Kaunas became a city fortress in the 19th century. To this day, the majority of the fortress buildings remain intact. It’s probably the largest war building complex in Europe. Nowadays, however, the fortress lends itself to tourists, not soldiers.
| DEPARTURE LOCATION |
The Kaunas Castle | ||
| DURATION | About 4-5 hours. | ||
| WEAR | Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Tour operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately |
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| PRICE | From 13 € to 100 € per person (depends on number of travelers) – use “Book the tour” form (on the right) and find exact price for your tour by selecting number of travelers If you’re traveling solo or in a group of more than 4 people – contact us for a special rate |
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Departure time
Depending on which tour route you choose, here’s the sample tour itinerary:
I option: Southern fort chain – 3 forts, Soboras, viaduct, hill castle, aviation museum
II Option: Defence objects in the city center: Fort (7th), Soboras, The Kaunas Castle, Fortress Wall, administrative wall and atomic bomb bunker (KGB equipment muzeum)
III Option: The most impressive forts: 3 forts, one of them, XIX fort muzeum.
Finish
Unique geographical location gave way for Kaunas city to become a strategic defence point. It’s best to begin in the 12th century, when wars broke out with the crusaders. At that time, hills and hill castle system played the most important defence role, with Kaunas castle, built at the intersection of two of the largest Lithuanian rivers, playing the lead role. For the longest time Kaunas city was protected by the defence wall, which resisted Russian and Swedish armies with additional bastions attached in the 18th century.
Although Kaunas received a special status in 1882, when Russian czar Alexander the II signed a directive to build Kaunas stronghold. At this time, most of Lithuania was added to the Russian empire, whereby Kaunas became an official Russian stronghold, which was built and perfected until the 1st World War, and even afterwards, this fortress was not forgotten.
It’s interesting that to this day most of the fortress complex remains standing, making it one of the largest, if not the largest fortress complex in Europe today. It is comprised of major defence buildings, forts and batteries, as well as administrative buildings, large infrastructure and perhaps most impressive, the orthodox church, called Soboras build by army engineers.
To see it all you’d probably need 2 to 3 days, but our team has prepared a number of tours that include visits to the most interesting spots in 4-5 hours. Contact our team to help choose a tour of Kaunas.
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