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A Journey through Lithuania
4
Our time in Kaunas has finished. The shopping was great! Our bags are full of things we
bought in Mega and Akropolis, so now it was time to head West towards the seaside. But
before that I had planned to take my British friend to the Live Archeological Days Festival
in Varnupiai in order for her to have some idea how the first Lithuanian tribes lived long
before Christianity. Lithuanians have retained lots of elements of their pagan religion along
with Christianity and it is nice to have a good idea about these if one wants to understand
Lithuanians better.
There is no motorway to Varnupiai. The narrow road goes straight through the picturesque
countryside. Have a look at what we saw on our way!
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We started off early the next day on our journey.
We travelled through open countryside and
wooded areas. This was a real experience for my
British friend as she had never seen a ‘proper’
wood before. She was surprised that Lithuanian
woods differ from the British ones. As the road
goes directly through the wood you may notice a
sign warning to beware of wild animals. |
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We passed plenty of crosses on the way.
Lithuanians are known for their cross-making.
Lithuanian crosses are very specific as they
combine Christian and pagan motives. Before
Christianity such ‘crosses’ were found in every
steading and were called the ‘tree of the world’,
a sort of cosmic link connecting heaven and
earth. Here you can see St. George and the
dragon. |
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This one is of the Pagan God
Perkūnas (Thunder) with a yellow
arrow of lightning and the SUN –
above him. |
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This is the closest to Christianity
as one can see ‘Jesus’.
Lithuanians call him Rūpintojėlis,
which means ‘guardian’, ‘the one
that worries’. |
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A stone used in pagan times.
It has a horseshoe print on it
and archeologists guess it was
used for sacrificing. |
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You may be surprised to find a monument to
the Lithuanian freedom fighters in the woods,
in the middle of nowhere. Well, in fact, it
commemorates local people, miško broliai,
(brothers of the wood) who hid in the forest to
fight the Russian forces. |
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A beautiful artefact of Lithuanian woodcraft: an arrow indicating direction towards Iglė lake. |
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Another characteristic feature of Suvalkija’s
steadings is this mill. These are for decorative
purposes only and can be found made of stones,
bricks or wood. |
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Figures of wooden men like this are found
everywhere. We particularly liked this one,
smoking and holding a pot of flowers. He
reminded us of the tinman in the ‘Wizard of Oz’. |
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