Lithuania
Be sure to visit the only synagogue in Vilnius and also the Jewish Museum about a mile away on the same street, where there is a room dedicated to the Righteous Gentiles. Before WW2 there were over 100 synagogues, and now there is only one.
Naugarduko g. 10/2, LT-01141, Vilnius
+370 5 231 23 57
www.jmuseum.lt
Google map: bit.ly/iM8QGO
The National Gallery of Art in Vilnius is one of my favourites. Housed in a contemporary building on the bank of the River Neris, it traces the history of modern Lithuania through art. There is no forgotten Picasso or must-see Monet here to distract you, all the permanent works are 20th and 21st century Lithuanian. A combination of paintings, photography, installations, video and graphic art combine to show the effects that World War II, Soviet occupation, the Cold War and revolution had on art, and the Lithuanian people. There’s some really good stuff here, and all for 6 litas (£1.50).
Konstitucijos Ave. 22, LT-08105, Vilnius, Lithuania
+37 (0)5212 2997
www.ldm.lt/NDG/Index_en.htm
Google map: bit.ly/gvu18V
Former Gestapo/KGB prison from the 1940s to 1990.
The prison downstairs is still intact and makes for grim viewing.
One interesting point is that while the building was controlled by the Gestapo between 1941 - 1944 from where they ran the Holocaust in Lithuania with their Lithuanian accomplices, very little coverage is given to this in the museum.
Still an essential part of your visit to Vilnius.
Aukų g. 2a, LT-01113, Vilnius
+370 5 249 81 55
www.muziejai.lt/vilnius/genocido_auku_muziejus.en.htm
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/14/double-genocide-lithuania-holocaust-communism
Google map: bit.ly/gBjYl3
Well worth drinking!
Favourites is the Svyturys brand (from Klaipeda on the coast).
Only £1 a pint in Lithuania.
Every pub...or nearly every pub!
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