Grūtas Park

ith Sovietera statues of Lenin, Stalin and prominent Lithuanian members of the Communist Party that once dominated Lithuanian towns lining the forest trails, Grūtas Park pays blackh mored homage to a dark period of history. Watchtowers pipe marching songs and a train with cattle car is a sobering reminder of mass deportations. There are three exhibition buildings in the park, displaying socialist-realist art, newspapers and USSR maps.It’s 8km east of Druskininkai. Grūtas Park’s surreal mix of setting and subject matter satirizes the era neatly. The park was the idea of Viliumas Malinauskas, a former collective farm head who made a fortune canning mush- rooms then won the loan of hated objects like statues from the Ministry of Culture. This open-air sculpture gallery, featuring heroic statues of Soviet partisans and the Communist League of Youth Members, makes for great photo ops, and there’s a big playground for kids.