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The reborn Merkinė manor: cultural, community and business cooperation promises a unique attraction

"We want to revive this special place for a new, special life," says journalist and traveler Vytaras Radzevičius. Yesterday at the Merkinė Culture Center, he presented the Merkinė Manor Renovation Project to members of the town and surrounding communities, cultural representatives, developers and journalists.

Starting from the history of Merkinė manor, Vytaras Radzevičius, the head of  „Merkinės muilo fabrikas“, introduced the vision of cultural services, cultural cooperation, tourism and craft industries to be implemented by the company and project partners in Merkinė and the entire region.

The project “Promotion of Local Cultural Entrepreneurship - Merkinė Manor” is funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism subsidized by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In total, 850,135.11 euros was allocated to finance this project. Of this, 722,614.84 euros come from the Mechanism Funds, whereas 127,520.27 euros come from various co-financing sources.
“Merkinės muilo fabrikas”, which has leased the Merkinė manor for forty years, has developed a plan and program of cultural activities in collaboration with Lithuanian and Norwegian partners. The plan aims to revitalize the town and the surroundings of Merkinė, while deepening and highlighting Merkinė's glorious history and unique cultural sovereignty of this land.
The manor house, located in a truly spectacular part of Merkinė, on a hill next to a castle mound with an impressive vista of the confluence of the Nemunas and the Merkys and green pine forests, has had many proprietors. The territory was ruled by the elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Mykolas Glinskis, Jurgis Radvila, Stanislovas Astikas, Bona Sforca, Mikalojus Radvila, Vladislovas Vaza IV, Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Kazimieras Jonas Sapiega and Motiejus Oginskis. That was the "golden age" of the town.
Back then Merkinė manor was the center of the eldership. At the end of the 19th century, eighteen wooden buildings stood in the manor’s territory, but none of them has survived to this day. There are now two red brick buildings built in 1897 that housed a soap factory, as well as several wooden ones. Until 2014, the Merkinė care home was located here.
"We would like to present Merkinė as the city of kings, the historical and spiritual heart of Dainava, because that is the case," - says V. Radzevčius. - When we got interested in the manor, we learned about various curious nuances of Merkinė's history. Why did we name the company "Soap Factory"? Because that’s what it was at some point. We would like to offer visitors not only an attractive place to stay and have a meal, but cultural events and educational programs as well. We plan to be a regional tourist hub, a gateway to the most interesting places in Dzūkija that can be accessed by bicycle and kayak. We have a unique idea to revive navigation on the Nemunas. Being rich in its landscape and historical monuments, Merkinė has yet another advantage - its strategic location. It is easily accessible from Vilnius and Kaunas, close to the popular resort of Druskininkai and near the Polish border ”.
 The mayor of Varėna district municipality Algis Kašėta, who visited the event, said that he was absolutely certain that this project would become a success story of Merkinė. "Merkinė already has a strong and united community that cares not only about preserving the city's history and heritage, but about what the place will look like in the future. We are also glad that for forty years this place will be open to the people from all over Lithuania and tourists discovering our country and our region,” said A. Kašėta.
Varėna district municipality agreed, and  the mayor of Merkinė town Gintautas Tebeba remarked that new opportunities were opening up for Merkinė, all the town needed to do was use them wisely.
The chairman of the Merkinė community, Arūnas Glavickas, also sees many opportunities for the town's community over the next forty years - not only cultural, but financial opportunities as well. "Trakai is the best example for us. People, open the gates, sell cheese, butter, mushrooms and apples," he invited the people of the community gathered at the event.
A plan for the reconstruction and renovation of the buildings in the Merkinė manor territory will be presented at the event. The idea is to use these facilities to offer accommodation for pilgrims as well as creative spaces for various purposes, where local culture and art would be nurtured, to revive crafts that have local historical importance, to organize workshops to share business development experiences, and to commercialize creative ideas.
The ideas of mutual cooperation and harmonious coexistence are of paramount importance in the reborn Merkinė manor. "We and our partners are guided by the same goal - we want the manor to offer a slow, high-quality and deep understanding of the local culture and history," - says the company's CEO Vytaras Radzevičius.
In the presentation, Laura Garbštienė, an interdisciplinary artist living in the village of Šklėriai, near the Dzūkija National Park, spoke about the plans to establish an art residence in the Merkinė manor. “Artists can often show local people what the locals do not  notice, those valuable things that become part of their daily lives. We want to learn from the local craftsmen, create from natural materials, use old technologies, and at the same time organize top class cultural events, ”said the artist, who has organized many exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad.
The first events in Merkinė are already being planned by the network of boutique cinemas Pasaka, a project partner. "We would like to screen the film " Stealing Horses'' by the famous Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland, which won the Silver Bear Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. It will be interesting to see how the director saw the surroundings of Merkinė, where the shooting took place,” said Andrė Balžekinė, the head of Pasaka. She added that Merkinė manor and "Pasaka'' think alike when it comes to the ideas of slow and sustainable tourism.
Merkinė manor is located in a unique place - near Merkinė mound, overlooking the confluence of the Nemunas and the Merkys valley. The town of Merkinė has a rich history, as in different epochs it used to be a strategically important urban hub. The project developers are convinced that it is necessary to strengthen the local identity and open more possibilities for cultural tourism in the area.
The international project is funded by the Culture Program of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.
 

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