Undeterred by the rainy Saturday weather, Anykščiai residents and city guests set off on the "Legendary Drinking Places of Anykščiai" route to learn about the culture of beverage production and consumption in Anykščiai. The library, aiming not only to update the heritage preserved in the library, but also to attract Anykščiai residents who visit the library less often, created a route leading through the most famous drinking places of the interwar period and the last decade of the 20th century.
Starting from Balis Karazija's Anykščiai fruit wine workshop, the excursion participants traveled to the once-operating Jewish Feldmans hotel-restaurant, the pub-brewery "Nykštys", the Karazija factory located by the Šaltupis stream, the pub "Stačiamalkis", the B. Iciks beer bulk warehouse, the A. Vienuolis-Žukauskas pharmacy, then stopped at the restaurant "Puntukas", and ended the excursion near the café above the river, where the most diligent were offered to walk along the river to the place where the Anykščiai rest house "Šilelis" once operated and taste the healing water of the spring of the same name.
During the tour, the participants were accompanied by library employee Greta Tubelytė-Biliūnienė, who shared not only historical facts, but also funny life stories. The travelers learned that Balys Karazija was not only a great businessman, but also a marketing specialist, and his wines won laurels at prestigious French wine exhibitions. Greta also revealed a legend circulating among the townspeople about the Šaltupis stream stained with red wine and Russian blood, and told about the merchants and animals flooding the square on market day. The stories of „Stačiamalkis“ and „Bangelė“ made the visitors of the route laugh, and perhaps the most interesting thing was the healing water of the SPA well that now operates on the site of the Anykščiai rest house „Šilelis“.
These are just a few of the stories heard by the participants of the excursion "Legendary Anykščiai Drinking Fountain". We invite you to travel this route and learn about the history of the Anykščiai region. Route you will find here and in the second issue of the magazine "Kultūros kurortas". Want to go on a tour with a library employee? Let's get in touch!
