Get to know Plungė through two of its distinctive features: the estate’s parkland and the city’s cultural heritage. In the park, you’ll find ponds, old trees and the palace of Mykolas Oginskis; in the city, churches, a striking clock tower and places of remembrance help shape its character. These different themes give you a practical starting point for exploring Plungė according to your interests.
Parkland and Estate Traditions
The visitor route through Plungė Park begins at the main entrance near the Plungė District Tourism Information Centre. Along the route, you can enjoy views of cascade ponds, old trees and shrubs, and the Neo-Renaissance palace visible through the trees. Landscape and architecture thus form a shared park setting, while each retains its own story.
At the direction of Duke M. Oginskis, seven cascade ponds were created in the park of the Plungė estate. Stone bridges or sluices connect the ponds, and the Babrungas River also flows through the park. In the central part of the park, near the Oginskis Palace, stands the Perkūnas Oak. It was declared a natural monument in 1960. The route, water features and protected tree each offer a different focus: design, waterways and a single natural monument.
The Žemaičiai Art Museum is housed in the palace of Mykolas Oginskis, where it preserves and fosters the traditions of Mykolas Oginskis’s estate. Guided tours in English or Russian are available for groups of up to 25 people. The museum and the parkland offer two different ways to explore the estate’s heritage: its traditions and their visible surroundings.
Clock Tower and Church Architecture
Plungė’s clock tower is twelve metres high and is considered the city’s oldest red-brick building. Its clock has just one hand, and the bell is set off every hour. In form, the tower resembles a small version of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Following restoration and reconstruction work in 2012, the Plungė Clock Tower Library moved into the castle.
The buildings of the Church of St John the Baptist are considered the main attraction of the Old Town. The church is Neo-Romanesque, has a Latin-cross floor plan and two towers. The present stone church was built from 1902 to 1933 to a design by engineer Steponas Stulginskis, who had revised Karl Strandman’s original design. The bell tower is an integral part of the church complex; Count P. Zubov had it built in 1850.
The stone Catholic Chapel of St John the Baptist is also part of Plungė’s architectural history. It stands in the old cemetery and is also known as the All Saints’ Chapel or the Zubov Chapel. It was built in 1858 in the Romantic Classicist style. The clock tower, church complex and cemetery chapel showcase different architectural forms and historical connections that visitors can distinguish as they explore the city.
Places of Religious and Cultural Remembrance
The restored Lourdes Grotto in Plungė contains a replica of the statue of the Virgin Mary and was solemnly consecrated on 20 October 1990. Another landmark in the city’s history is the Freedom Monument: erected in 1928 to commemorate a decade of Lithuanian independence, it was taken down after the Second World War and rebuilt in 1992. Its story thus encompasses both the original act of remembrance and its later restoration.
In the park, the monument to Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis stands beside the palace of Mykolas Oginskis. It symbolises the connection between the two figures. Čiurlionis and Sof. Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė lived in Plungė’s old rectory in 1909. Another musical connection lies in Čiurlionis’s education: from 1889 to 1892, he studied at the orchestra school of M. M. Oginskis’s estate in Plungė. He also played the flute in the Oginskis Orchestra. These places and details show that Plungė’s cultural heritage is not limited to a single building, but brings together music, architecture and public remembrance.
Discover more destinations: Ubiškė, Varniai, Mažeikiai, Luokės Seniūnija, Plateliai, Telšiai, Rapaliai, Gečaičiai.
For the broader travel overview: Telšiai District.
