Dvaro pirtis in Rumšiškės

2014-05-02

Traditional Lithuanian bathouse (pirtis) Dvaro pirtis is located in an Open Air Museum of Lithuania. It situated near the highway between Lithuanian capital Vilnius and second largest city Kaunas. On a picturesque coast of Kaunas Lagoon, in the district of Kaišiadorys, there is a township of Rumšiškės. It, is famous because of this museum, and of course, because of it‘s Dvaro pirtis.  The museum is unique and one of the largest (195 ha) open-air ethnographic museums in Europe.  It presents the mode of life, works, and traditions of peasants and townspeople of all Lithuanian ethnographic areas. There are fragments of the villages, authentic farms, century-old buildings with flower gardens, orchards and vegetable gardens. Dvaro pirtis is built on the coast of small river Praviena, it represents a bathouse, which stood in 17th century as a part of manor house. It is much bigger than a peasant pirtis, because a lot of people used to bath in it. 20 people may comfortably taste the pleasant steam, made on red-hot stones. In Dvaro pirtis stove stones are hidden by brick walls, and the fume fly away through the smokestack. Thus the steam is mild, and the bathhouse is clean. Old ant new Lithuanian bathouse rituals being held in Dvaro pirtis. The main Lithuanian bathouse atribute – birch-rods are used for body warming and massage.  In ancient times pirtis was a sacred place, and now it serves as a purgation both of body and mind.