English

LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE:

DISCOVERING YOUR FAMILY TRACES IN CONTEMPORARY LITHUANIA

Biržai / Birzhe: former Jewish praying house
Vabalninkas / Obolnik: guest visiting his great grandfather’s shtetl
Ukmergė / Vilkomir: a bit further there was the house where the family of my guest lived

DEAR GUESTS, I am busy with my guiding work. I am also traveling around the former Litvak shtetls. Therefore, my blog is not as active as I would like it to be. If you need a Jewish heritage guide in Vilnius, contact me. I can also guide you in other towns. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.

info@litvakshtetls.com | ausra.mikulskiene@gmail.com
+370 610 46155 (better text me via sms, Whatsapp, Signal)
www.facebook.com/litvak.shtetls www.facebook.com/a.mikulskiene

My name is Aušra Mikulskienė. I am a guide in Lithuania.

I have a hobby to research and document disappearing Litvak (Lithuanian Jewish) heritage in my country. There are over 100 buildings of former Jewish prayer houses still surviving in Lithuania. Jews used to call it Lita. There are also more than 200 cemeteries. Additionally, around 250 towns used to be shtetls before the 2WW. Every year I visit 60-100 shtetls, returning there again and again, each time finding new places of my interest.

A few years ago I started a project Litvak Shtetls. The goal was to share my experience with both my fellow Lithuanians and foreigners. You can read more about this project here.

Litvak Shtetls is a private project, run by my personal initiative, time, funds and great wish. If you are willing to support, you can donate via Paypal. I will continue working on the project whether I get support or not.

My contacts:

GSM: +370 610 46155
E-mail: info@litvakshtetls.com

You can read more about me here (in Lithuanian) or here Keeping an identity alive (in English)

Connect with Your Litvak Roots

Posts in English:

Tracing Jewish History in Lithuania: Kaunas to Telz Tour Insights
From Plungė to Port Elizabeth: The Journey of Moshe Jaffee (Joffe Marks)
Jewish Heritage Journey in Lithuania: Kaunas to Pakruojis
A trip to the north of Lithuania. Part 1. Subačius (Subotsh)
A Walk in Jewish Želva (Podzelve)
Kurkliai (Kurkle)
Rozalimas (Rozalye)
Hermanas Perelsteinas. A Story of Proud Survival
Samuel Bak’s Vilnius
Fania Lewando – The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook author
Ona Šimaitė. A Silent Heroine from Savičius Street
Klikol: A Small Town Next to the Border with Latvia