323–1923), the manufacture samples and miniatures of the Order of Vytautas the Great, samples of foreign Orders, and Award certificates of Lithuanian Orders – 12,861 items in total. On 13 September 1940, 15 Orders of the Home Guard Star were passed from the Riflemen's Union under liquidation to the Historical Department of the Kaunas State Museum of Culture. Hereby, Orders and Awards of the State of Lithuania which are now displayed in their historic home have been saved from destruction.
The modernized and updated exposition introduces the Presidents of the First Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940) in traditional and innovative ways. Three presidents took the presidential oath of office: Antanas Smetona spend the whole 15 years in this office; Aleksandras Stulginskis – 6 years (including 2 years, when as the Chairman of the Constituent Seimas he was an Acting President); and Kazys Grinius had barely 6 months, a short term ended by Coup d’État. The President was elected by Seimas. The State President’s institution underwent many serious changes over two decades of the First Republic of Lithuania – changing from nominal and representative to autocracy. This evolution may be traced in explicit photo galleries, documentary films, and president’s speeches that are available on a touch-screen terminal.
Read more: Since 2014 – The Presidents of the First Republic of Lithuania
A permanent historical exhibition of representative portraits, pieces of art that originally decorated the interior of the Palace, gifts to the Presidents, surviving authentic furniture, historical pictures recording the Presidents’ foreign and internal activities, public activities, pictures from personal life and many more things that tell the story of the First Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940).