Description of the attraction
A narrow gauge railway appeared in Anykščiai at the end of the 19th century. Today it is the only unique technical monument in Lithuania, affectionately called "narrow gauge railway", existing for the entertainment of tourists and acquaintance with the history of the railway. The Anyksciai - Rubikiai section of the road attracts with an amazing journey along a narrow-gauge railway or motorized railroad to the wonderful Rubikiai Lake. This trip is suitable for families and for everyone who is tired of the hustle and bustle of the city.
The narrow-gauge railway line Pastovis - Švenčioneliai - Utena - Panevezys was built by the tsarist authorities at the end of the 19th century. She served to transport timber from widely deforested forests and to move passengers. After the Great Patriotic War, when buses did not run, it served as the main means of communication. Local residents took a narrow-gauge train to the town of Svencioneliai to get from there to the Lithuanian capital. Those who were exiled to Siberia were also taken away on the narrow-gauge railway to the first station of the broad-gauge railway. For many of them, this trip was the last, forever separated from their home.
Currently, the narrow-gauge track has become much shorter, and the rails of the narrow-gauge route do not rust only on the Panevezys - Anyksciai - Rubikiai section. The journey from Anyksciai to Rubikiai and back will take about 2 hours, but you will not get bored at all. A narrow gauge train will take you over the iron bridge, erected in 1936. It offers a picturesque view of the banks of the Anikshta River, overgrown with trees and bushes, and the Sventoji River. You will see the church built in 1873, drive past the old Anykščiai manor, which was mentioned in the 15th century. Admiring the wonderful banks of the Anikshta river, you will pass by Mount Kalita, on which, according to the writer A. Veniuolis, the estate of the nobleman Nikshtis was once located ("Anyksciai legends").
In winter, there is a ski lift that takes skiers to the mountain peak. At the Zhazhumbris oak, with a volume of 5, 4 meters and an age of about 300 years, all kinds of entertainment await you. For an additional fee, theatrical raids on the train, lunch by the fire, and a concert of the village chapel are arranged for tourists. On holidays, you can order the only narrow-gauge railway dining carriages in Lithuania. During the trip, anikščiai wine tasting is organized.
You will not forget a fun and full of impressions ride on a motorized railroad car with open trailers. And, of course, you will be amazed by the wonderful decoration of the region - Lake Rubikiai with its 16 islands. 10 recreation sites have been created around the lake. Here you can swim, ride boats, pedal boats, go fishing, and you can spend the night in the farmsteads of rural tourism.
The narrow gauge railway is part of the Anikščiai Narrow Gauge Museum, founded in 1999. It is located at the Anyksciai railway station. The museum materials tell about the history of the narrow-gauge railway in Lithuania.
The museum exhibits rolling stock: a covered freight car, a tank car, a platform, a diesel locomotive, a covered car (glacier). A special exhibit of the railway station is the steam locomotive Kch 4-107, called "Kukushka". It welcomes tourists on the platform of the Anykshchaya railway station, paved with cobblestones as a historical monument of a narrow-gauge railway.
The collection of the museum also includes tools, tools for road care, photographs, station inventory, uniform signs, seals of railway workers, signaling equipment that were collected by museum experts during expeditions on different sections of the railway. The pre-war telephone is the oldest exhibit in the museum. He was a switchboard for 10 lines for the internal service of the railway station. Here you can also see benches from different times. And on the benches of the pre-war period there are inscriptions "Lithuanian Railway".
