Freedom Fights Museum, Lazdijai: travel spot in Lithuania

Freedom Fights Museum, Lazdijai - partisan resistance in an authentic security-service house

The Freedom Fights Museum in Lazdijai is an interactive museum of the partisan war and Soviet repression, housed in the authentic former NKVD-MGB security building known as the white Petrauskas house. The basement preserves interrogation cells, punishment cell, and prison yard. The exhibition tells the story of Dainava district's Šarūnas detachment partisans and regional deportees, and the museum is a branch of Lazdijai Region Museum.

The white Petrauskas house in Lazdijai, now the Freedom Fights Museum

Place

Lazdijai District Municipality

Region

Lazdijai District

Type

freedom fights and repression museum, branch of Lazdijai Region Museum

Address

Vytauto g. 18, Lazdijai

Coordinates

54.23640, 23.51180

Visit duration

1-1.5 hours

Best time

year-round

Names and variants

Lazdijai Freedom Fights Museum, Freedom Fights Museum Kraujo takais, White Petrauskas house

Resistance in an authentic house

The Freedom Fights Museum in Lazdijai is an interactive museum of the partisan war and Soviet repression, a branch of Lazdijai Region Museum. Its distinction is that the exhibition is installed in the authentic building where the Soviet security service, NKVD-MGB, operated after the war with an internal prison.

Locals call the building the white Petrauskas house. Lithuania has several museums with 'freedom fights' in the title, so the distinction matters: this is the Lazdijai museum focused on Dzūkija's Dainava district resistance.

The white Petrauskas house

The house was built in interwar Lithuania; local stories say its construction was supported by a priest from the United States. Before the war it housed a canteen, a Farmers' Organisation branch, and reportedly one of the country's first private dental offices.

During the Soviet occupation the Petrauskas family was deported, the house nationalized, and the building turned into an NKVD-MGB security headquarters and internal prison. Partisans of the Dainava district's Šarūnas detachment were interrogated and tortured here. This authentic history as an executioner's house gives the museum its force.

Exhibition and basement cells

Two floors hold an interactive exhibition with sound recordings, partisan and deportee testimonies, postwar songs, and mirrors connecting past and present images. One space is dedicated to partisan liaison and song creator Elė Radzevičiūtė-Andriuškevičienė, called the Nightingale of Dzūkija.

The strongest impression comes from the basement, where the authentic internal prison survives: interrogation cells, prisoner walking yard, guard room, and punishment cell. In the memory cell, freedom fighters' testimonies about suffering are heard.

Museum history

The museum began in 1992, created on a voluntary basis by local deportees, partisans, and political prisoners. It officially opened on March 4, 1994, as Kraujo takais, and became a branch of Lazdijai Region Museum in 2004.

After reconstruction, the modern interactive museum reopened on January 13, 2022, the symbolic Day of the Defenders of Freedom. The exhibition tells the story of the 1944-1953 battles of the Dainava district's Šarūnas detachment and the deportations of Lazdijai-region residents.

Visiting

During research, the museum was open Tuesday-Friday 9:00-17:00 and Saturday 9:00-15:45, closed Sunday and Monday. Since 2022 admission has been paid; educational programmes, guided tours, and an audio guide in English and Polish are offered. Check the official museum page for current times and prices.

Allow 1-1.5 hours. The visit combines well with other Lazdijai Region Museum branches and broader Dzūkija resistance heritage. A separate nearby place is the Kalniškė battle site, witness to another 1945 partisan battle.

Freedom Fights Museum, Lazdijai: frequently asked questions

Where is the Freedom Fights Museum in Lazdijai?

It is at Vytauto g. 18 in Lazdijai, in the white Petrauskas house. It is a branch of Lazdijai Region Museum; the main museum administration is at a different address in town.

What makes this museum special?

It is in an authentic former NKVD-MGB security building whose basement preserves interrogation cells, a punishment cell, and prisoner yard.

What does the exhibition cover?

The 1944-1953 partisan struggle of the Dainava district's Šarūnas detachment and deportations of Lazdijai-region residents.

When was it founded?

It began in 1992, opened officially on March 4, 1994, became a museum branch in 2004, and reopened as a modern interactive museum on January 13, 2022.

What are the hours and is admission paid?

During research it was open Tue-Fri 9:00-17:00 and Sat 9:00-15:45, closed Sun-Mon. Admission has been paid since 2022; check the official page.

Is this the same as the Kalniškė battle site?

No. Kalniškė is a separate 1945 partisan battle site in Lazdijai District. The museum is in town at Vytauto g. 18; the theme connects them, but they are different places.