Photo: Zairon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Gintaro muziejus-galerija

The amber museum in the 17th-century baroque building in the Old Town of Vilnius: the origin of Baltic amber, its colours, inclusions and copies of the Juodkrantė treasure.

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About the museum

The Gintaro muziejus-galerija (Amber Museum-Gallery) is located in a 17th-century baroque building on Šv. Mykolo gatvė in the Old Town of Vilnius, where layers of six centuries of architecture intertwine – elements of the Renaissance, Classicism and Gothic have survived. The museum is run by Virginija and Kazimieras Mizgiris, who also run the amber museum in Nida.

The exhibition tells of Baltic amber, about 50 million years old: its formation, natural shapes, the variety of colours and the difference between genuine and fake amber. The largest piece of amber in the museum weighs almost three kilograms. The outstanding inclusion collection includes a snail shell, a mosquito that has sucked blood, and the leg of a great grasshopper.

Visitors can see reconstructed amulets from the Juodkrantė treasure – items from the world's largest archaeological amber collection, gathered in 1860–1881 while amber was being dug in the Curonian Lagoon. Visitors can touch a natural piece of amber and taste amber liqueur.

Highlights

Exhibition on the origin, forms and colours of Baltic amber
Inclusion collection: a snail shell, a mosquito, a grasshopper's leg
Reconstructed amulets of the Juodkrantė treasure
An amber piece weighing almost three kilograms
17th-century baroque building with Gothic and Renaissance remnants

Permanent exhibition

Baltijos gintaro ekspozicija – The origin, forms and colours of amber, the collection of inclusions, how to recognise genuine amber, and reconstructed amulets from the Juodkrantė treasure are presented.