In short

The first Lithuanian Toy Museum, located in Vilnius’ old town, not far from Cathedral, in B. Radvilaitė st. 7/2, is divided into an archaeological space, containing the oldest toys, the ethnographical space, showcasing 19th-20th century toys, while the third space is introducing toys of today. The collection contains both original and copies. The copies especially deserve a special attention as in the exhibition they will allow to carry out the principle idea of the museum which is to touch–take–learn about the exhibits.

Brief History

The Toy Museum is the first family-oriented educational centre in Lithuania dedicated to the heritage of toys and games.

The Toy Museum exhibit space amounts to 150 sq. m. The museum is visited by over 18,000 visitors per year. The museum has three thematic exhibitions: “The Oldest Lithuanian Toys”, “Journey to the Stone Age” and “Memories of the 20th Century”.

The public enterprise Toy Museum was established on March 8, 2010 by archaeologist Povilas Blaževičius and his wife Indrė Jovaišaitė-Blaževičienė. The basis of the initiative was Blaževičius' dissertation "Toys and Games in Lithuania in the 13th-17th Centuries Based on Archaeological Data". With the approval of the Vilnius City Council, the museum was opened to the public on December 7, 2012.

The building, which houses the museum, was built around the end of the 17th century, and in the 18th century, it housed the residential buildings and outbuildings of canon Antonovich, as well as a brewery. In 1785, they were bought by canon Rodkevičius, and his family owned the building for about 150 years.