Published: 20260205
Visitors to the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania will now be able to try out a new attraction – an interactive mirror. Everyone will have the opportunity to "travel back in time" and become a historical figure.
"We have been with the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum since its establishment in 2009, and from the very beginning we have supported international exhibitions and other projects that reveal Vilnius' connections with the world, reveal new historical contexts, and present cultural heritage that has a huge impact on today's identity," says Tadeuš Podvorski, director of the insurance company BTA, thanking the museum for its support of this unique initiative. T. Podvorski points out that supporting culture and art is a long-term social responsibility initiative of BTA with a history of more than 20 years.
Until now, there has been nothing like this interactive, enhanced reality exhibition at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. In one of the halls, on the route of the restored historical interiors, every museum visitor will now be able to look into such a mirror. Modern technology transfers the image of a person into historical portraits, bringing them to life, while the visitor's image is transformed into the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund Augustus, Duke Mikalojus Kristupas Radvila Našlaitėlis, Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland Barbora Radvilaitė, Princess Amelija Oginskienė (M. Žilinskas Collection/M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum), and Prince Jakub Ludwik Sobieski dressed in Roman warrior armor.
The interactive exhibition allows visitors to immerse themselves in the environment of a historical era, encourages them to take an interest in famous Lithuanian personalities, and symbolically transports them back to ancient times. "By remembering the people who shaped our history, we can not only appreciate and take pride in what we have, but also continue to build on it," says BTA CEO T. Podvorski. According to him, supporting culture is very important to the entire Vienna Insurance Group, which owns the BTA insurance company.
Dr. Vydas Dolinskas, director of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum, notes that the mirror blends in perfectly with its surroundings and adds new experiences to the exhibitions: "The first Renaissance antechamber, located on the third floor of the museum, displays portraits of famous Lithuanian military leaders, so the new history mirror invites visitors to enter the portrait gallery and think about what they have done for their country and what their values are," says V. Dolinskas. This is not the first project we have organized together with our highly valued regular sponsors, the insurance company BTA. We are delighted with the collaboration and grateful for their support. For example, this time, the sponsors themselves proposed the idea for the project, we created the content and chose the location, observing visitor flows to determine where such entertainment would be most appropriate, would delight people, and would allow them to relax while learning about the complex history of Lithuania, as if becoming a part of it."
The interactive space at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius, created and installed on the initiative of BTA, will be open permanently and free of charge to all museum visitors. The same palace also features other virtual reality projects created in collaboration with BTA: 3D Virtual Journey Through Time: The Development of the Residence of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the 13th–21st Centuries and 3D Virtual Reconstruction of Gediminas Tower.
