The Samogitian Art Museum

About The Samogitian Art Museum

The Samogitian Art Museum (Žemaičiai Art Museum) operating in Mykolas Oginskis Palace since  1994 has collected and exhibited museum valuables reflecting the historical variety of the Samogitian region, and has preserved and cherished the traditions of Mykolas Oginskis Manor. Expositions invite the visitors to learn about the pieces of the 20th – 21st century professional fine arts which were granted to the museum by the Samogitian artists living in Lithuania and abroad.

The homestead of the museum is a former ensemble of the Duke Michael Nikolaus Severin Mark Oginski’s (1849–1902) manor the buildings of which were built in the period from 1873 to 1886. From 1879 to 1902, there was an orchestra school in the manor founded by M. Oginski. Here, from 1889 to1893 a to-be-famous Lithuanian painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911) was studying.

Presently, the ensemble of the manor is composed of ten 19th century buildings and structures. They are surrounded by one of the biggest (58.3 ha) and most beautiful mixed style parks in Lithuania.

The main aim of the museum is to preserve the unique 19th century architectural monument, namely, the duke’s M. Oginski Manor complex for future generations and the culture of the nation; to have the paintings of the Samogitians, who created while being in exile returned to their motherland as well as other historical and art collections; to accumulate, store and exhibit the material and spiritual valuables of the Samogitian region’s fine arts and of Plungė region; to explore the past of Plungė district and Samogitian lands.