Kiduliai Manor

Kiduliai Manor is located in Kiduliai village, Šakiai district. The manor estate covers an area of around 24 ha and includes more than twenty buildings and building remains, as well as a park. In 2013, the manor palace was restored and currently houses a library. Its premises were also adapted for local community activities.

Kiduliai Manor was first mentioned in written sources in 1583. At the time, it belonged to Jonas Lenartavičius who sold it in 1584 to Krišpinas Kiršenšteinas, a merchant from Prussia. In 1636, the manor already had a wooden chapel. One member of the Kiršenšteinai family – Jonas Jeronimas Kiršenšteinas – became the bishop of Žemaičiai (Samogitians) in 1695 and often lived here. After his death in 1708, the manor became the property of Karpiai family. Samogitian bishop Juozapas Mikalojus Karpis lived here for around two years until his death in 1739. In the 6th decade of the 18th century, the manor was inhabited by bishop Antanas Domininkas Tiškevičius. In 1809, Ignotas Karpis signed the estate to his sister Marija Pliaterienė.

Kiduliai Manor was visited by the king of Prussia Frederick Wilhelm III when he was preparing to sign a treaty of defeat with the French Emperor Napoleon in Tilžė. Sometimes the manor was visited by Alexander I, the Tsar of Russia who was traveling aboard a luxurious ferry. Napoleon’s army passed through Kiduliai in June of 1812, while the corps of the Lieutenant-General of the Tsarist Army Piotr Wittgenstein passed through the same area from the opposite direction at the beginning of 1813. The manor most likely had no owner several years after the war, and from 1837 this estate with all its surrounding villages became the property of the lieutenant general of the Russian Army, Baron Ivan von Offenberg. By mid-century, the new owner of Kiduliai Manor restored the park and rebuilt the main residential house, as well as added a workshop and the most important outbuildings. After his death in 1870, the estate was taken over by his son Peter Offenberg. In 1878, the manor estate (9 buildings) housed 144 people.  A brewery was built by the Offenberg family in 1884. It is believed that a smokehouse was also installed at the same time.

During World War I, Kiduliai Manor was occupied by soldiers of both warring sides. Luckily, the manor was not significantly damaged. Otto Offenberg, the last noble owner of the manor and its 27 buildings moved away from the estate in 1922. In 1923, 6 people were found living in the manor while registering the country’s population. The manor was left with 300 ha of land after the land reform. In 1923, part of the buildings of the estate were used as a brewery. In 1929, one Swiss established a Dutch cheese factory in the manor which exported its products to Kaunas. The factory produced 15 000–18 000 kg of cheese per year. After World War II, the manor estate had a Soviet economy office, cinema, and later a dispensary and a library. The reconstruction of the palace was completed in November of 2013.

This small, cosy manor is now restored and is used for cultural purposes: it has a library, various events and educational lessons are organized here, and it also displays a brick and tile exhibit – the heritage of the former Kiduliai brickyard.

Sources:

1. http://www.kiduliai.lt
2. https://www.sakiaitic.lt/