The Mažučiai Japanese Garden is the largest Japanese garden in Europe — an extraordinary 16-hectare landscape of cherry trees, koi ponds, stone lanterns, traditional Japanese bridges, and meticulously raked gravel gardens in the countryside of western Lithuania that is the life’s work of the Lithuanian landscape architect Šarūnas Kasmauskas. This improbable slice of Japan in the Baltic countryside is a stunning labour of love, created over 25 years with the guidance of Japanese garden masters, and is now recognised as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan.
Quick Facts: Mažučiai Japanese Garden
- Best time to visit: Late April–early May for the cherry blossom (sakura) season — the most magical time; summer for the full lushness of the garden; autumn for the maple colours
- How to get there: ~1.5 hours from Klaipėda by car; ~3 hours from Vilnius; the garden is near the village of Mažučiai, Kretinga district
- Entry fee: ~€10–15 (adult); guided tours are available
Mažučiai (Madzuchai) is a village in Lithuania, lying in the district Kretinga, 3 km west of Darbėnai. However the village has only 23 inhabitants it is world-wide known for the largest Japanese garden in Europe.
The creation of this Japanese garden started in 2007 by Šarūnas Kasmauskas in collaboration with the architects of Japanese gardens from Japan (e.g. Hadžime Watanabe, Hiroshi Cunoda…) and is still in progress. The works slowed down considerably sudden economic crisis in 2009. The largest Japanese garden in Europe (16 ha) will be called the Valley of singing stones (Lithuanian Dainuojančių akmenų slėnis). It is located on a hill musicians (Lithuanian Musicians kalnas), the highest hill in the area (its altitude is 32.4 m above sea level). During the establishment of a pond on the hill, a total of 24 springs have been revealed.
The project has no official sponsors yet, nor by the European Union, nor by the Lithuanian State. All funding is coming from the owner – S. Kasmauskas, his family and from charitable donations.
Japanese gardens are one of the important aesthetic elements of Japanese culture. Impress even those that are not closer interested in the culture of this country. The rules of their creation have been developed almost a thousand years. Although the western style gardens are very different, they attract anyone who has a sense of beauty.
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Have you experienced the cherry blossoms at Mažučiai or discovered Lithuania’s Japanese garden? Share your Baltic-zen discoveries in the comments! 🌸
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