Salomėja Nėris (real surname Bačinskaitė-Bučienė, 1904-1945) – Lithuania’s most outstanding lyric poet of the 20th century, literature classic with great talent and a complex life story. Her works were translated into more than thirty languages.

The Salomėja Nėris Memorial Museum was opened in Palemonas, S. Nėries g. 7, on 17 November 1962. The house was built in the years 1937-1938 based on the plans of the poet‘s husband – sculptor and architect Bernardas Bučas. It is a wooden, later on plastered two-storey building including a mansard and a brick-built annex for a sculpture workshop. The poet lived here with her family from 1937 to 1941. This museum is Maironis Lithuanian literature museum department.

In the spacious hall, which was previously used by Bernardas Bučas as his summer sculpture workshop, a literature exposition using information technologies was installed. It shows Salomėja Nėris’ life story and her creative journey, exhibiting photographs, manuscripts, books, and documents, excerpts from the poet‘s diaries, translations, and personal belongings.

The museum’s interior is restored to the status of the 1930s. In the four memorial rooms, not only Salomėja and Bernardas Bučas’ personal furniture is exhibited, but also pieces of furniture used in other Lithuanian intellectuals’ households during the interwar period. In the winter studio, works and photographs of Bernardas Bučas are on display. The guest room is fitted out with the family’s furniture and the poet’s memorial library. A narrow, wooden staircase leads to the second floor, where there is the poet’s study, and the original bedroom, with a quite unconventional room structure.

An educational class is offered in the cozy mansard, from which you can access a large outdoor terrace, connected by stairs to a balcony on the next lower floor. From the house’s four balconies, visitors can enjoy the splendid view over Salomėja and Bernardas Bučas’ well-tended garden, Lakštingalų Valley as well as the shoreline of Kaunas Reservoir.

The museum hosts various events: celebrations for Salomėja Nėris’ birthday, the women’s poetry and music afternoon, that has become a tradition, creative workshops, and other educational programs.