Amber Museum and Gallery, Vilnius

The Amber Museum-Gallery is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the history and beauty of Baltic amber. The museum is housed in a beautiful baroque-style building from the 17th century that also incorporates elements of renaissance, classicism, and Gothic architecture.

Visitors to the museum will have the opportunity to learn about the origins of Baltic amber, which is approximately 50 million years old, as well as the differences in form, size, and color of this fascinating material. The museum boasts the largest amber piece, weighing 3 kilograms, and displays a unique collection of inclusions such as a shell in amber, a mosquito that sucked blood, and a leg of a grasshopper. It is surprising to learn that amber can come in various colors such as white, black, green, red, varicolored, and even blue!

A highlight of the museum is the reconstructed Treasure of Juodkrantė, which is the largest archaeological amber collection in the world. This collection includes raw amber and 434 amber artifacts of various shapes that were collected between 1860-1881 when digging for amber beside Juodkrantė in Curonian Spit. The items are described in detail in the book “Amber jewelry of Stone Age” by Richard Klebs.

The museum also houses a valuable archaeological finding in its cellar: kilns that date back to the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, which are the best-preserved kilns in Eastern Europe. The restored dishes and tiles that were baked in these kilns are exhibited here, and visitors can walk on a fragment of stone pavement that was walked on by townspeople 500 years ago. The descent from the upper gallery hall to the cellar has been transformed by archaeologist Gediminas Gendrėnas into a fantastic journey to the depths of centuries. As visitors go down the stairs, they go from the 21st century to the surroundings of the 17th century. Going down further to the cellar, visitors can see the cultural layer of the 14th-15th centuries, the land walked on by the first citizens of Vilnius.

In the Amber gallery, visitors can see modern artists’ jewelry made from Baltic amber and even purchase amber articles made by famous jewelers. Every purchased item is provided with a certificate that attests to the high quality and authenticity of the Baltic amber used in the piece.