The Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping (''Senovinės bitininkystės muziejus''), established in 1984 near Stripeikiai in northeastern Lithuania, displays the history of beekeeping in the area. The museum, part of

Aukštaitija National Park __NOTOC__ Aukštaitija National Park is a national park in north-eastern Lithuania, about 100 km north of Vilnius. Established in 1974, it is the oldest of the five national parks in Lithuania. At first it was named Lithuanian SSR National ...

, was founded by the beekeeper Bronius Kazlas. As of 2006, the museum consisted of six buildings, about 500 displays, and 25 sculptures. In addition to illustrating the history of beekeeping in Lithuania, some of the museum's wooden sculptures themselves contain

beehives A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

. The sculptures pay homage to the honeybee's place in worldwide mythology and folklore, including

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian and Native American figures as well as the Lithuanian god Babilas and goddess Austėja. They were carved by Teofilis Patiejūnas and Ipolitas Užkurnis. The displays include glass-sided hives that enable visitors to watch the bees at work, tool collections, and illustrations of the role that bees play in

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

. The wide variety of hives includes many tree trunks, which were used from the 15th century until the beginning of the 20th century. The

Lithuanian Veterinary Academy Lithuanian University of Health Sciences ( lt, Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitetas, LSMU) is a medical school in Kaunas, Lithuania. The present-day Lithuanian University of Health Sciences is a consolidation of two institutions of higher e ...

claims that Lithuanian bees are especially peaceful. They constitute a sub-species of the

European honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ...

; they are smaller than

Italian bee ''Apis mellifera ligustica'' is the Italian bee which is a subspecies of the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera''). Origin The Italian honey bee is thought to originate from the continental part of Italy, south of the Alps, and north of Sicily ...

s and larger than the Caucasian honey bee. The honeybee is a symbol of friendship in Lithuania; the word ''bičiulis'' is an affectionate form of address. In 2005

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

President

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

presented Lithuanian President

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamkus' ...

with three beehives and bees, which were brought to the museum. The museum is open from May to October. A Honey Harvest festival is held in August, and the museum features a "Honey Bar".
The museum has been under the reconstruction recently. However, it opened anew in the spring of 2015.

General references

Museum celebrates bonding by beekeeping

The Baltic Times ''The Baltic Times'' is an independent monthly newspaper that covers the latest political, economic, business, and cultural events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The paper was formed from a merger in 1996 of the ''Baltic Independent'' and '' ...

, August 24, 2000. Accessed 2011-04-15
Museum of Ancient Beekeeping
Association of Lithuanian Museums. Accessed 2011-04-15.
Ancient Beekeeping Museum

In Your Pocket City Guides In Your Pocket City Guides is a publisher of free guide books for many European cities, available in print, via website or via mobile app. It also publishes guide books for major events in Europe including the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European ...

. Accessed 2011-04-15.

External links

About the museum

"The Beekeeper's Spiritual World in Museum Objects" discusses the museum's sculptures

President Adamkus receives bees as a gift
*
Lithuanian bees
{{coord, 55.409, N, 25.945, E, display=title, source:dewiki Museums in Utena County Agriculture museums in Lithuania Beekeeping Beekeeping organizations Beekeeping in Lithuania Apiaries Bee museums Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in Europe Museums established in 1984 1984 establishments in Lithuania Agricultural organizations based in Lithuania