Prezidento Antano Smetonos dvaras

About the museum

The history of the estate begins with the sixtieth birthday of Antanas Smetona. In 1934, during the celebrations of the President's birthday, it was decided to give him a farm in his home village. The Jubilee Gift Committee of the Tautos Vadas (Leader of the Nation) distributed gift badges, and with the money raised, 80 hectares of land were bought in 1935, mostly from the owner of the Taujėnai manor, Prince Konstantinas Radvila. Together with a forest plot that Smetona received as a signatory of the Act of Independence, a homestead of about 110 hectares, Užugiris, took shape.

In 1935 the architect Feliksas Vizbaras designed the manor buildings and supervised their construction. In the summer of 1937, after the residential mansion was completed, Smetona and his family spent their first summer on their farm. The two-storey brick mansion, with four columns of dressed granite, balconies and a red tiled roof, had running water, a sewerage system and a telephone. The manor was looked after by the President's sister Julija Smetonaitė, while his wife Sofija Smetonienė took care of the interior of the mansion. The President spent only a few springs here.

In 1940, after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the estate was nationalised. After the war the land and farm buildings went to a Soviet collective farm, and the mansion housed a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis and later a narcology hospital. In 2008 the estate was transferred to the Ukmergė district municipality; it is now a branch of the Ukmergės kraštotyros muziejus.

Highlights

• Two-storey mansion with granite columns, built 1935–1937 to the design of F. Vizbaras
• Scenic shore of Lake Lėnas
• Užugiris homestead – the farm of President A. Smetona's home village
• Annual “Smetoninės” festival
• The ticket is also valid at other branches of the Ukmergė museum

Founded

1935

Operated by

Ukmergės kraštotyros muziejus

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On the last Sunday of each month, admission to the museum and its branches is free.

The ticket is valid for the museum and its branches (Siesikų pilis (Siesikai Castle), Prezidento A. Smetonos dvaras and the Užugirio mokykla-muziejus). A guided tour of the estate (1.5 hours, in Lithuanian, for groups of up to 20 people) costs €40, in Russian €50; in addition, each participant buys a visitor's ticket.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The estate is on the southern shore of Lake Lėnas, in the village of Užulėnis, Taujėnai eldership; it is about 2 km south of the village of Lėnas and about 1 km west of the President's birthplace in Užulėnis.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The mansion's oval hall, a gazebo, and parts of the park and garden for outdoor events can be rented.

Plan your visit