8 June 2026

Model of the Palanga Summer Reading Room

The exhibition of the model of the Palanga Summer Reading Room is moving to the Palanga Summer Reading Room itself!  

The model of the Palanga Summer Reading Room, which opened its doors in 1966, is an architectural gem that has even impressed Venice. Designed in 1966 by architect Albinas Čepys, the reading room is a true masterpiece of organic modernism. The building, whose roof is pierced by an oak tree growing inside, as if by a Baltic Sea wave, has remained almost unchanged to this day. Its uniqueness was officially recognized in 2014 when it was granted heritage status, and in 2025, the whole world marvelled at it at the Venice Architecture Biennale, where the reading room was presented by the Lithuanian Union of Architects as one of the most striking examples of Baltic coastal modernism alongside other Lithuanian architectural monuments in the project “Archi / Tree / tecture.” 

Today, the reading room is just as vibrant as it was half a century ago. Here, literature and community come together: cultural programs of national significance, reading promotion initiatives, events supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, meetings with authors, exhibitions, concerts, and creative education take place. It is a space where historical tranquillity blends with the pace of contemporary cultural life.  

The Palanga Summer Reading Room of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania will mark its 60th season this June. It is not just a building—it is a living symbol of the resort town, having sheltered entire generations of readers under its undulating roof.  

We would like to thank the Lithuanian Union of Architects and its chairman, Gintaras Balčyčius, for lending us the model of the Palanga Summer Reading Room, which was presented in Venice.  

The model is on display during the reading room’s hours of operation from June 9 to September 8.