While on vacation, visit Grūtas Village in the Druskininkai municipality to see Grūtas Park, an extraordinary open-air sculpture exhibition.
In 1989, dismantled Soviet-era monuments were transported to the park from towns and cities across Lithuania. The collection of such a large number of ideologically themed monuments in one exhibition is a unique phenomenon worldwide. It represents decades of Lithuanian occupation heritage.
Grūtas Park is one of the most unique parks in the world, telling the true story of the occupation.
The collection of the museum consists of monumental sculptures and bas-reliefs of "heroes" of the Soviet period symbolizing brutality and absurdity of the Soviet system and occupation, reflects manipulation of the facts of history and shows the distorted memory of the history. Monumental sculptures and bas-reliefs displayed were erected in majority of Lithuanian cities and towns during the Soviet period. Those are monuments to V. I. Lenin, Stalin, Feliksas Baltusis-Zemaitis, Zigmas Angarietis, V. Kapsukas, F. Dzerzinskij, K. Pozela, J. Greifenbergeris, K. Giedrys, R. Carnas and monuments to members of the Young Communist League, Soviet Army etc. It is planned to accumulate in one place all the sculptures of similar type and other relics of the culture of Soviet realism in Lithuania.
Photo source: © info.druskininkai.lt; © Marius Kaitulis
Forest trail section 54. Didžiasalis – Druskininkai – Žiogeliai tourist attraction.
