Palanga City Municipality
Palanga
outdoor sculpture park in the town centre
Vytauto g. 39A, Palanga
55.91449, 21.06411
20-40 minutes
daylight or a summer evening, when the sculptures are easy to read along the paths
Sculpture Park in Palanga
Palanga Sculpture Park - an outdoor gallery in the town centre
Palanga Sculpture Park is in the town centre, at the junction of Vytauto and J. Simpsonas streets. It is a small but convenient place to pause between resort walks when you want something beyond the sea or cafés: an open art space in the middle of town.
The park works like an outdoor gallery. Sculptures are arranged among paths and greenery, so you can look at them without the rhythm of a formal museum visit. That makes it especially convenient for families and for visitors who have only half an hour in central Palanga.
The 1982 founding and Leonas Mardosas's design
A sculpture exhibition in Palanga's town square was conceived in 1982, and the first display was designed by the architect Leonas Mardosas. The exhibition quickly drew the attention of holidaymakers and guests and was renewed several times.
From the start this work was intended as a permanent town space rather than a temporary decoration. That is why the park is still woven into the everyday walking network of the resort.
The 2008 reconstruction and the Lithuanian Art Museum collection
In 2007, marking the park's 25th anniversary, Palanga's mayor Remigijus Alvydas Kirstukas, the architect Leonas Mardosas, and the director of the Lithuanian Art Museum, Romualdas Budrys, initiated a renewal of the park. The reconstructed and expanded park opened on 16 May 2008.
The Lithuanian Art Museum deposited a further 16 valuable sculptures in this municipality-maintained park, so the renewed display lets visitors see 28 works. This shows that the park is not a random square, but a town space tied to a state art collection.
Works by the sculptors
The park displays works by renowned Lithuanian sculptors including Kazys Kisielius, Bronius Vyšniauskas, Leonas Vytautas Strioga, Bronislovas Zalensas, Albertas Donatas Belevičius, Vaclovas Krutinis, Aloyzas Toleikis, Antanas Žukauskas, Dalia Ona Matulaitė, and others. Outdoor sculptures are usually made of weather-resistant granite, marble, sandstone, or a durable metal alloy, so they can stand in the park all year round and become an artistic accent in the landscape.
Since 2008 it has also shown, for the first time, four sculptures by Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas made in exile in New York - "Woman with a Book", "Industry", "Woman with a Mirror", and "Female Figure". Works by sculptors from neighbouring Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, and Armenia also enrich the display.
Visiting without a ticket
Palanga Sculpture Park is an outdoor space, so there is no separate ticket. The sculptures are best seen slowly, changing your viewing angle - outdoor works look different in the morning, evening, after rain, or under tree shade.
The park is easy to combine with Counts Tiškevičiai Avenue, the Jonas Šliūpas Museum, the Antanas Mončys Art Museum, and Palanga Botanical Park. Together they turn central Palanga into a cultural day, not only a resort stroll.
