Labūnava Manor Tower

Labūnava was first mentioned in the chronicles of the Teutonic Knights in 1364. Labūnava manor has been known since the 16th century. In the 19th century the manor belonged to the Zabiełło family. Since ancient times, towers with masonry walls 1 m thick and 6 m high stood on the manor grounds. Inside were rooms on three floors. Only two of the brick towers of Labūnava manor have survived. The lonely tower scarred by bullets recalls a massacre: on 25 December 1946, 11 people died here in a bloody battle – partisans, their liaisons and members of the families living in the tower. On the evening of 24 December 1946, five partisans, their liaisons and relatives came to celebrate Christmas with the Derbutas and Šimkūnas families who lived here. In the morning the tower was surrounded. Although the shooting went on for five hours, all the partisans (except the traitors), their relatives and the men living in the tower were killed.