The Tailor’s House of Duke Oginskis

This house was built by Duke Mykolas Oginskis – one of many buildings that were built on Laisvės (Eng. Freedom) Alley by the Duke. Adolfas Daumantas (born in 1874), the tailor of the manor, and his family lived in this building, which was granted to him as a gift. He moved to the town from Rietavas, where he started to work and got married to Kotryna Steponavičiūtė.

The manor’s tailor went to the Oginskis Manor everyday to do his work. Daumantas, along with his other works, also tailored uniforms for the musicians of the Oginskis Manor, among whom was M. K. Čiurlionis, who, between 1889 and 1892, lived and studied in the Orchestral School of the Oginskis Manor.

Later, Daumantas’ offspring, who by then had their own families, also lived in the manor. The parents lived on one end of the building, while the children and their families lived on the other end. When the manor was nationalised, A. Daumantas, the owner at that time, established a store, where tailoring services were provided and which was open for business for a rather long time. Adolfas Maliauskas, the husband of Marija, who was the oldest daughter, was also a tailor, as was Daumantas’ son.

Back then, the house used to looked a bit different. The family lived on the first floor only, while the second floor was later transformed into rooms for people to rent. During Soviet rule, the house was nationalised and two other families were moved into the house to live with the present owners. Daumantas died in 1953 and is buried with his wife in the Old Plungė Cemetery.
Prepared in accordance with the memoirs of A. Daumantas’ daughter Loreta Zaborskienė.