A nation does not exist without its historical memory. People's memory remains the most vivid personalities who influenced the development of events and had an impact on people's lifestyle. Historical memory develops love for one's country, attachment, reminds us of who we are. Laurynas Ivinskis, educator, publisher, publicist, collector of folklore, botanist, lexicographer, inventor, poet and translator, compiler of the first Lithuanian calendar, spent his last years in Kuršėnais - a city on the Venta river. It was he who published the only Žemaitian calendar for many years, which became very popular and in that way represented the world press. Thanks to the permitted calendar, the villagers learned to read.
The route consists of six objects: L. Ivinskis square with L. Ivinskis monument, L. Ivinskis grave, L. Ivinskis bas-relief and museum in the L. Ivinskis gymnasium, Kuršėnai St. John the Baptist Church, the exhibition of calendars in Kuršėnai Manor, the wooden sculpture of L. Ivinskis in the park of Kuršėnai Manor.
1. L. Ivinskis square with L. Ivinskis monument. The reconstructed and renovated central Kuršėnai Square has served the people of the city for various purposes in the course of history. Until 1948, this place was the town's market square, when farmers and artisans came to the Kuršėnai jomarks with their products. When the city market was moved to its current location on T. Tilvyčio Street, the square in the city center remained the center of attraction for people. The purpose and appearance of the square has been greatly changed by the hard work of the people of the city. In 1957, Kuršėnai was awarded the first place in the republic, a transitional red flag and a bonus of 30,000 rubles for managing the city. A third of the money was distributed to the bonuses of deserving people, and the rest was allocated to the construction of the monument. For a long time, it was thought about who should build the monument. The first idea to build the monument was for Pran Zibert. However, the older citizens of Kurse remembered the turbulent times of Pran Zibert's life and did not support the construction of the monument. The name of Lauryns Ivinskis flashed in the head of the then chairman of the executive committee Kaziis Norgėlas, after all, he is the first publisher of the calendar, a person who deserves Lithuania. Kazi Norgėla, together with the head of the Construction Repair Office, Adolf Turauskas, managed to convince the district committee of the party that a monument to L. Ivinskis should be built in Kuršėnai. In 1960, on July 21, the monument was ceremonially unveiled. The unveiling was attended by representatives of Kuršėnai district, writer Stasys Anglickis with his daughter Jolanta, and an orchestra played. The authors of the monument are sculptor Petras Povilas Aleksandravičius and architect Simas Ramunis.
2. The grave of L. Ivinskis. Laurynas Ivinskis (1810–1881) - 19th century. middle school educator, publisher, publicist, pedagogue, naturalist, collector of folklore, lexicographer, poet. Known as the publisher of the first Lithuanian calendar, he is therefore considered the pioneer of Lithuanian periodicals. After the death of L. Ivinskis, a modest monument was erected on his grave thanks to the funds collected by his friends and students. in 1980 in the published publication, which publishes almost 300 cultural monuments of union significance, the grave and monument of L. Ivinskis is also mentioned. The monument and the fence surrounding it are cast from cast iron. The inscription on the monument read: "D.P. Laurynas Ivinskis, the first author of the Lithuanian - Žemaitiszka calendar, was buried here." Born in 1811, died on 17th of 1881. The art of July." This inscription has survived to our days.
3. L. Ivinskis bas-relief and museum in the L. Ivinskis gymnasium. The museum not only collects the history of the school, organizes exhibitions, but also devotes a lot of space to L. Ivinskis. The former founder of the Museum of Calendars in Kuršėnai, teacher Sigita Lukienė, is a frequent guest of the gymnasium. At the gymnasium museum, the teacher met with the high school students several times, told about L. Ivinskis, participated in organizing the calligraphy competition, because L. Ivinskis was a teacher of calligraphy. Teacher S. Lukienė also donated to the high school museum a portrait of L. Ivinskis drawn by Rita Kuodienė, a technology teacher at Pavenčiai School - a multi-purpose center. In the museum, you can also see the portrait of L. Ivinskis painted by former high school student Dragūnas, the stone mosaic of the portrait of the calendar maker created by the master folk artist Stanislaus Kovėra, and look at students' works about L. Ivinskis. A bas-relief of M. Tamošaitis dedicated to immortalizing L. Ivinskis is also in the museum's funds from this autumn. In addition, museum visitors can get to know and read the Garbės Ivinskies book of the gymnasium, because since 1998 Honorary Ivinians are elected at the school - people (students, teachers, representatives of society) - most deserving of the school.
4. Kuršėnai St. John the Baptist Church. Laurynas Ivinskis often visited Kuršėnai St. John the Baptist Church to talk with the then pastor Antans Eidimts. They discussed the usefulness of publishing calendars, the necessity of Lithuanian education. However, he did not get along with the pastor, because the pastor did not support the national revival, he admired the Polish language and culture. The pastor's beliefs are characterized by a fact: during the year of the press ban, A. Eidimtas, while visiting a parishioner, saw the newspaper "Aušra", burned this publication in the churchyard and threatened that those who read "Aušra" would not be allowed to go to confession.
5. Exhibition of calendars in Kuršėnai manor.L. The calendars published and edited by Ivinskis are very important for the history of Lithuanian culture. In the hall of the Kuršėnai manor, a large archive of calendars of various formats donated by Lithuanian residents, accumulated over many years, is exhibited, which consists of calendars divided into thematic groups: Ancient, Art, Nature, Foreign, Religious, Pocket and other calendars. In total - about 8,400 units.
6. The wooden sculpture of L. Ivinskis in the Kuršėnai manor park. The author of the sculpture "Laurynas Ivinskis" is Egidijus Žilinskas. The sculpture was built in 2020 in the park of Kuršėnai Manor. You will find the words of L. Ivinskis on the information board next to the sculpture: "However, it is good when they remember you, mention you with a good word, respectfully call you a teacher, even though you are already You haven't learned anything in a long time. Maybe life was not lived in vain, God's commandments were followed in vain and simple human obligations - to help one's neighbor, not to talk about anything, to look after others first, and then yourself."
This is a free-form route where you can not follow the order of the objects, so travel in the way that is most convenient for you.
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