Kėdainiai: Lithuania's Cultural Capital shaped by Scots and the Radziwills
Kėdainiai has been named Lithuania's Capital of Culture for 2026, a historic town shaped for centuries by diverse ethnic and religious communities under the Radziwill family. Its old town preserves churches, synagogues and trading heritage dating back to the 17th century.
Kėdainiai, a historic town in central Lithuania once ruled by the powerful Radziwill family, has been named Lithuania's Capital of Culture for 2026. While often known as the country's "cucumber capital," the town's compact old centre holds a much deeper story.
A multicultural past
According to Rimantas Žirgulis, director of the Kėdainiai Regional Museum, six different ethnic and religious communities coexisted in the town during its 17th-century prosperity. Today, visitors can see an Orthodox church built in the 19th century, two Catholic churches — including the 15th-century Church of St George, among Lithuania's oldest — and the 18th-century wooden Church of St Joseph.
The town also preserves significant Protestant heritage. A 17th-century Evangelical Reformed church houses a Radziwill family mausoleum containing several sarcophagi, while a separate 17th-century Lutheran church reflects the influence of the town's former German community.
Jewish heritage remains especially prominent. On Senosios Rinkos Square stands a synagogue complex comprising the Great Summer Synagogue and Small Winter Synagogue — one of only three such surviving complexes in Lithuania. The buildings now house an art school and a multicultural centre with an exhibition on the town's Jewish community and the Holocaust.
Old town and trading heritage
Kėdainiai's Old Town is one of only seven state-protected urban heritage sites in Lithuania, preserving Baroque, Gothic, Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture, four historic market squares, and one of only three surviving historic town halls in the country.
The Nevėžis River once played a key role in the town's development, with cargo vessels once sailing from Kėdainiai to Königsberg. A Traditional Crafts Centre, housed in a building once linked to the town's Scottish community, still hosts workshops teaching increasingly rare traditional crafts.
As Lithuania's Capital of Culture, Kėdainiai will host more than 30 projects and 150 events throughout 2026 under the programme titled Kėdainiai Chronicles in Cultural Symbols.
