- Place
- Kupiškis, Kupiškis District Municipality
- Region
- Aukštaitija
- Type
- central town square, former market place, and regenerated public space
- Address
- Laurynas Gucevičius Square, Kupiškis, LT-40130
- Coordinates
- 55.83866, 24.97517
- Visit duration
- 30-60 minutes for the square and fountain; longer when combined with the museum, library, church, and central Kupiškis
- Best time
- daylight for the setting; summer for the fountain, with event times checked in the latest official notices
Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius Square, Kupiškis Town Square, Kupiškis Market Square
Kupiškis Town Square between two streets
Laurynas Gucevičius Square is in central Kupiškis, between S. Darius and S. Girėnas Street and Gediminas Street. The official tourism description gives this location, while the Google Maps place listing uses the name Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius Square for the same place despite the official name change in 2026.
The coordinates 55.83866, 24.97517 are recorded as a central point for the square's area, not as the location of a fountain nozzle, particular gate, or single entrance. This is a broad pedestrian space reached from several sides, so pinType centroid is more honest here than entrance or site.
Kupiškis has a rectangular town plan, while VLE identifies an irregularly shaped square at its centre. The former Jewish synagogue to the north now houses the Kupiškis District Municipality Public Library, so the square should be read as part of the historic centre rather than as an isolated fountain plaza.
On 15 July 2026, the exact Google Maps listing showed a rating of 4.7/5. Its Place ID is ChIJ_5Glv-536EYRpxMDUAI0t9s, and the rating is a changeable public-map measure.
From market place to the 1989 name
The square's history begins well before the present fountain. Kupiškis Museum says markets were already held in the town in 1529, while VLE describes Kupiškis as a town in that same year. These dates are best understood as early reference points for trade and urban development, not as the exact date when the present paving or square layout appeared.
A 1916 photograph in the VLE gallery captions the scene as Kupiškis Market Square, identified there with what is now L. Gucevičius Square. Its trading role changed over time, but the central square remained a place where commerce, everyday life, and public ceremonies met.
The Kupiškis public library's memorial page records that on 23 May 1989 the town's Soviet Square was named Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius Square through the initiative of the Sąjūdis movement's local group and other residents. The name honoured an architect connected with the Kupiškis area and important to Lithuanian architectural history.
In April 2026, Kupiškis District Municipality Council decided to remove the Stuoka element and use Laurynas Gucevičius Square. The former name therefore remains important for searches, earlier publications, and local memory, but this page gives priority to the official name current in 2026.
Kupiškis and Laurynas Gucevičius
VLE calls Laurynas Gucevičius the leading creator of mature Lithuanian Classicism and records his birth in 1753 at Migonys, then in Kupiškis District. This local connection is genuine, but it is not evidence that the architect designed Kupiškis Square itself: no reliable document supporting that claim was found.
His most important works include the reconstruction of Vilnius Cathedral and Vilnius Town Hall. Kupiškis Square preserves his name as a place of memory and civic identity, not as a Gucevičius-designed urban ensemble.
VLE records a Laurynas Gucevičius monument in Kupiškis, erected in 1994 and made by sculptor Vytautas Krutinis. It belongs to the town's commemorative layer, but the square's significance is not limited to the monument: the market history, library, low-rise centre, and everyday public activity meet around it.
The 2018-2019 reconstruction and layers below the square
Renewal work took place in 2018, and finds uncovered during renovation in May led to archaeological monitoring. Kupiškis Museum describes finds from approximately the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, while the Department of Cultural Heritage's 2018 archaeological report gives seventeenth- to eighteenth-century pottery, stove-tile fragments, and several dozen coins. The difference should not be artificially merged, because the public summaries use both chronological formulations.
The archaeological report also notes that no objects with archaeological valuable properties had previously been identified in Kupiškis, so archaeological research had not been carried out before the reconstruction. The finds were taken to Kupiškis Ethnography Museum, whose later project conserved and restored them.
The renewed square opened on 12 June 2019. The opening account calls the musical fountain the main feature of the new space: it has 65 water nozzles, underwater LED lights, and computer control, while the main jet can rise to 8 metres. The sequence of 2018 work and a 2019 opening is more accurate than saying that the entire reconstruction happened in 2019 alone.
Fountain, planting, and the square's public life today
Today the square is shaped by a broad paved pedestrian area, islands of trees and planting, benches, lighting, and the central musical fountain. The fountain combines water, light, and music, allowing the square to function both as an everyday place to pause and as a representative civic stage.
On 28 May 2026, Kupiškis District Municipality announced that the fountain had returned after the cold season. This confirms its operation at the start of the 2026 season, but it does not guarantee that every later show time or technical mode will remain unchanged. Check the latest municipal or tourism information before travelling.
The square hosts state and town commemorations, fairs, concerts, and community gatherings. The official calendar for 6 July 2026 scheduled a fair, concert programme, educational activities, and a shared singing of the national anthem here. This is a documented example, not a permanent annual timetable.
The square's trees are also living urban infrastructure. A 2025 municipal planting-monitoring report recorded different conditions among mature maples and lindens, so planting, maintenance, and the condition of individual trees can change over time.
Planning your time in Gucevičius Square
The square is a public urban space without museum gates or a separate admission ticket. The fountain and open paving are easiest to see in daylight, while summer visits can be combined with Kupiškis Museum, the public library, and the Church of the Ascension of Christ. Allow 30-60 minutes for a short stop.
The main area is paved and intended for pedestrians, but no official accessibility audit for the whole square was found. Visitors using a wheelchair, walker, or another individual route should therefore assess conditions on site. Fountain edges, event equipment, temporary barriers, and crowds may change the easiest route.
Official sources did not identify a separate visitor car park within the square. Park only in legal, signed spaces on surrounding streets and never on the pedestrian area. Events may bring temporary traffic or parking controls, so check municipal information before arriving.
The place listing and historical name may not match the current official name online. When navigating, try both Laurynas Gucevičius Square and Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius Square.
