Panevėžys is the fifth largest city in Lithuania.

Culture

The Museum of Ethnography has accumulated a lot of artifacts of historical and cultural heritage. The Art Gallery organizes about 20 different exhibitions every year as well as music and literature evenings, lectures and discussions about culture and art research. The Photography Gallery arranges 30 exhibitions of photography every year. 10 photo artists had personal exhibitions abroad and won international awards. The Public Library has 8 branches.
For the last 10 years Panevėžys has been organizing International Ceramics Symposia. The unique collection of ceramics is the biggest in the Baltic countries and is renewed each year. The Chamber orchestra, Women's Choir "Golden Oriole", ensemble "Muzika" are well-known for various music projects not only in Lithuania but also abroad. The Brass Orchestra "Panevėžio Garsas" (English: Panevėžys Sound) plays not only for Lithuanian audience but also for people in the Baltic countries, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The Orchestra won the Grand Prize in a festival in France in 1997.
The city is a home to many theatres. Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre is famous in Lithuania and Europe. Juozas Miltinis has brought up a number of actors. One of them is Donatas Banionis who is known internationally. Theatre "Menas" (English: art) was established in 1991. The city boasts of Puppet Wagon Theatre which is the only in Europe. Antanas Markuckis, the director of the Theatre was awarded International Prize of Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen in 2003. Every two years the theater organizes the International Theatre Festival "Lagaminas"