Kupiškis, Kupiškis District Municipality
Aukštaitija
ethnography museum in an 1823 brick former school building
Gedimino g. 2, Kupiškis
55.84236, 24.97535
1 hour; longer if visiting branches
year-round, during museum opening hours
Kupiškis Museum, Kupiškis Regional Museum
Kupiškis Ethnography Museum
Kupiškis Ethnography Museum stands on Gedimino Street in Kupiškis, Aukštaitija. It occupies a brick former parish school built in 1823, a Classicist building that is itself listed in the Register of Cultural Property. The museum holds more than 60,000 exhibits and tells the history and everyday life of the Kupiškis region.
It is useful to know that in 2025 the museum was renamed simply Kupiškis Museum, though it is still widely known to the public by its ethnography-museum name. Its beginnings reach back to the years of the Second World War.
From Lancaster school to museum
The building was constructed in 1823 by the noble Czartoryski family, who established a parish school there. It worked according to the Lancaster system and taught peasant children. The museum opened in 1943, operated as a branch of the Šiauliai Aušra Museum in 1962-1995, and became an independent Kupiškis District municipal institution in 1996.
The collections were built by local researchers, especially the Glemžaitė sisters and other Kupiškis ethnographers. They include archaeological finds, numismatics, folk sculpture, national dress, and textiles; the museum also has several branches in surrounding villages. The permanent ethnographic exhibition presents village life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Old Kupiškis weddings
The museum's best-known section is the exhibition on old Kupiškis weddings. It shows objects connected with the wedding custom: the inviter-matchmaker's cap, a straw garden ornament, a dowry chest, bridesmaids' headdresses, and old clothing. Kupiškis wedding tradition is considered a valuable piece of local intangible heritage.
Closely connected with this custom was the ethnographic theatre Old Kupiškis Weddings, led by Povilas Zulonas; many of its objects passed to the museum. It is said that such weddings once lasted nearly a week, with rites such as veiling the bride and hanging the matchmaker forming a whole chain of rituals.
Visiting and tickets
The museum operates during published hours. During research, the official page listed opening on Mondays and Tuesday-Saturday, with shorter hours before holidays. Ticket prices are published in a separate museum price list, so check the official page for current prices and hours.
About an hour is usually enough for the exhibition and wedding hall; allow more if visiting branches. The museum pairs well with Kupiškis Reservoir, Palėvenė Manor and Monastery, and other Kupiškis-region sites. Do not confuse the museum with Kupiškis Reservoir; they are separate places.
