- Place
- Kaunas City Municipality
- Region
- Kaunas
- Type
- sculptor's memorial house and studio
- Address
- 3 J. Zikaro Street, Kaunas
- Coordinates
- 54.89978, 23.89943
- Visit duration
- 45-75 minutes
- Best time
- in daylight, when both the studio and the hillside garden can be appreciated
J. Zikaras House Museum, Juozas Zikaras Memorial Museum
The sculptor of Freedom on a Žaliakalnis hillside
Juozas Zikaras (1881-1944) was among Lithuania's first professional sculptors. Freedom, The Book Smuggler, the Unknown Soldier, portrait busts, coins, and medals helped give the interwar state a visual language. His home reveals where much of that language was shaped.
The modest wooden house and garden contrast with his monumental public sculpture. That difference makes the artist's public role and private family life unusually easy to read.
Studio, family rooms, and evidence of work
The essential working area comprises the studio itself, the so-called men's room, and a gallery. Models, tools, photographs, and the working setting explain how an idea became a relief, medal, or monument.
Family furniture and personal belongings survive in the living rooms. In the sitting room, the museum highlights linoleum laid around 1935 as the only surviving example of its kind in Lithuania; authentic cornices and a sofa dating from about 1900 make this a genuine family interior rather than a staged period room.
Displays present Zikaras as a teacher at Kaunas Art School and as a father. An interactive terminal adds detail about the family and the work, so the visit reaches well beyond a checklist of famous sculptures.
From a quietly protected studio to a renewed museum
After the sculptor's death, his daughter Alytė Zikaraitė protected the legacy and in 1959 began a semi-secret memorial display in the studio. She later bequeathed the house and works to the museum.
The official museum opened on 18 November 2001 for the artist's 120th anniversary. A substantial renovation produced a renewed memorial exhibition in 2021 while retaining the house's intimate character.
Hours and pace of a visit
On 22 July 2026, official hours were Tuesday-Saturday 11:00-17:00, extended to 19:00 on Thursday, with last admission 30 minutes before closing.
The museum's 2026 price list gave the individual admission price for this house as €5. The rooms are small, and a quiet weekday visit rewards close looking. Confirm current hours, concessions, tours, and exceptional closures on the official page.
