On July 6, Statehood Day (the Day of the Coronation of King Mindaugas of Lithuania) and National Anthem Day, the National Museum of Lithuania (NML) will welcome visitors even though its branches are normally closed on Mondays. To mark the occasion, museum admission tickets will be offered at a 50 percent discount, while entry to the Castellan’s House will be free of charge. Visitors can look forward to a special program created exclusively for the holiday. Guided tours, educational activities, creative workshops, and lectures will invite audiences to explore the history of Lithuanian statehood in authentic historic settings – from Gediminas Castle Tower and the House of Signatories in Vilnius to the Vincas Kudirka Museum in Kudirkos Naumiestis, where Tautiška giesmė (“The National Hymn”), later adopted as the national anthem of the Republic of Lithuania, was composed.

Statehood Day commemorates not only the coronation of King Mindaugas but also the enduring history of Lithuanian statehood. The National Museum of Lithuania invites visitors to discover that history in the very places where the nation’s symbols are preserved and its historical memory continues to be cultivated.

At the House of the Signatories, visitors will be able to join a guided tour and participate in the creative workshop “Historical Symbols of Lithuania.” Participants will learn about the significance of Lithuania’s national and historical flags and trace the evolution of the country’s symbols over time. At Gediminas Castle Tower – the museum’s most visited branch – guests can take part in a historical quiz and hands-on creative workshops designed to deepen their knowledge of Lithuania’s past while crafting a commemorative holiday souvenir.

The program at the Old Arsenal will present two complementary perspectives on the nation’s history. One guided tour will examine the development of Lithuanian warfare and its importance in the formation and survival of the state. Meanwhile, the family educational afternoon “Reusable” will reveal how archaeological discoveries demonstrate that repairing and reusing everyday objects was an integral part of daily life centuries before modern ideas of sustainability emerged.

At the House of Histories, visitors can join guided tours exploring the symbols of Lithuania’s traditional culture and the country’s earliest steps in cultural diplomacy. One tour leads through the ethnographic collections, illustrating how spindle distaffs, straw gardens, traditional national costume, and the Rūpintojėlis – the iconic image of the Pensive Christ – came to symbolize Lithuanian identity. Another tour will guide visitors through the exhibition “Riding the Wave of the Paris Exhibitions,” which tells the story of a period when Lithuania introduced its culture, folk art, and traditional crafts to international audiences.

Families are also invited to the Castle Keeper’s House, where the educational game “Lithuania’s Treasure” encourages younger visitors to discover history by following clues, completing creative challenges, and making their own symbolic crown of King Mindaugas.

Statehood Day events will also take place at the Vincas Kudirka Museum in Kudirkos Naumiestis, the place where Tautiška giesmė was written. There, historian Prof. Egidijus Aleksandravičius will deliver a lecture examining Bishop Motiejus Valančius’s understanding of Lithuanian statehood in the nineteenth century. This symbolic location serves as a reminder that Tautiška giesmė – the anthem that unites Lithuanians around the world every July 6 – was born here.

The National Museum of Lithuania’s Statehood Day program invites visitors to experience Lithuanian history not as a story confined to the past but as a living tradition that continues to connect the nation’s symbols, culture, people, and the places where the story of Lithuanian statehood remains alive today.

On July 6th, the following museum branches will be open: Gediminas Castle Tower and Funicular (10:00 – 20:00), the Castellan’s House (10:00 – 18:00), the Old Arsenal (10:00 – 18:00), the House of Histories (10:00 – 18:00), the House of Signatories (10:00 – 18:00),  the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (10:00 – 18:00), the Vincas Kudirka Museum (10:00 – 17:00), the Jonas Basanavičius Birthplace (9:00 – 18:00), the Jonas Šliūpas Museum (11:00 – 18:00)

For the full July 6th program, click here.