Places to visit

Monument to B. Joselevičius

In the 18th century, Kretinga made a gift of an exceptional personality, i.e. military commander, a participant of T. Kosciuška uprising, a soldier of the Napoleon army and the Lithuania-Poland freedom fighter Berekas Joselavičius. B. Joselevičius who was born in Kretinga ghetto, in the merchant's family rapidly developed, i.e. when he became a trustee of Vilnius bishop I. J. Masalskis, he visited big cities of Europe, learned the French and German languages and understood the importance of freedom. Having joined the rebels of T. Kosciuška, he formed the Jewish military unit, i.e. the first such unit in the modern history. B. Joselevičius is so honoured in the military history that about 30 streets are named after him in Poland, his marches are shown in art, described in literature. In Kretinga, respect to this person is shown by a monument, i.e. the work of the architect V. Mazurkevičius and the sculptor G. Jonkus reminds that B. Joselevičius was born in Kretinga but became famous in the whole world and reflects the desire for freedom of the Jewish, Lithuanian, Polish and French people.