Panevėžys

Panevėžys is an industrial city in the Aukštaitija region of Lithuania. It's the country's fifth largest city, with a population of 89,100 in 2021 and another 30,000 or so in the city district. It's about midway along the highway between Vilnius the capital and Riga the Latvian capital.

Understand

"Panevėžys" means by the River Nevėžis, which here makes a loop in its westward course. The area has been inhabited since prehistory but the town is first documented in 1503. It has shared the turmoils and horrors of the rest of Lithuania, with prolonged peace from independence in 1990. It's long been industrial, major trades being concrete, metal works and mechanical engineering, ceramics, glass, and flax processing; the sugar refining business has fallen on hard times. Town centre has been smashed and rebuilt many times and much of it nowadays dates from the 1960s / 70s: drab architecture but functional, and leavened by broad squares and parks along the riverside.

Get in

By plane

Vilnius Airport (VNO ^IATA) is usually the most convenient, for its range of budget flights and onward transport. It's 145 km southeast on a good highway.

Kaunas Airport (KUN ^IATA) 106 km south and Riga Airport (RIX ^IATA) 160 km north in Latvia also have budget flights.

By train

Four trains daily from Šiauliai (starting from Mažeikiai) take 90 min to Panevežys. For times and online tickets see LTG Link.

1 Panevežys railway station off S Kerbedžio g is modern.

By bus

Eurolines run once a day from Riga airport via Riga city to Panevėžys, 2 hr 15 min, continuing to Kaunas. Another bus calls here on the way to Warsaw, and a third for Minsk. From further west (eg Berlin) change in Warsaw; from further east (eg Tallinn) change in Riga.

Buses from Vilnius and from Kaunas run hourly and take two hours, continuing to Biržai or Šiauliai or Joniškis. From Klaipėda you usually have to back-track via Vilnius or Kaunas. Bus lines include Vlasava, Kautra and Toks. For timetables and fares see Autobusubilieta.

2 Panevėžys bus station is just a drab open square, no shelter or anything. But it's central, close to amenities.

By road

From Vilnius take A7 north, a fast dual carriageway (no toll) that bypasses Ukmergė and Panevežys and continues across the border to Riga.

From Berlin and Warsaw make for Kaunas, and from Kaunas take A8 north. This is badged as E67 or Via Baltica, the highway from Prague to Helsinki. It's an undivided highway across Lithuania, and much of the route's grand strategic concept remains aspirational.

Get around

Most sights are within walking distance of the centre. Stops-Lt displays city bus routes: Bus 6A runs hourly from Janonio g and the railway station downtown then east out to Dembava.

Taxis can be booked with the eTAKSI app for smartphones, similar to Uber/Lyft.

See

The city flag

• 1 Regional History Museum (Krastotyros muziejus), Vasario 16 / Osios g 23, ☏ +370 45 596181. Tu-F 10:00-18:00, Sa 11:00-16:00. Museum of natural history, city history and culture, founded in 1925 and on its present site in the Moigių mansion since 1985. Adult €4, child or conc €2. (updated Oct 2023)
• Museum of the Soviet Occupation is an annexe of the History Museum 100 m southeast at Respublikos g 17. It's closed in 2023.
• 2 Civic Art Gallery (Miesto dailės galerija), Respublikos g 3, ☏ +370 45 584802. Tu-Sa 11:00-18:00. Galleries of modern art and ceramics, with some outside exhibits plus photography at the annex at Vasario 16th g 11. Adult €2.50, child or conc €1.25. (updated Oct 2023)
• 3 Holy Trinity Church (Švč Trejybės bažnyčia), Nepriklausomybės a 12, ☏ +370 45 468843. 24 hours. This Roman Catholic church was built in 1803 by the Piarists, more snappily known as Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum. This Order is dedicated to children's education, and needed a stone church, monastery and school when their old wooden facilities burned down. It was bashed in wartime and trashed by the Soviets, but re-consecrated in 1989. Free. (updated Oct 2023)
• 4 Panevėžys Cathedral (Kristaus Karaliaus katedra), Katedros a 1, ☏ +370 45 502281. Planned from 1860 but with construction delayed by war and hostile authorities, this Roman Catholic cathedral was eventually consecrated in 1933. The style is a mix of Baroque and Neoclassical. (updated Oct 2023)
• 5 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Evangelikų liuteronų bažnyčia), Ukmergės g 29. This was completed in 1885 but looks older, a traditional Gothic wooden church in light paint. (updated Oct 2023)
• 6 St Peter and Paul Church (Šv apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčia), Smėlynės g 10, ☏ +370 45 463960. M-F 07:00-09:00, 17:00-19:00, Sa 07:00-12:00, 17:00-19:00, Su 06:30-13:30, 17:00-19:00. Roman Catholic church completed in 1885, in Neo-Renaissance red brick. Free. (updated Oct 2023)
• 7 Christ the King Cathedral Cemetery (Ramygalos gatvės kapinėmis, Ramygalos Street Cemetery), Laisvės a 20, ☏ +370 618 59096. 24 hrs. This was intended as the site of a cathedral, never needed for that, so it opened as a cemetery in 1914. The First World War rapidly filled its plots but it's still in use, a bosky resting place for the city's great and good. One monument commemorates Jurgis Tilvytis (1880-1931) the poet, scholar and rector of the cathedral, who was giving a funeral sermon here for a deceased monk when he upped and died himself. (updated Oct 2023)
• 8 Flax Museum (Linų muziejus), Stultiškiai, ☏ +370 45 555503. Closed. Museum within a wooden windmill. The interior is closed for restoration but the mill makes a scenic picnic spot. (updated Oct 2023)

Do

The cathedral

• Music Theatre is opposite Holy Trinity Church on Nepriklausomybės Square, Box Office +370 45 584675.
• Theatre: Juozo Miltinio dramos teatras is at Laisvės a 5, Box Office +370 45 584599.
• 1 Senvagė, A Jakšto g 18. The most central park, west bank of the river with an ornamental lake. (updated Oct 2023)
• 2 Skaistakalnis Park, J Biliūno g 3. Larger wooded park east of the river loop. 24 hours. (updated Oct 2023)
• Ekrano Lake 500 m east of Skaistakalnis Park has picnic areas, fishing and water sports.
• Football: FK Panevėžys play soccer in A Lyga, the top tier. Their home ground Aukštaitija Stadium (capacity 6600) is 500 m south of the railway station. The playing season is March-Nov.
• 3 Kalnapilio Arena (formerly Cido Arena), Parko g, ☏ +370 45 440252. Built in 2008, this hosts basketball team Lietkabelis Panevėžys, concerts, and indoor cycling. (updated Oct 2023)
• 4 Culture and Leisure Park, Parko g. 24 hours. This stretches west of town along the south river bank, with cycling trails and fishing spots. Dogs welcome. (updated Oct 2023)
• 5 Aukštaitija narrow gauge railway (Aukštaitijos siaurasis geležinkelis), Geležinkelio g 23, ☏ +370 612 26140. M-F 08:00-16:30. This 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge railway was built from 1891 and transported passengers, coal and agricultural produce. It ran southeast for 68.4 km to Anykščiai and Rubikiai. In 1916 the German army added two Heeresfeldbahn extensions - light prefab tramways that could be speedily assembled then dismantled, as those were. The original route has been preserved but regular summer trains only run along the last section from Anykščiai to Rubikiai - an occasional festive excursion starts from Panevėžys. There's an old station here with locomotives and rolling stock. (updated Oct 2023)
• 6 Idėjų Parkas Bunkeris, Likpetrių (13 km northeast of city), ☏ +370 616 90666. M-F 17:00-20:00, Sa Su 12:00-20:00. This 1960s Soviet military base has been turned into an outdoor amusement park with picnic areas, sculpture park and scary bunkers. Adult €10. (updated Oct 2023)

Buy

Jurgis Tilvytis died giving a funeral sermon

• Maxima is the most central supermarket, at Ukmergės g 23 by the Lutheran church, open daily 07:00-22:00.
• Babilonas is a shopping and entertainment mall 5 km west on the Klaipėda highway, open daily 08:00-22:00.

Eat

• Bisas at Laisvės a 6 is reliable for budget food, open Su-Th 10:00-21:00, F Sa 10:00-22:00.
• Galerija XX, Laisvės a 7 (100 m west of bus station), ☏ +370 45 438701. Daily 10:00-23:00. A better place for inexpensive meals in city centre. (updated Oct 2023)
• Etno Dvaras, Ukmergės g 18 (50 m east of bus station), ☏ +370 640 37533. Daily 10:00-23:00. Chain restaurant serving hearty trad Lithuanian fare. (updated Oct 2023)
• Jack House, Kranto g 4 (south end of Senvage park), ☏ +370 640 37533. M-F 16:00-23:00, Sa 11:00-01:00, Su 11:00-23:00. Good place for grills and beer. (updated Oct 2023)

Drink

• Bars cluster along the streets near the museum. Choose from Mėsmalė, Drunken Horse, Seklyčia prie uosio, Lazy Monkey and Garsiakalbis.
• Špunka Old Barrel Pub is at the bus station, open Th 16:00-23:00, F Sa 16:00-02:00.

Sleep

Narrow-gauge trains run Anykščiai - Rubikiai

• 1 Romantic Hotel, Kranto g 24, ☏ +370 616 16170, hotel@romantic.lt. In a historic old mill in town centre, this is a smart clean hotel with a good restaurant. B&B double €110. (updated Oct 2023)
• 2 Convivia Hotel, Laisvės a 16, ☏ +370 640 35300. Friendly clean place south of the centre on Laisvės square. B&B double €70. (updated Oct 2023)
• 3 Smėlynė Hotel, Smėlynės g 3, ☏ +370 45 507790. Clean budget hotel with large rooms near the hospital. B&B double €90. (updated Oct 2023)
• 4 Verslo Klasė, Smėlynės g 104, ☏ +370 609 77970. Budget hotel near the railway station, access by door code. B&B double €50. (updated Oct 2023)

Connect

As of August 2024, Panevėžys and its approach highways have 4G from Bite and Tele2, and 5G from Telia.

Go next

Panevėžys is fairly central in Lithuania, so most other towns are within a two hour drive.

• Šiauliai to the west is best known for the Hill of Crosses.
• The road west continues to Palanga beach resort and Klaipėda city.
• Kaunas is mostly modern, but with an old centre and wartime fortifications.
• Vilnius has a charming town centre in Baroque style.
• Riga the capital of Latvia has a great mix of ancient, Soviet and modern.