WORTH VISITING:
In the old stories of daily life in Lithuania inns exist as an inseparable part of this narrative, and they are most commonly associated with their hosts – Jews. However, not so many of those inns from the old folktales standing next to the main roads persisted to this day – thus visiting the inn of Alanta dating back to the 18th century is a unique place to visit in order to re-imagine and re-think those long ago heard stories about inn-keepers and their guests.
HISTORICAL GLANCE:
One of the oldest buildings in Alanta town is the inn of Alanta, which dates back to the first half of the 18th century; it was both an inn and a guest house for the fellow travelers. Mural building of Alanta inn was divided into few rooms of different purpose: living rooms, wheeled, hallway and the main hall of the inn. Once in it`s long history it has belonged to the Jewish man named Mentkė. Jews have settled in Alanta only in the second half of the 19th century, when the town was granted the right to have markets, and that was when the maintenance of the inn has been entrusted to Mentkė. The inn has been built at the crossroad and also next to the Alanta market square, so it became an object of attraction both to the locals and to the passers-by.
THE CURRENT SITUATION:
The interior plan and facades of this building survived the Second World War, but were essentially changed during the Soviet times. Currently the building of previous inn is being used only partially – although there is a small grocery store operating in the premises, the vast majority of the building stays empty. This situation is caused by both current demographics and economical state of the town.
LOOKING AROUND:
The synagogue of Alanta (Ukmergės str. 3a), 55.349459, 25.292904
