Dainava Legends Park

In the village of Pupasodis, Alytus district, the creation of the "Dainava Legends" Park began more than half a century ago - a unique folk art space inspired by the work of the writer Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius and the mythology of the Dainava region. The park's sculptures were created by folk master Ipolitas Užkurnis, who immortalized the characters of "Dainava Legends" and other stories by the author. The wooden works were placed in the natural environment of a 7-hectare pine forest, so over time they became an important cultural and landscape part of the place.

As the park aged, some of the sculptures lost their original appearance – they deteriorated, some fell over. In order to preserve this cultural heritage, the process of their restoration was launched in 2024–2025. The sculptures were restored as part of the project “Building Cultural Bridges: Lithuanian-Polish Cooperation in the Fields of Woodcarving and Folk Art” (No. LTPL00248). The project is partly funded by the European Union under the Interreg VI-A Lithuanian-Polish Cross-Border Cooperation Programme .

2025. September 4–10. An international woodcarving plein air "Revival of Cultural Heritage" was held near the Kurnėnai Laurynas Radziukynas School. Four Lithuanian sculptors - Artūras Zienka, Mindaugas Jakučionis, Kęstutis Benedikas and Eugenijus Rimdžius - and four creators from Poland: Piotr Bogdaszwski, Edmund Szpanowski, Grzegorz Wajs and Mieczyslav Wojtkowski - participated in it. Educator Egidijus Impolis also worked at the plein air. During the week, they carved twelve oak sculptures:

1. "Bell"

2. "Sarunas"

3. "Margarita"

4. "Vaiva"

5. "Thunder"

6. "Straubls"

7. "Singer"

8. "Lapin"

9. "Grandma with Antanuka"

10. "Gilšė" (joint sculpture created by two artists)

11. "Gugis"

12. "Cookie"

These newly created sculptures were placed in the "Dainava Legend" park (Alytus district, Miroslavo sen., Pupasodių village, Parko st. 20A ), next to the surviving historical works of Ipolitas Užkurnys. The community chose to leave the original sculptures in their authentic places, and to raise and restore the fallen ones.

The renovation of the park is being carried out by the Pupasodis community, which voluntarily manages the environment: bushes have been cut down, cleaner paths have been installed, and a space has been opened for events and education.

Photo by Alytus District Municipality Administration.