Published: 20240214
The exhibition features symbols of the statehood and patriotism of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – state awards: orders, medals and order chains. This exhibition seeks to not only present historically and aesthetically valuable awards – it also encompasses a broader historic context, using state symbols as a thread weaving the fabric of the present-day situation. The exposition of important symbols from each Baltic state also presents the eminent historic figures who received them – the founders of the Baltic States and defenders of their freedom, and their biographies. In this way we reveal the development of the history of Lithuania’s, Latvia’s and Estonia’s statehood, the particularities of interwar diplomacy, and changes to the international situation in Europe. Thus, this exhibition presents not only an exclusive opportunity to see impressive and unique state awards of the Baltic States in one location – original Presidential Chains of the Latvian and Estonian heads of state, the Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain, and other famous European politicians’ decorations of merit and honour – but to also learn of the stories behind them.
The valuable phaleristic collection on display in the exhibition, the largest of its kind in the region, has been formed by the collector Vilius Kavaliauskas since 1965; he is an honorary member of the Board of the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania who has assisted in enriching the Museum’s collections and provided very valuable consultations. The collector has studied the awards presented at this exhibition for many years, compiling specialised publications about them and arranging exhibitions in many European countries, including Denmark, Finland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, and elsewhere. Kavaliauskas has actualised the significance of such awards as symbols, accumulating valuable iconographic material in the process – photographs and documents. This exhibition is the largest ever presentation of this collection not just in Lithuania, but in other countries as well, many of the unique exhibits will be on display to the public for the first time.
Exhibition is opened until the 26th of May.
