Founded in the mid-19th century, the Zypliai Manor ensemble consists of 11 surviving buildings surrounded by one of the largest parks in Lithuania, with avenues of balsam poplars and hornbeams; a special cultural space for educational, research and learning activities is being created here... The manor was founded by Jonas Bartkovskis, a landowner from Polotsk Governorate. He is said to have made a good profit from the timber trade and to have been quite generous. Later the estate was taken over by the landowner Tomas Potockis. Over time the manor was rebuilt until it finally acquired neo-Baroque features. The Zypliai Manor ensemble itself consists of a group of buildings: the palace, two outbuildings, a kitchen, a cowshed, a stable, a barn, a granary, a carriage house, farmhands' quarters and a kennel. Today the manor is one of the most visited sites in Šakiai District. It constantly hosts project presentations, conferences, gatherings and celebrations, and at weekends village theatre groups perform. The former manor stables house the Zypliai Manor Gallery, which permanently displays many works of art: paintings, handicrafts, wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, blacksmith's work, glasswork, impressive straw mobiles and masks. One of the manor's farm buildings houses a smithy, another a ceramics workshop. The central palace was restored in 2012. The former carriage house is home to the Zanavykai Museum. The Zypliai Manor band rehearses at the manor, playing not only folk but also country music. The park surrounding the manor buildings covers 21 ha. At first, in the mid-19th century, only native trees grew here. Later Count T. Potockis dug two ponds, planted exotic trees and shrubs, and built an orangery, gazebos and aviaries for pheasants. In the parterre in front of the palace there was a fountain, and bridges spanned the canals. Today the park has many trees of valuable species: sycamore and silver maples, English and red oaks, white and balsam poplars, European and Sukachev's larches, black pines, silver firs, silver and downy birches, wych elms and cork spindle trees. The pride of the park is a paper birch with a diameter of 75 cm. Common ashes have grown into true giants (diameter 1.15 m, height up to 30 m). Until 2008 an impressive oak of about 360 years stood here. Old people are said to have heard from even older ones that the lord used to hang disobedient serfs from its branch. The old oak fell in the summer of 2008, when the parish was marking its 200th anniversary. It was left lying where it fell. A hornbeam avenue leads to the oak from the south, and a linden avenue runs from the west to the eastern edge of the park. Measured against Lithuanian history, Zypliai Manor is "young". Its history only begins in the early 19th century. The first owner of Zypliai Manor was Prince Józef Poniatowski (nephew of Stanisław Poniatowski, the last king of the Polish–Lithuanian state). He received the manor lands for military service in Napoleon Bonaparte's army. Count Tomas Potockis set about improving the palace and the entire estate after the fire that struck New Zypliai in 1897, when all the wooden farm buildings burned down. In their place rose red-brick buildings, and the neoclassical Zypliai Manor palace became neo-Baroque. Count Potockis was known as a lover of Lithuanian culture: he took part in the activities of the "Žiburys" and "Žagrė" societies, supported the founding of Lithuanian schools and an old people's home, learned Lithuanian himself, was an active organiser and leader of the Suvalkai Agricultural Society, published farming advice brochures in Polish and Lithuanian, socialised with artists, painted himself and wrote plays. Since autumn 2012 the renovated palace building, with its exhibition and concert halls, has also been open to visitors. The manor invites guests to try educational programmes in blacksmithing, woodcarving, stone carving and ceramics. Zypliai Manor welcomes about 10,000 guests a year.