WORLD WAR II TRACES IN BALTICS

690 Eur / person

DAY 1 Vilnius

Arrival to Vilnius. Private transfer to the hotel. Welcome dinner.

Overnight at the hotel "Artis" 4* or similar.

 

DAY 2 Vilnius – Kaunas

A half day tour in Vilnius. You will visit  The Bastion of Vilnius City- a part of  Vilnius Defensive Wall, often called “barbican”. The Bastion is a Renaissance-style fortification characterized by it's original construction. It consists of a tower installed in the city defence wall, underground gun ports and a connecting corridor, which turns into a 48-metre long tunnel. The Bastion was built in the first half of the 17th century by the German military engineer, Friedrich Getkant. During World Wars I and II, German military arsenals were located in the building. You can enjoy a picturesque view of the Old Town from the Bastion terrace. Walking tour of Vilnius Old town. Visit The Museum of Genocide Victims - The museum is situated in the former KGB building, where the crimes of the Soviet regime were planned and executed for fifty years. Visitors can visit: the former KGB prison, the premises where death sentences were implemented, modern exhibitions telling about the loss of independence in the middle of the 20th century, repressions by Soviet authorities, and the self-sacrificing and persistent fight for independence. Later trip to Memorial Museum of Paneriai - In 1941–1944 next to the building of the museum, almost 100,000 people, of whom 70,000 were Jews, were killed. The exposition includes pictures of those killed in Paneriai, the orders of the occupation authorities, and other documentary information. A memorial to the Paneriai victims has been constructed here. Arrival to Kaunas.

Overnight at the hotel "Daugirdas" 4* or similar.

 

DAY 3 Kaunas

A day to explore War  museums and monuments in Kaunas.  Visit Museum of the Ninth Fort. The Ninth Fort museum contains collections of historical artifacts related both to Soviet atrocities and the Nazi genocide, as well as materials related to the earlier history of Kaunas and Ninth Fort. The mass burial place of the victims of the massacres carried out in the fort is a grass field, marked by a simple yet frankly worded memorial written in several languages. It reads, "This is the place where Nazis and their assistants killed more than 30,000 Jews from Lithuania and other European countries. Later you will visit 'Vytautas the Great' Lithuanian War Museum - The only 2 permanent exhibitions of this war museum which can be laid slightly in connection with the Second World War are about the development of the Lithuanian army until 1940 and the development of the light firearms from the 15th century up to the Second World War. Furthermore, the visitor can exhibit a large number of medieval armor, archaeological finds, antique army uniforms and several hand - and firearms. Visit the Atomic bunker. The bunker was founded 6 meters underground – in the Soviet civil protection cache. In Atomic bunker you will find outstanding technical exhibits: from the First World War, the interwar period, the Second World War, the Cold War and the current times. You can get acquainted with the technical development of civil protection developmental exposition. Bunker is full of portable devices for the detection of radiation and chemical environments and there is a large number of preventive measures against the different kind of risks.  Overnight at the hotel "Daugirdas" 4* or similar.

 

 

DAY 4 Kaunas – Rainiai  – Klaipeda

Departure to Klaipeda with en route stop in Rainai. 3 kilometers from Telšiai there is a Rainiai village. The village is marked with several inhuman historical facts.  In memory for those who has died here Rainiai Memorial was built. The memorial temple holds authentic relicts, documents of the brutal act which was held there. In Klaipeda you will visit Memel Nord battery where the Battle of Memel (Baltic Offensive) took place. Nord Memel Battery is only of this kind of fortifications in Lithuania. Like other fortifications located around Klaipeda, build in 1939 by German naval leadership direction. In the year when Klaipeda region was annexed to Germany Germans began to strengthen the port of Klaipeda and its coastal defense. Two coastal artillery batteries were supposed to be built. Since 2009, the Klaipeda military history club   together with the Seaside Regional Park began to build the museum, which aims to reflect these fortifications and Klaipeda region history of the Second World War. Collection theme is related to these and other fortifications and World War II. Overnight at the hotel "Navalis"4* or similar. 

 

DAY 5  Klaipeda – Liepaja

Morning departure to Liepaja - Latvia’s third largest city which is located in the far southwest corner of Latvia on the Baltic coast. WWII brought Soviet and Nazi troops, bombings and devastation to the city’s historic centre. After the war, the Soviets seized the naval base and Liepāja became completely isolated. Even Latvians from other parts of the country weren’t allowed to visit it and yet another Iron Curtain descended behind the one that already divided the captive nations of the East from the rest of Europe. Visit Karosta (Navy port) and see the Officer’s Palace, Marine Cathedral, Riding Manege, Fortifications and the Northern Breakwater, The Station of Homing Pigeons, The Northern Forts, Old Prison and the interactive show Behind the Bars.

Overnight at the hotel "Europa City Amrita" 4* or similar.

 

DAY 6 Liepoja – Riga

Morning departure to Riga. You will visit The Latvian War museum (Latvijas Kara muzejs) The Latvian War museum is one of the oldest and largest museums in Latvia. It was founded in 1916 as the Latvian riflemen museum. Since 1919 the museum is located in the Powder Tower (14th century), one of the former fortification towers of Riga. Permanent exhibitions about the art of warfare and Latvian soldiers, First and Second world wars, Latvian Army, Soviet occupation and the gaining of independence in 1918 and 1991 can be seen in the museum. Free afternoon to explore Riga on your own. Overnight in "Europa Royal Riga" 4* or similar.

 

DAY 7 Riga – Tallinn

Visit Estonian Maritime Museum (Eesti Meremuuseum) in Tallinn. Currently museum is located in two places - Fat Margaret Tower in Tallinn's Old Town (Paks Margareeta) where are exhibited with Estonian shipping and maritime traditions related displays, and seaplanes port (Lennusadam) which is located on the beach, it exhibits preserved ships and naval displays. Later trip to Maarjamäe War Memorial the pointed obelisk alongside the highway to Pirita Beach is part of the Maarjamäe War Memorial complex, a cement-filled park similar in its imposing style to other large complexes created in the USSR in the 1960s and 70s. The spire was put up in 1960 in memory of Russians who died in 1918, while the surrounding inspirational concrete and iron figures were added in 1975 to honor Soviet soldiers killed trying to fend off the Nazis in 1941. Overnight at the hotel "Vana Wiru" 4* or similar.

 

DAY 8 Tallinn

Breakfast. End of the tour. Private transfer to the airport and departure.