Villa Anapilis

Villa Anapilis was built in 1898. It is a unique villa, unparalleled not only in Palanga but also in the resort architecture of the whole of Lithuania.
At the beginning of its existence, the Anapilis villa belonged to Countess Sofija Tiškevičienė, mother of the last Count of Palanga, Feliksas Tiškevičius. For a long time, the villa was named after her.
A legend among the residents of Palanga tells of the villa owner Sofija Tiškevičienė’s hobby of summoning spirits. It is said that the countess had a secret “mirror” room above the attic, where the spirits she summoned could not escape and return to their world. It is also said that the ghosts of Sofija herself and her hanged maids would appear in the villa. Local residents would avoid the villa because of the sounds of wind chimes coming from inside. It is said that Countess Sofija Tiškevičienė was in poor health and, as soon as she felt unwell, she would go and listen to the sounds of the wind organ, which helped her to calm down.
After the First World War, the villa was sold to the Lithuanian Agricultural Bank. In the interwar period, the villa was famous for its bohemian atmosphere and was a place of rest for Lithuanian President Aleksandras Stulginskis and his wife, as well as well-known figures from Lithuanian culture, art, science, and politics (poet Maironis, priest Juozas Vailokaitis, singer Kipras Petrauskas, and others).
During World War II, the building was nationalized, residential premises were set up in it, and later the Jūratės sanatorium club was established in the villa. After Lithuania regained its independence, the building was transferred to the Palanga Cultural Center (1996). In the first years of Anapilis’ revival, it was home to the most famous music club on the Lithuanian coast. In 1992, the building was included in the Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania.