Raudondvaris is a town on the

Nevėžis River The Nevėžis (; ) is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania.Kaunas district,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, west of

Kaunas city municipality Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

History

The town was first mentioned in Teutonic chronicles in 1392. The old castle was rebuilt after the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

and became Grand Duke's property. In 1549 Grand Duke

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

presented the castle to his wife,

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł (, ; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was List of Polish royal consorts, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, a great b ...

. After her death the castle fell to ruin. A new

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

red brick palace, known as Raudondvaris Castle, was built in 1615 on the high bank of the

Nevėžis River The Nevėžis (; ) is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania.Radziwiłłs. The palace is surrounded by a park with a

palm house Palm house is a term sometimes used for large and high heated display greenhouses that specialise in growing arecaceae, palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. In Victorian era, Victorian Britain, several ornate glass and iron palm house ...

(no longer in use). The residence was known for its remarkable fine arts collection, including paintings by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

and del Sarto. The palace belonged to the

Tyszkiewicz family The House of Tyszkiewicz (, singular: , , singular: , , singular: , , singular: , , singular: ) was a wealthy and influential Polish-Lithuanian (adjective), Polish-Lithuanian magnate family of Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin, with roots traced to t ...

until the end of World War I, when it was converted into a shelter for children. It suffered damage during World War II and was rebuilt only in 1959–1973. Currently it houses collections devoted to the

and

Juozas Naujalis Juozas Naujalis (9 April 1869 in Raudondvaris – 9 September 1934 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian composer, organist and choir conductor. He is acclaimed as Lithuanian music patriarch. Biography Naujalis studied Warsaw Institute of Music and in Re ...

. Another notable building in Raudondvaris is the basilica of St. Theresa, founded by Benedykt Tyszkiewicz (rebuilt in the 20th century), with altars painted by

Michał Elwiro Andriolli Michał Elwiro Andriolli (, ; 2 November 1836, in Vilnius 23 August 1893, in Nałęczów) was a Polish illustrator, painter and architect of Italian descent. He is notable for his illustrations to Mickiewicz's ''Pan Tadeusz'', as well as a d ...

, and Tyszkiewicz family

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

Famous citizens

Edvinas Dautartas Edvinas Dautartas (born 28 August 1987 in Raudondvaris, Lithuania) is a swimmer from Lithuania. He participated in the 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics. National records holder. Dautartas represented Lithuania in 2010 European Short Course Swimmi ...

, Olympic swimmer

Gallery

Image:Raudondvaris.jpg, Raudondvaris Castle Image:Raudondvaris church.jpg, St. Theresa church

External links

Unofficial website of Raudondvaris
Villages in Kaunas County {{KaunasCounty-geo-stub