Interesting places to visit

As you relax at the Old Rusliai Homestead, you will have a great opportunity to visit the environs, surrounding towns, museums and the more significant architectural and historical monuments of the local region.

Curious guests will be able to travel to the nearby village of Naisiai and visit its many interesting museums:

THE MUSEUM OF BALTIC DEITIES – the only museum in Lithuania dedicated to the Baltic gods and located almost all over the territory of the village. The museum boasts Sun and Fire squares, Alka Hill and over 50 large oak sculptures of deities..

THE NESTING-BOX MUSEUM – the only open-air museum of its kind in Lithuania, the Nesting-Box Museum was founded in collaboration with the Lithuanian Ornithological Society. The museum has over 100 nesting-boxes on display.

THE LITERARY MUSEUM OF THE ŠIAULIAI REGION – located in the manor house of Count Platonas Zubovas in Naisiai, the Literary Museum of the Šiauliai Region is in the 37th year of its life. It is here that, ever since 1977, the poet Zigmas Gėlė’s Prize has been awarded to the best poetry book débuts. Every laureate plants a tree in the Poets’ Park: the men plant oak trees, and the women plant lime trees…
MUSEUM OF BALTIC PLANTS – A genebank of Baltic plants. The flowerbeds are arranged in the shape of a distaff. The museum is composed of three parts that display sacred, domestic and cultural species of plants. In the sacred section grow poppies, cornflowers, sagebrush, horsetail, heartsease and others.

THE NAISIAI HISTORY MUSEUM – The Naisiai History Museum consists of four exhibit halls: The Gendvilas Hall, the Hall of the Naisiai Summer Theatre and Naisiai Summer Series, the Hall of Naisiai History, and the Hall of the Naisiai History Museum and Events.
The Naisiai Summer Festival takes place in the village of Naisiai every July.

On the way to Naisiai, by the old Sereikiai chapel stands a monument to the Lithuanian romanticist poet Zigmas Gaidamavičius (08/05/1894-17/12/1912), known by the nome de plume of Gėlė.

LYGUMAI VILLAGE – Very close by, just a few kilometres away from the Rusliai homestead, lies the village of Lygumai. At the heart of the village stands the magnificent Neogothic stone church, the Church of the Holy Trinity. Also make sure to drop by the Lygumai Synagogue and the Vytautas Magnus monument or take a trip back in time by making a short visit to the old village school, where you will be able to read the old memorial plaque.
You can watch a video about the village of Lygumai here.

THE HILL OF CROSSES – Those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to visit the Hill of Crosses in the township of Meškuičiai (district of Šiauliai), will be able to reach it from our homestead, as it is only 17 km away.
(http://www.kryziukalnas.lt/)

PAKRUOJIS MANOR HOUSE – Pay special attention to the town of Pakruojis (27 km away) and its environs, where you will be able to find the impressively restored Pakruojis manor country house with its scenic park, windmill and other manor house buildings as well as to take a stroll along the romantic lime tree-lined path.