On the Night of Museums, May 23, the National Museum of Lithuania’s Castellan’s House will invite visitors into an exhibition where smell – not sight – serves as the primary guide. Titled “Liturgical Scents of Lithuania’s Faith Traditions,” the installation opens as part of the exhibition “Understanding Lithuania.” Through aromas ranging from sacred resins used in religious rites to the scent of centuries-old prayer books, the exhibition introduces visitors to the sensory world of Lithuania’s diverse spiritual traditions. It is one of the rarer museum experiences in Lithuania in which history is encountered through the sense of smell – a perception deeply tied to memory, emotion and inner experience.

The History of Faiths, Experienced Through the Senses

The exhibition at the Castellan’s House approaches Lithuania’s religious heritage from an unusual angle. Here, the liturgical aromas of different faiths become witnesses of culture, carrying stories about rituals, daily life, communities and spiritual worldviews.

Visitors will encounter scents that accompanied religious practices across different historical periods, from ancient traditions to rituals still observed today. Some aromas may feel immediately familiar, while others are likely to seem surprising, or long forgotten.

 

According to the director of the Castellan’s House Daina Šėmienė, the idea for an olfactory exhibition emerged from a desire to create an experience that visitors would not only observe, but physically feel.

“We wanted to present the Hall of Faiths in the museum exhibition ‘Understanding Lithuania’ in a way that visitors could not only see, but also smell,” she says. “Scent is an exceptionally powerful storytelling medium, yet one still rarely used in museums.”

Scents as Intangible Cultural Heritage

Scent culture educator Toma Vyšniauskienė explains that the exhibition was developed using not only historical and written sources, but also conversations with representatives of religious communities, clergy members, historians and researchers.

According to her, scents operate subtly within culture, but their influence is profound. They reflect geography, history and ways of life while also shaping collective memory.

 

“The sense of smell is directly connected to the brain’s limbic system, which is responsible for emotions and memories,” says Vyšniauskienė. “That is why scents often preserve what neither image nor text can fully convey.”

For this reason, liturgical aromas are also considered part of intangible cultural heritage. They create recognizable sacred atmospheres, accompany important communal rituals and pass traditions from one generation to another through sensory experience.

The Smell of Old Books and Unexpected Discoveries

Vyšniauskienė describes one of the most memorable stages of the creative process as her work within the collections of the National Museum of Lithuania, where she studied the scents of liturgical books dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

“It was fascinating to observe how the scent changes depending on a book’s binding, use or storage conditions,” she says. “I was also surprised by discoveries related to the use of scent in Karaite and Jewish traditions. They changed my previous understanding of liturgical fragrances in those faiths.”

Asked which aroma best represents the diversity of Lithuania’s faith traditions, the educator points to an extract of liquidambar sap extract – a warm, balsamic, lightly smoky scent that recalls burning sacred resins, altar wood and the pages of old prayer books.

A Tasting Lecture for the Night of Museums

During the Night of Museums, visitors will be able to experience not only the exhibition itself, but also a special smelling lecture taking place on May 23 from 21:00 to 22:00. The event will offer a deeper exploration of scent traditions across different faiths, highlighting both their differences and their unexpected similarities.

The exhibition “Liturgical Scents of Lithuania’s Faith Traditions” at the Castellan’s House will be open during the Night of Museums from 18:00 until midnight. Admission is free, and no registration is required. Last entry is at 23:30.