Karaite Ethnographic Museum

Lithuania


Displaying traditional dress, arresting photographs and items from daily life, this small ethnographic museum traces the ancestry of the Karaites, a Judaic sect and Turkic minority originating in Baghdad, which adheres to the Law of Moses.

Around the year 1400, Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas brought 383 Karaite families from the Crimea to Trakai, installing them as castle guards. They later took on occupations including horse breeding, handicrafts and agriculture. Only about 60 Karaite people still live in Trakai and their numbers – fewer than 280 throughout Lithuania – are dwindling rapidly.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lithuania attractions

1. Kenessa

0.04 MILES

This well-maintained wooden prayer house, with its interior dome, is a rare surviving example of Karaite architecture. Arrange a visit at the Karaite…

3. Sacred Art Exhibition

0.17 MILES

This small exhibition space, housed in a former Dominican chapel, displays a range of religious and sacral objects, including altarpieces, crosses,…

4. Peninsula Castle

0.22 MILES

The peaceful ruins of the Peninsula Castle, built from 1362 to 1382 by the medieval Duke Kęstutis and destroyed in the 17th century, are around 700m south…

6. Trakai Castle

0.33 MILES

Stepping across the wooden walkway to Trakai's Gothic castle is like tripping into a fairy tale. The castle is estimated to date from around 1400, when…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "lithuania/trakai/attractions/karaite-ethnographic-museum/a/poi-sig/1086382/360116",
      "destination": "Lithuania",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Lithuania",
      "position": "superzone"
    }