The Traveling Historians (and One Sociologist)

The VMU Emigration Institute was a hub of my social life in Kaunas this year.  I would drop for coffee, a chat, to print documents and just hang out with several of the graduate students and lecturers.  We also had various “off-campus” adventures.  On Friday, a group of us — four historians and one sociologist — headed north of Kaunas to visit Kėdainai and Šėtėnai.  Kėdainai is a small town, but one with historical significance.  First settled in 639, the town was part of the Radvila estate.  The Radvilas were one of Lithuania’s leading noble families and, quite interestingly, converted to Calvinism after the Reformation.  The town was open to other religious sects, including a group of Calvinist Scots.  In 1655, during the war between Poland and Sweden, the Radvila duke fell out of favor with the rulers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth when he tried to negotiate a political agreement for Lithuania to leave the Commonwealth and join with Sweden.  Today Kėdainai is a quiet little town with a lovely main street and a lot of interesting public art.

Duke Kristupas Radvila in the main square

 

These buildings on the main square are called the "Glass Palace"

 

Each window frame on this building features an humorous art work related to Kedainai's history

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