Raudondvaris is a village on the

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, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg 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 respe ...

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

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 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 rule ...

presented the castle to his wife,

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł ( pl, Barbara Radziwiłłówna, lt, Barbora Radvilaitė; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon d ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

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. Its length is , and it flows only within the geographical confines of Lithuania.Radziwiłłs. The palace is surrounded by a park with a 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 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

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

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition ...

and

del Sarto Andrea del Sarto (, , ; 16 July 1486 – 29 September 1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. He was known as an outstanding fresco decorator, painter of altar-pieces, ...

. The palace belonged to the

Tyszkiewicz family Tyszkiewicz is the name of the Tyszkiewicz family, a Polish–Lithuanian magnate noble family of Ruthenian origin. The Lithuanian equivalent is Tiškevičius; it is frequently transliterated from Russian and Belarusian as Tyshkevich. Other peopl ...

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 ...

. 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, and Tyszkiewicz family tombstones.

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 Swimming ...

, 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