Construction of Jewish museum Lost Shtetl starts in Lithuania

The Lost Shtetl museum is set to open in the summer of 2020, the Šeduva Jewish Memorial Fund said. The Lost Shtetl museum “will tell the story of the life of what was once the largest European Litvak Jewish population living in shtetls”

According to the fund, lifestyle, customs, religion and the social, professional and family life of the Jews of Šeduva will serve as the centerpiece of the museum exhibition. Museum visitors will be taught the tragedy of Šeduva’s Jewish history, which ended in three pits near the shtetl in the early days of World War II.

The museum will cover an area of 2,700 square meters.

Finnish company Lahdelma & Mahlamaki Architects is designing the architecture of the Lost Shtetl Museum. The Finnish firm’s partner in Lithuania is Studija2A, established in 1994 and directed by Vilnius Art Academy dean of architect Jonas Audėjaitis.

And New York-based Ralph Applebaum Associates is responsible for the interior design. Their portfolio includes more than 700 memorials and museums, among them the Washington, D. C., US Holocaust Museum.

The museum will be built by Agentus, and Swiss-based ECAS AG is in charge of overseeing construction.

Litvaks are Lithuanian Jews with roots going back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their descendents live in the whole world.