Pienionys manor

Pienioniai Manor, which started forming in the 15th century, has been mentioned in written sources since the beginning of the 16th century. Until the 17th century it was ruled by the famous families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Sapiega (Sapieha) and Pacas (Pacowie). In the 19th century, Siesickis (Siesicki) family built a new ornate residential manor building of Classicist style, an orangery was built and a landscape park was created.

The park was looked after for some time by a professional Czech gardener, František Leiner, who came to Pienioniai in around 1870. The park was home to many plants brought from various countries of the world. Behind the palace there was a fruit orchard with all the plants that could endure a rather harsh Lithuanian climate. The park was decorated with almost two hundred rare species and varieties of plants, trees, and decorative shrubs. The main road followed maple, poplar and chestnut alleys. In the former orangery in the centre of the park, there were apricots, grapes, laurel trees and tropical plants.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the manor indulged in luxury. The one-storey wooden manor house in Classicist style with an ornate two-storey central part was really exceptional, the portico of four Doric columns made it even more magnificent. The representative rooms were decorated with fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, parquet floors, high tile stoves with golden décor elements. The palace had expensive paintings, valuable pieces of silver and porcelain.

In 1926, after the land of the manor was parcelled out, the manor was sold to its former manager Juozas Šablevičius. The old wooden manor house was soon demolished.

The surviving Pienioniai Manor homestead of the 19th century consists of a barn, a smokehouse, a brewery, and a gate with lion sculptures. A brick two-storey oficina and a park have been preserved. The manor is now in the hands of caring private hosts.