Tasting tour: Delicacies of the Biržai region

During the tour we will visit the sculptures of Antanėlis, poet B. Brazdžionis, King Sigismund Augustus in Pasvalys and the largest open-air millstones collection in Lithuania. After reaching Biržai, we will visit the famous sinkhole “Karvės ola” and the sinkhole lake Kirkilai lakes, and we will climb to the Kirkilai observation tower. We will visit the only fortress in Lithuania – Biržai Castle. We will walk on the longest pedestrian bridge over Lake Širvėna. We will taste dumplings, the recipe of which has been preserved by women of one family, several generations.


Place or route of the excursion: Vilnius – Pasvalys – Biržai.

One day excursion.

Excursion cost: from 22 € per person.

Price for a group of 10 to 20 people.

The price includes: guide services.

Transport, food, tastings, accommodation and other services – for an extra charge.

Individual trips on request. Dates, duration, price and program are discussed depending on individual needs.

From 22 per person

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Tasting tour: Delicacies of the Biržai region

This is a unique country in the whole of Lithuania. Here, the words “So that you dissapered” that are said to the not friendly person can come true in the literal sense … Because you can just take it and see it through the ground! When groundwater leaches into the depths of soluble layers of gypsum, limestone, dolomite, chalk or salt, the ground collapses called sinkholes. There are already about 9,000 in their area and they are constantly growing!

We will start the tour from Pasvalys. This city is famous for its sculptures. One of the most adventurous is Musician Antanėlis. Antanėlis, who has become a legend of the city of Pasvalys, is a strange musician of the Lėvuo river Bridge. Oh, Antanėlis loves to talk! Touching the right hand, he talks about the most beautiful places in Pasvalys. And by touching the left hand, we will learn the legend of Antanėlis. And when you add your palm to the saga, you can hear a poem about the old Lėvuo river bridge read in a northen lithuanian  dialect.

The so-called herald of the Nation, the popular poet Bernardas Brazdžionis, is also immortalized in a sculpture in his native land. A few years ago, the city was decorated with a monument to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Augustus. It was this ruler of Lithuania who made Pasvalys famous in the 16th century. (1557) signed the so-called Pasvalys treaties with the Livonian Order, their purpose was to prevent a threat from the East.

Admired Pasvalys St. John the Baptist Church of the 18th century we are traveling towards the Pasvalys Mill Museum. There are about 400 exhibits under the open sky: 300 – millstones, 66 – bowl-shaped stones, 7 – “footed” stones, 1 – stone – landmark. After all, not everyday so many stones and their products can be seen in one place!

We continue our journey in the so-called city of the Dukes of Radvilas – Biržai. This is the northernmost territory of Lithuania, located near Latvia border. Biržai people sometimes joke that they visit Riga more often than Vilnius, because they are closer to it. The city has the oldest pond in Lithuania, which has long been called a real lake – Širvėna, where dukes grew water-nut agar (lot.Trapa natans), which has already disappeared in Lithuania.

This region is famous for its sinkholes depressions, and the most famous of them is the Cow’s Cave. It is the most famous and best researched geological monument in Northern Lithuania. Speleologists believe that it is about 200 years old. Its diameter is 10-12 meters, depth – about 12.6 m. There is an open hole in the bottom of the pit. Legend has it that at the present site of the collapse, there was once a lost cow, and only the end of the chain remained at the rock…

We will test our strength by climbing the 32-meter-high Kirkilai observation tower. Climbing the observation tower offers wonderful views – 30 water-filled sinkholes called the lakes of Kirkilai Reserve. Sometimes, under certain conditions, they turn a variety of colors during the summer. And the shape of the tower resembles a canoe or a sinking boat.

We will visit the only 16th century in Lithuania. Italian type bastion fortress – Biržai Castle. The fortress and the city formed a single defensive complex that saw many battles. People have always been seduced by legends, especially those related to love. It is said that the walls of the famous fortress protect the terrible secret of its longevity – the Commander of the Armed Forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the famous soldier Kristupas Radvila Perkūnas, who ruled Biržai, ordered the construction of the castle. The castle was already under construction, but one and the same southeast corner of the castle was taking over and collapsing. He restored that angle several times, but this one soon turned over again as if enchanted. The builders of the castle decided to seek advice from a hermit, who still worshiped the Thunder as his parents used. The old man advised to stop the couple of newlyweds returning from the church house at full moon and bring them to the enchanted corner of the castle. If the young man voluntarily agrees to be bricked up in that corner for the sake of the homeland, and if the bride does not separate from her husband, wall them both up. Who knows, maybe someone will be able to discover the brick couple? ..

We will take part in a thematic excursion “Table Culture and Biržai Region Delicacies”. Intriguing stories are a good prelude before the tasting of historical dishes of Biržai Castle Restaurant in “Castle Vaults”. We will serve you dumplings, the recipe of which has been preserved by women of one family, several generations. A short drive awaits you to the exposition halls of the Biržai Region Museum “Sėla”, where you will get acquainted with the life of the then governors of Biržai – Dukes Radvilas, Counts Tiškevičius and townspeople. You will get to know the preserved cuisine recipes, manor culture, customs, facts of Biržai folklore and peasant life.