There is an old legend that somewhere in the walls of Lentvaris Manor, eggs still lie hidden… to this day.
At first glance, it sounds almost absurd. Why would a count, building one of Lithuania's most impressive palaces, have ordinary eggs bricked into the wall?
For centuries, Europe believed a grand building could not stand on stone alone. For a castle, monastery, or palace to endure and protect its owners from misfortune, an offering had to be placed in its foundations. Sometimes it was coins or precious objects. But the oldest legends also speak of far darker customs — that in the foundations of some castles and fortresses, even infants were said to have been walled in. Such a sacrifice was believed to grant the building strength and longevity.
Centuries later, Count Władysław Tyszkiewicz set out to rebuild the palace of Lentvaris Manor. The old foundations had survived, but according to legend, the count too decided to leave a symbolic gift for the future. Only his choice was entirely different.
Instead of death, he chose life.
The people whose choice became a legend
The legend tells that eggs were bricked into the palace wall — a symbol of resurrection, rebirth, and new life. It was, in a way, a quiet wish for the palace to endure and to survive for future generations.
Do those eggs still lie hidden somewhere in the masonry of Lentvaris Manor? That, most likely, we will never know.
But this legend has survived. And it is just one of the many stories that Lentvaris Manor has gathered over more than a century.
If you'd like to hear more such stories where they were born, we invite you this weekend to a tour of Lentvaris Manor.
