Daugai can be explored in different ways to suit your interests: along prepared walking or cycling routes, by learning about church and local history, or on a raft trip on Lake Daugai. There is also a renovated leisure area and educational programs focused on crafts, cooking, and traditional games. When planning your trip, a good first question is whether you want to focus on outdoor activities, cultural history, or a particular local offering.
Leisure and active exploration
The educational programs at DaugĹł amatĹł kiemelis, at PergalÄ—s g. 6, cover topics such as buckwheat, baking buckwheat babka, cooking fish soup in an outdoor kitchen, willow weaving, and traditional games. Culinary topics are thus offered alongside crafts and games. If you would like to take part in a particular activity, check the dates and availability in advance.
The old market square is a renovated leisure spot for families. Features include a children’s playground, outdoor fitness equipment, and a flower garden. Alongside the historic sites, there is also a place where family recreation, exercise, and garden landscaping come together.
Prepared walking and cycling routes are available for exploring Daugai. They can be used with the “Gatvės gyvos” audio guide app, which is free to download. Check its availability before your trip. A different way to get around is a raft trip on Lake Daugai. It follows the route Daugai – North Beach – Perkūnkalnis – Salos piliakalnis – Aukakalnis – Skonių kampas – Bandūragis. Ask the provider about current availability.
The coronation of King Mindaugas, Lithuania’s Statehood Day, is traditionally celebrated in Daugai in early July. If you would like to plan your trip around the celebration, check the exact date for the relevant year.
Church, art, and local history
The brick-built Daugų Dievo Apvaizdos bažnyčia was built between 1858 and 1862 to a design by architect Tomas Tišeckis. It features modified Gothic, Classicist, and Baroque elements, as well as valuable works of art. Its different stylistic elements show that the church cannot be reduced to a single style.
The oak sculpture Daugis also has a specific local history: its inscription reads “Daugai,” and it was erected in 1979 at the initiative of Algimantas Zubavičius. Romas Klimavičius carved the sculpture from an oak selected by V. Šerpenskas, the Daugai forester. The work brings together its time of creation, its artist, and the selection of the wood.
In the old town center is Ĺ ventapetrio kalnelis, a tree-covered hill that was once a hillfort. The first church in Daugai was probably built there later; today, a wooden cross stands on the hill. The site thus connects a former hillfort with a present-day wooden marker, while the history of the first church remains explicitly a supposition.
Memorial sites in Daugai
The old Jewish cemetery in Daugai was in use from the 18th century until the Second World War. Eighty-one grave markers remain. Another memorial site is the grave of Lithuanian partisans in Daugai cemetery; the monument is opposite the entrance to the central cemetery.
In 1990, the remains of 24 partisans killed in the postwar period were reinterred there. The monument, dedicated in 1992, consists of an oak cross and oak walls. The names of the partisans and their years of birth and death are inscribed on the walls. Together, the cemeteries tell of different periods in Daugai’s history: the former Jewish burial ground and the reinterment of the partisans.
Nearby
Another type of church building can be found near Daugai: in the village of Bukaučiškės II, a red-brick chapel stands on a hill near the southern shore of Lake Didžiulis. Compared with the brick-built church in Daugai, the chapel is defined above all by its brick construction, hilltop location, and position by the lake.
Discover more destinations: Stračiūnai, Varėna, Dyviliškiai, Taikūnai, Vilkanastrai, Žiogeliai, Daugų Seniūnija, Ricieliai.
For the broader travel overview: Alytus District.
