On June 4, the History House of the National Museum of Lithuania will open an international exhibition “Queen, Kingdom and Feelings”. It tells the story of two women of the XNUMXth century Lithuanian nobility – Barbora Radziwill and Catherine Jagiellon. Barbora became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, while Catherine became the Queen of Sweden. For the first time in Lithuania, authentic exhibits related to the lives of queens from Hungary, Sweden and Poland will be exhibited at the History House. The exhibition is under the patronage of the President Dalia Grybauskaite.
The stories of these two women are revealed through personal experiences, political decisions and cultural heritage, and the exhibition concept encompasses not only a historical narrative, but also a contemporary art and design look at historical figures, female identity, leadership and the emotional world. Ultimately, it is a way to reveal the important place of women in the flow of history.
"For many centuries, history was written by men's hands and seen through men's eyes. This created the illusion that the course of the world was shaped only by men - they created politics, art, and determined destinies. Barbora and Catherine are not just historical figures, but living testimonies that women have always participated in history: they created, felt, took risks, suffered, and changed the world - even if their names were not written on the first pages," says Julija Janus, the author of the exhibition concept and one of the curators.
Collaboration with Uppsala Castle Art Museum
As emphasized by Dr. Rūta Kačkutė, Director General of the National Museum of Lithuania, this exhibition is significant not only in terms of content and international cooperation, but also as an invitation to the widest possible public to learn about history as a personal experience.
"The exhibition "Queen, Kingdom and Feelings" reveals the fates of two exceptional women, giving meaning to the history of the existence and survival of our entire state. This exhibition is also an expression of the museum's aspiration to create a lively, relevant connection with the visitor - inviting not only to watch and learn, but also to feel the period of the queens' lives and their inner world."
Many people know the story of Barbora Radziwill, so the exhibition also examines the myths about her, but the personality of Catherine Jagiellonian has not yet been established in our historical consciousness. The creative team of the exhibition, combining history, art and design, raises the question of what place these two queens have left in our consciousness and the historical memory of the nation.
I am particularly pleased that the exhibition will also be presented at the Uppsala Castle Art Museum in Sweden – it is a symbolic tribute to the memory of Catherine Jagiellonian and a meaningful sign of cultural cooperation, paving the way for Lithuanian history to enter broader international arenas. waters", says the museum director.
According to the museum's general director, this exhibition is intended for everyone - both history lovers, art and design enthusiasts, and young people who want to learn more about the life story of queens. It is an invitation to get to know Lithuania through strong personalities, their experiences and legends that raise us.
The human inner world remains fragile and complex.
This exhibition is the first synthesis of history, art and design of this scale in Lithuania, in which authentic 16th century artifacts from Hungarian, Polish and Swedish museums are presented alongside contemporary artworks and design elements.
The axis of the exhibition is the life stories of Queens Barbora Radziwill and Catherine Jagiellon, which also open up broader questions about the role of women in the state, the influence of dynasties, geopolitical challenges, diplomacy, and traces of personal tragedies in art.
"The exhibition's narrative unfolds like a journey - from a safe, intimate environment to a public space where a woman encounters societal expectations. Inner experiences become part of historical events," says the exhibition's curator, historian Dr. Milda Kvizikevičiūtė.
According to the curator, the exhibition aims to present history in a way that is relevant to modern people. "We want to inspire visitors to look at history as a living, relevant phenomenon, in which feelings, values, and personal decisions are as important as political events. The exhibition's mission is to encourage interest in the past through the prism of human experience, to develop sensitivity to historical heritage, and to understand that even at first glance, the stories of eras that seem distant can help us better understand the modern world," the historian shares.
The curator of the exhibition, art historian Dr. Vaida Ragėnaitė emphasizes the connections between the ancient and modern worlds. “Technologies change our everyday lives, but the inner world of a person remains as fragile and complex as it was 500 years ago. As before, a person experiences youth, maturity, searches for meaning, and faces losses. These universal experiences bring us closer to the heroines of the past, allowing us to feel their stories not as a distant past, but as a living, close experience,” says Dr. Vaida Ragėnaitė.
Audio narration, exceptional historical exhibits, design touches
Visitors to the exhibition will be accompanied by an audio narration (composer Matas Samulionis), conveying the historical atmosphere through the voices of the exhibition's heroes or people from their environment and the sounds of that era.
Visitors will see unique 16th century artifacts here, which are being presented in Lithuania for the first time. An exceptional exhibit is the painting of the Battle of Orsha, which belongs to the Radziwill family collection and is kept in the National Museum in Warsaw. It immortalizes Barbora Radziwill's father, Jurgis Radziwill, one of the most prominent military figures of that time, known as the Victorious. The painting testifies not only to the historical victory, but also to the Radziwills' efforts to form collective memory.
No less impressive are the jewelry and cutlery attributed to Isabella Jogaila, Catherine's sister, brought from the Hungarian National Museum. The objects of Italian craftsmanship, inlaid with precious stones and crystal, reveal the aesthetic taste, ambitions and cultural sophistication of the Jagiellonian family. They are eloquent witnesses, allowing us to imagine what women's lives were like in Renaissance Europe - between diplomacy, family duties and the search for personal identity.
The exhibition will also feature one of Barbora Radvilaitė's posthumous insignia, recently discovered in the crypts of Vilnius Cathedral – a scepter, which is on loan to the National Museum of Lithuania by the Museum of Ecclesiastical Heritage.
The wedding crown of Catherine the Great, a replica made in the 17th century, is also being brought to Vilnius from Sweden for the first time. The crown with the images of Catherine the Great and John III Vasa will also be on display at the exhibition.
In addition to museum exhibits, visitors will also see works by famous Lithuanian artists and designers – Juozas Statkevičius, Jolanta Talaikytė, Agnė Kuzmickaitė, Julija Janus – who interpret the history of queens and the myths surrounding them in modern forms.
The exhibition "Queen, Kingdom and Feelings" is an opportunity to step into the world of two extraordinary women, to feel their inner strength up close and understand how personal choices change eras. It is an extraordinary synergy of history and modernity, an invitation to everyone – regardless of age, education or experience – to rediscover the history of Lithuania as a living, sensitive and shaping story.
The exhibition “Queen, Kingdom and Feelings” opens on June 4 at the History House of the National Museum of Lithuania. The exhibition will be open to visitors until January 2026, 4. The curators of the exhibition are artist, site development specialist Julija Janus, historian of the National Museum of Lithuania Dr. Milda Kvizikevičiūtė, art historian Dr. Vaida Ragėnaitė. The exhibition architecture was designed by architect Sigita Simona Paplauskaitė, and the visual identity was designed by Rokas Sutkaitis. The souvenir design was created by the cultural startup “Secret Love”.
