The leather king's house: the Chaim Frenkel Villa in Šiauliai

In 1908 a Šiauliai leather industrialist built a villa right beside his factory — so he could watch his empire at work from the windows. Today it is one of Lithuania's finest art nouveau buildings.

Chaim Frenkel came to Šiauliai at the end of the 19th century and within a few decades turned the city into a centre of the leather industry: his factory grew into one of the largest leather enterprises in the entire Russian Empire. The Jewish businessman's success story became the city's success story — Šiauliai grew together with the factory.

The villa

Frenkel built his residence in 1908 — an elegant art nouveau villa with flowing lines, floral ornament and a spacious hall for receptions. It stood not in a park but right by the factory: work and home were one universe here.

The 20th century spared the building no turns of fate: after the First World War the Frenkel family left, and for long decades the villa housed a military hospital. It returned to the cultural map only in the early 21st century, when, after restoration, the expositions of the Šiauliai Aušros Museum moved in.

What drew us to this place

The Frenkel Villa is a rare surviving example in Lithuania of an industrialist's residence in which a whole era can be read: the Jewish community's role in the growth of cities, art nouveau aesthetics, and then the ruptures of the 20th century. The museum's expositions tell the stories of the villa, of the Šiauliai Jewish community, and of manor culture.

Where to see it

Chaim Frenkel Villa — Vilniaus g. 74, Šiauliai. It is a branch of the Šiauliai Aušros Museum.

On the last Sunday of every month the permanent exposition is free.

Where to see it in person: Chaim Frenkel Villa-Museum · Šiauliai