ANYKŠČIAI MANOR SITE
The Anykščiai Manor site occupies a sand-covered area of 300 x 200 m of which the boundaries run along the Anykšta river, the old meander of the Šventoji river as well as Dvaro and J. Biliūno streets.
July 22, 1440 was the date when Grand Duke of Lithuania, Prince Kazimieras Jogailaitis (Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon) (1427−1492), later King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, first mentioned Anykščiai and the Grand Duke‘s Manor House, situated in it, in the written records. Belonging to the Sovereign of the country, the Manor retained the status of a state Manor House for three hundred years until the third partition of the Commonwealth in 1795. The royal Manor House is known to have accommodated the passing-through Lithuanian Grand Dukes and Polish Kings on their journeys who, during their stay, ruled the country from here.
The finds discovered in different areas of the Manor site in the course of archeological research date back to the 16th – 19th centuries. These mostly include excavated fragments of ceramics and stove tiles. However, the most valuable among them is a Lithuanian dinar, coined in 1556, during the reign of King Žygimantas Augustas (Sigismund II Augustus). The royal inventory of 1773 includes a detailed description of the Manor House in Anykščiai.
The Manor site currently houses St Alexander Nevsky‘s Orthodox church, built in the 19th century, and the former school buildings which are now used by the administration of Anykščiai Regional Park and the art studio of Anykščiai Art Incubator.
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