- Place
- Kaunas City Municipality
- Region
- Kaunas
- Type
- interactive museum of children's literature
- Address
- 13 K. Donelaičio Street, Kaunas
- Coordinates
- 54.89841, 23.92287
- Visit duration
- 1-1.5 hours; longer with an educational session
- Best time
- a weekday morning or the reserved time of an educational session
Fairy-Tale House
A Fairy-Tale House where writing becomes space
This is not a silent room of books behind glass. Lithuanian children's characters, plots, and authors emerge through stage design, sound, objects, and play. Children are encouraged to act while adults can trace the literary context.
The venue is a branch of the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum. Its playful language therefore grows from real literary heritage, old editions, manuscripts, and research rather than generic fairy-tale decoration.
Doctor Kripštukas, a miriorama, and a small stage
Highlights include an installation inspired by Julius Kaupas's Doctor Kripštukas and a miriorama made by artist Marius Jonutis. The long moving strip tells a story in images and shows how a narrative can sit between book, theatre, and animation.
Costumes and the small stage invite role-play. Typewriters, books, and hidden details shift attention to creation itself - from a first sentence to a character that can be performed.
The Mykolas Sleževičius villa and its changing purpose
The museum occupies an interwar modernist home rather than a neutral gallery building. Construction of the Mykolas and Doma Sleževičius villa began in 1931 under engineer Leonas Ritas's technical supervision. Its surviving historic plan lets visitors encounter playful displays inside former living rooms, basement spaces, and an attic.
The nationalised building became the Petras Cvirka Memorial Museum in 1951. In 1991 it was reorganised as the Children's Literature Department of the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum. This history reflects both Lithuania's political ruptures and a museological shift from a single-author memorial to a wider world of writing for children.
Visiting with children of different ages
Young children usually respond first to tactile objects and acting. For school-age visitors, choosing one familiar author or book before arrival turns the rooms into a focused literary search.
The museum offers educational sessions, but themes, group sizes, and times change. Families and school groups seeking a specific activity should reserve through the official system.
Hours and a practical visit
On 22 July 2026, official hours were 9:00-17:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; 11:00-19:00 on Thursday; and 10:00-16:00 on the last Sunday of each month. Last admission was 30 minutes before closing.
Schedules, free-admission dates, and ticket prices may change. The museum's current FAQ says this branch is not adapted for visitors with mobility disabilities, so discuss individual access needs by telephone before travelling. Allow at least an hour for the displays, plus extra time for a booked activity.
