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Cross-crafting Roads in Lithuania

The project involved the collection of material for a digital map of Lithuanian cross-crafting roads. In June-October 2020, the project’s creative team carried out 10 expeditions in Žemaitija, Aukštaitija, Dzūkija and Suvalkija ethnographic regions. During these expeditions, photographs were taken of cross-crafting objects and folk artists and their workshops. On the basis of the collected material, short texts about the objects and the cross-crafters were prepared.

Results: A two-part digital map Lithuanian Cross-crafting Roads was produced https://kryzdirbysteskelias.lt/

The map currently contains over 100 entries, with objects marked in Alytus, Kaunas, Marijampolė, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Telšiai, Utena and Vilnius districts. Each object and cross-maker is presented with short text and photographs.The first part of the map highlights significant sites of Lithuanian cross-crafting, where monuments of historical, social, cultural or artistic value are located. The map covers only a small part of the total number of cross-crafting monuments and their clusters in Lithuania, and should therefore be expanded in the future.

The second map presents craftsmen – cross-crafters, god-makers and blacksmiths and their workshops, which can be visited by appointment. The map includes 35 craftsmen. They are today the main promoters of the cross-crafting tradition, which is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and are responsible for continuity of this tradition, with a great deal of knowledge and skills, which is why this map is also a database of today’s cross-crafters. Expectantly, in the future more craftsmen will join this database.