Rainių kančios koplyčia
Memorial chapel by the Rainiai copse, commemorating the political prisoners of the Telšiai prison murdered in 1941 and other victims of Soviet terror.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
On the night of 24–25 June 1941, in the copse near Rainiai, Soviet soldiers, aided by local collaborators, murdered 76 political prisoners of the Telšiai prison – young intellectuals of the region, pupils, teachers, officials, farmers and others. The tragedy shocked the whole of Lithuania; in 1942 the booklet “Žemaičių kankiniai” (“Martyrs of Samogitia”) was published. In the same year the architect Jonas Virakas won the competition for a memorial chapel announced in Telšiai, but the Soviets demolished the chapel that was being built and felled the Rainiai copse.
After the restoration of independence, next to the former copse, on a small hill, the Kančios koplyčia (Chapel of Suffering) was erected in 1991, with funds donated on the initiative of the Žemaičių kultūros draugija (Samogitian Culture Society). It is dedicated to the Rainiai martyrs and to the memory of all victims of Soviet terror. The stained-glass windows were made by Algirdas Dovydėnas, the frescoes by Antanas Kmieliauskas and the white marble cross by Rimantas Midvikis. On the other side of the road, an oak grows in memory of each martyr.
The chapel belongs to the Žemaičių muziejus “Alka” (Samogitian Museum “Alka”). At present it is being renovated, and visitors are not admitted to the interior exhibition.
Key themes
- Memorial chapel for the victims of the 1941 Rainiai tragedy
- Stained-glass windows, frescoes and marble cross
- Oaks in memory of each martyr
- Visits by arranged guided tour only
Permanent exhibition
- Rainių tragedija: atmintis gyva – A narrative about the 1941 Rainiai massacre and the memory of all victims of Soviet terror.
- Founded
- 1991
- Operated by
- Žemaičių muziejus „Alka“
Admission & discounts
| Guide service (1 hour, in Lithuanian, English and Russian, for groups of up to 25 people) | €30 |
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
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