”…honour, please, you my words…” are the meaningful words from Kupiškis town people’s song. This poetic thought from local folklore shows the greatest respect to historic experience, rustic creation traditions saying: we want to socialise, rub shoulders, we really have what to say, even by singing, just listen! ”…Oh, Kupiškis town in all ways has got fame…” So come and make sure yourself. Kupiškis town people will welcome you by hospitality words typical to Highlanders: ”Welcome , dear guests, our most beloved!” and invite you to tour along the old country roads and the new ones. We suggest you to start acquaintance with Kupiškis region from Kupiškis town.

Kupiškis is a small but original town in the North East of Lithuania. It is also a Municipality administration and cultural centre with 9,600 people according to 2001 statistics. The town was named after the River Kupa. It was founded somewhat upstream from the place where the Kupa and the Lėvens flow together. Kupiškis, as a town of Žygimantas the Elder, the ruler of Lithuania, was first mentioned in historical sources in 1529. In 1561 – 1565 it was the centre of a small rural district and belonged to Upytė, later - to Ukmergė districts. Kupiškis was known as a flax trading centre. The railway line Daugpilis – Šiauliai – Liepoja, built in 1873, contributed to its revival and its development increased.

During a sightseeing tour of the town you will visit Kupiškis Museum of Ethnography, located in an old school stone building founded by Čartoriškiai in 1823, where the treasures of cultural and spiritual culture of inhabitants, accumulated by a number of generations, are stored. Ethnographic and national expositions are waiting for you. The expositions of professional, folk artists and schoolchildren creation are held in the exhibition halls.

Then we suggest to visit Kupiškis town people’s most favourite activity and resting places Kupiškis (Aukštupėnai) mound and Kupiškis lagoon.

Kupiškis and its surroundings open from a high mound hill. A legend going from mouth to mouth points that Kupiškis mound was formed by two pipe smoking giants who used to shake their ash in one place where their pipes touched. Eventually, this ash formed a hill, Kupiškis mound, and that was the origin of a small town.

In 1984 the River Lėvens was damed up and Kupiškis lagoon of 828 hectares in area was formed. This is the most favourite resting place not only for Kupiškis inhabitants but guests as well, where fishing competitions, various festivals and regatta are organized every year.

From all sides of Kupiškis town and its surroundings two slender owners of Church of the Christ Advancing the Heaven, built in the period from 1900 to 1914, can be seen. The church with neo-gothic style features is the largest in the North East of Lithuania.

We also invite you to visit Professor P.Matulionis’s, the Lithuanian forestry father’s, memorial house aiming to get acquainted with his life, his scientific and public activities.

Then we kindly ask you to Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius square where on the side of the library nestles a monument (sculptor Vaclovas Krutinis) to never – dying glory won architect Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius ( Kupiškis origin) for his famous Vilnius cathedral. Behind the library in 2001 a sculpture ” The drooping Angel” by artist Henrikas Orakauskas from Kupiškis was unveiled. A little further on in the square you will see an oak-cut sculpture group ”Kupiškis Wedding” by the same artist, reminding of a very popular folklore group in the past ”Old-Time Kupiškis Wedding”. Here in summer time your eye will be caught by the blossom of mottled flowers and the travel dust will be washed off by the playing fountain spatter.

Besides, you can have a look at the first still existing stone building of the town – flax warehouse, built in the 18th century. Now a joint-stock company ”Dailista” has settled in it.
You should get interested into old Soviet army barracks’ territory, where in 1998 a square named after General Jonas Černius was equipped. Its main accent is the sculptural granite composition with the bust to General J.Černius.

You will find in the town everything what you need.

In order to get better acquainted with Kupiškis country you should visit Noriūnai estate on the left bank of Lėvuo river, mentioned for the first time in historical records since 1665. It belonged to Lithuanian noble families, namely the Tiškevičiai, the Tyzenhauzai, the Oginskiai and the Komarai families. But the left neo-renaissance estate with Empyre décor is much younger- built in the XIX century by local masters. In 10 hectare park, which surrounds the estate, you can find rare introducted trees.

On the right bank of the Lėvens, the complex of Palėvenė St. Dominykas church and Dominikon Monastery is situated. It is one of the most significant constructions of sacred architecture in our region and one of the most authentic still existing architectural complexes in baroque in Lithuania.

Palėvenė church dates back to 1676. In the interior of the church there are late baroque altars from the XVIII century, rare form pulpit, lodges decorated by church and monastery foundators’ blazons.

We hope you will have a great pleasure in visiting Pakalnės homestead even for a short time. This is the first one in the district and has evaluation of four storks for being a modern countryside tourism homestead with ethnographic elements, settled on the bank of the small river Viešinta. If you ever had visited this place, you would never be indifferent to the unique harmony of nature, everyday life, comfort and sincerity of the owners.

You will reassure the hospitality of Kupiškis people, while visiting folk artist Algirdas Balna in a small Subačius town, having unique carving style. Opening the door of his house you will find yourself as in the museum. Here it is possible not only to have an eyeful of unique woodcarvings but also to purchase them.

A special feeling should occur while visiting still working Akmenių water mill, built in 1786.

You will not be able to stay unmoved in a unique Uoginiai village museum, founded by a simple farmer A.Petrauskas in his own farmstead. The museum consists of a group of buildings. It has a large collection of archaeological findings, household articles, documents, photos and art works. Impressive collection of stones from local fields and millstones, alleys of trees and plants brought up by the farmstead owner are very interesting as well.

Uoginiai village chapel of Mary Magdalena is an interesting wooden sacred architectural building with open lobby and a bell over an entrance. Priest and poet A.Strazdas used to hold service in this chapel in the period from 1803 to 1807.

Great creative heritage of artist Veronika Šleivytė has scattered throughout Lithuania, but the biggest part of her works is housed in the buildings of the farmstead, smuggled up in the shade of hundred- year-old lime trees, in Viktariškiai village, she was born at. Besides, an authentic everyday life style of her family has been restored.

Visit Skapiškis Village

Start the acquaintance with Skapiškis country from Kereliai mound. The earliest findings point that there was a settlement in the I century B.C., but it was destroyed by the fire in the VI century.
In the year 1999, a museum of Juozas Matulis, a professor, an academician of the Lithuanian Science Academy, a director of the Institute of chemistry and chemical technology, opened the door in his home village Naiviai.

We suggest tostop shortly by Tatkoniai village cemetery. In 2000 the monument pictures bas-reliefs of faces of the three academicians – Juozas Matulis, Pranas Mažylis and Antanas Purėnas. The first was a physicist-chemist, the second was a deserved Lithuanian doctor, the third was a distinguished scientist of the organic chemistry.

Not far from Skapiškis in Dailiūnai village you will find the most modest monument of the sacred architecture of baroque style. It is Skapiškis temperance chapel (rebuilt in 1990) of triangle outlay, a monument to commemorate the movement, announced in that place by Motiejus Valančius.

In 1841 Skapiškis adornment the bell-tower was built. There were five different bells in size and sound. During the II World War the bell-tower was destroyed, the bells were carried away. The bell-tower was rebuilt in 1989. Later a symbolic bell was hanged.

During the sightseeing tour around Skapiškis you will also visit St.Jack’s church having characteristic features of classicism, rebuilt by dominikons in the period from 1819 to 1826. Motiejus Valančius held a service in it in 1858.

In 1787 a monument to remember first catholic missions was erected in Skapiškis town next to a big pond and small river. The monument was restored in 1990.

Švedukalnis is a hill in the Tartarian village plains near Miltuva lake. There, as the inscription on the monument says, ” 220 soldiers from Finnish rifle battalion, the victims of typhus, rest here. In 1855 they gave away their souls to God”. At that time Finnish were serving in the Czar army and were sent to guard ”western lands”.

In Laukminiškiai village you may visit artist Unė Babickaitė parents’ house. Close to it a memorial stone to a book-distributor K. Gabriūnas was created and erected by an architect Ž.Simonaitis in 1999.

Those who adore outdoors we invite to travel through Notigalė swamp ( announced a telmological reserve in 1997) paths, watching partisan dug-outs, visiting some of 12 lakes. Notigalės lake is the biggest, most beautiful and most often visited one.

Best impressions travelling.