Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture (Lithuanian: Balzeko lietuvių kultūros muziejus) is a museum in Chicago, United States. It is located on Pulaski Rd. in the city's West Lawn neighborhood, not far from Midway International Airport. Founded in 1966 by the Lithuanian-American businessman Stanley Balzekas, Jr.,^[1] it is dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of Lithuanian culture. It is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the subjects of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language, history, culture and politics, and to the Lithuanian-American experience.

Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

Sign, 2009
Established	1966
Location	6500 S. Pulaski Rd. Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°46′32″N 87°43′22″W
Type	Ethnic museum
Website	www.balzekasmuseum.org

The museum hosts events, programs, and workshops, such as traditional Lithuanian Užgavėnės mask making, vėlykaičiai or margučiai Easter egg decorating, and straw Christmas ornament making. It is a popular destination for tourists and schools.

The museum works cooperatively with other cultural, arts and educational organizations, fraternal orders, religious organizations and governmental institutions. Its bulletin, the Lithuanian Museum Review, is published quarterly.^[2]

Chicago's Lithuanian community has more Lithuanians and people of Lithuanian descent than anywhere in the world outside of Lithuania itself.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Earley, Neal (2020-06-23). "Stanley Balzekas Jr., 95: war hero, founder of Lithuanian cultural museum, 'enriched Chicago's culture and history'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
2. "Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture - Genealogy Department". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2014-02-17.

External links

• The official web site of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine