History – Kamariškių dvaras

HISTORY OF THE KAMARIŠKĖS MANOR

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HISTORY

The Kamariškės Manor site was mentioned in historical documents in 1583 as the Palivark of the Suviekas Manor, belonging to Martynas Komorovskis and his wife Beata Kmitaitė, whose family fortune Mr. acquired as dowry after the wedding. It is likely that he was the creator of the Kamariškės Manor, giving the estate its name (Polish: Komoryszki).

In June 1634, the last will of Jurgis Komorovskis (son of Martynas) was registered in the court of the Ukmergė Castle, drawn up shortly before his death, in the Kamariškės Manor.

The estates of Suviekas, Kumpuoliai, Pamūšys, and Radiškiai, owned by Jurgis, were divided among family members: his wife Marijona Sapieginaitė and sons – Jonas, Samuelis, and Elijas Komorovskis, later known as brave warriors in battles against the Muscovites and Swedes.

In the second half of the 17th century, Suviekas and Kamariškės were inherited by Kotryna, the daughter of Jonas Komorovskis (~1600-1661) and Konstancija Judicka, who in 1684 married the Lithuanian grandee Paulius Zaranka-Horbovskis. Thus, through marriage, Suviekas and Kamariškės passed into the ownership of the Zaranka family for over a century.

In 1696, Kotryna Komorovska-Zarankienė mortgaged the Kamariškės Manor to the Infliantai steward, Mr. Gothard Ksaver Zyberk, for three years. At the same time, an inventory of the manor was made, mentioning the villages of Juodeniai, Samaniai, Ažušiliai, and Ulytėlė, which still exist to this day.

In the last decade of the 18th century, the vast Suvieko Manor of Mykolas Zaranka was divided during the expropriation court proceedings (the process was completed by 1801). At the beginning of the 19th century, Kamariškės came into the possession of the judge of Anykščiai, Antanas Kušelevskis. In the mid-19th century, Kamariškės were inherited by his son Liucijanas, later by his son Juozapas, who in 1858 sold Kamariškės with approximately 1125.31 hectares of land to Baron Lotar Reingold von Brinken (1827–1910), the owner of Schöder Manor (Kuršo g.) and his wife Irena von Engelhardt (1831–1906). It is likely that he was the builder of the Kamariškės Manor, which distinguished itself with features of historicism and neo-Gothic architecture. It is known that at that time the manor was rented out and managed by a tenant, while the owners lived in Riga. Their son Anatolijus (1864-1933) was born in the manor, so it seems that the owners occasionally visited the manor.

In 1882, Mr. Viktor Krauzė, who acquired the estate, had already depleted it by 1887, to the extent that he mortgaged Kamariškės to the Vilnius Land Bank. Detailed estate plans and inventories were drawn up.

In 1901, the Kamariškės Manor with over a thousand hectares of land was acquired by Baron Heinrich Wilhelm Berndt von Richter (1856 – 1936), originating from Mintauja, and his wife Matilda Augusta Dalvitz (1864-?). In the same year, their son Nikolajus was born, and in 1908, their daughter Viera.

The Richter period is associated with the prosperity of the manor – memories of contemporaries testify that Heinrich Wilhelm was a wealthy and generous man who paid his workers well, organized feasts (especially during Midsummer), and was not sparing in memorable gifts. He loved dogs and horses, and the manor was famous for the caramel candies „Karvutė” produced there.

In 1936, Baron Heinrich Wilhelm Berndt von Richter passed away and was buried near the manor, in the forest cemetery accessed by the alley. After the war, the cemetery was heavily damaged; crosses were broken off the monuments, but the tombstones of the baron and several of his relatives have survived to this day.

In 1940, after the Soviets occupied Lithuania, the Richter children, Nikolajus and Viera, who inherited Kamariškės, managed to escape to Germany, thus avoiding the initial wave of repression. During the war, they returned to Lithuania but in 1944, with the Soviet army advancing, they had no choice but to flee westwards. After the war, Nikolajus and his wife settled in Flensburg, Germany, while Viera and her husband settled in Sydney, Australia, where they ran a candy shop.

After the war, the manor site was looted and destroyed; a collective farm was established there, and newcomers settled in. Except for the walls of the buildings, there was nothing left in Kamariškės to remind anyone of the old times.

In 2019, the Kamariškės Manor site was acquired and revitalized by the team of the NGO „Innovator’s Valley,” known for its social innovations. Winning the project and receiving support from Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, with the assistance of sponsors, specialists, and volunteers, they managed to restore and make accessible the manor park, which had been abandoned for many years. They cleaned the ponds, areas around the main manor buildings, restored and protected the manor outbuildings.

In the manor garden, the Red Book-listed Niūriaspalvis Auksavabalis, Raudonpilvės kūmutės, and Skiauterėtieji tritonai were discovered, so a part of the manor garden intentionally left uncleaned, with fallen trees, thus preserving habitats of endangered species.

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