Plungė Manor
Plungė Manor is a former Ogiński residential manor in Plungė. Oginski was a Lithuanian diplomat, and polish composer. It now harbors the Samogitian (Žemaitija in Lithuanian) art museum.
The Plungė manor has been mentioned since 1565. The main mansion was ordered to be built by the Ogińskiai family in 1879, in a Neo-gothic style. (Architect K. Lorencas) This was their residential home. Through the years 1873-1902 the Ogińskiai mansion had a music school.
The famous Plungė park was established at around the middle of the eighteenth century. The area of the park is about 143 acres. (apx. 0.6 km2
In the borders of the manor park, grows a huge oak, called the oak of the Thunder God, or Perkūnas in Lithuanian, from ancient pagan beliefs. Legend tells that priestess Galinda stoked a sacred fire near this oak. One day her lover went forth to war against the Crusaders to defend his homeland nation. Sadly, he never returned. The chief priest, seeing Galinda’s tears and heartache, began to teach her that only a sacred fire can quench her earthly pain. Once, when Galinda was weeping under the oak, a thunder struck the tree. Oak shook greatly, some soil has poured into its trunk – and soon the flower of incredible beauty has sprouted out of the trunk of the oak. Since then people started to call it on behalf of Thunder God. Some believe that the huge oak that grows in the park is the same one from the legend. It was declared a National Monument.
Coordinates: 55°55′10″N 21°50′39″E / 55.91944°N 21.84417°E
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