Hotels near Stasys Girėnas Birthplace Museum in Vytogala

Stasys Girėnas was born in Vytogala in 1893 and, with Steponas Darius, flew the Lituanica from New York towards Kaunas in July 1933, covering 6,411 km in 37 hours and 11 minutes before the aircraft came down near Soldin in Germany and killed them both. That flight is the founding legend of Lithuanian aviation, and this farmyard on the edge of a Samogitian village is where the story starts.

The homestead was reconstructed in 1988 for the 55th anniversary of the flight, on a plot beside the original site. The house and the granary hold an exhibition on Girėnas, on the Lituanica crossing and on the history of Vytogala village. As a branch of the Lithuanian Aviation Museum it opens Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00 and charges €4 for adults, €2 reduced and €6 to €8 for families, with free entry on the last Sunday of each month; an educational session costs €3 and a guided tour €20 for a group in Lithuanian or €30 in English, both booked ahead. Commemorations are held here every July.

Pro Tip: Pair Vytogala with Judrėnai in Klaipėda District, about 40 km west, where Steponas Darius was born. The two homesteads are run by the same museum, each tells half of the Lituanica story, and a single day covers both along the A1.