Bulakavas Manor

The Bulakavas manor is located in the Lazdija district, in the village of Bulotiškės.

1550 the manor belonged to Felicijas Bulhaka, from whose surname the name of the manor came. The homestead was also called Bulhakowsk, Bulokiškės, Bulotiškės. Here, the Bulhaks had two children, Vladimir and Terese. Ten years later in 1560 Felicius died in this estate. The property continued to be owned by his son Vladimir with his wife Selina Skanderberg and here in 1565. gave birth to the last heir of the Bulakav estate, Vladimir Vitalis Bulhak. The manor for a couple of centuries, approximately until the 18th century. belonged to Narušiavičiai. Stanislovas and Ona Sapiegaite Naruševičiai were the first to settle here. Around 1800 the manor was bought by Juozap Tadas Karenga. In Bulotiškės, he rebuilt the wooden palivark building into a palace in the style of classicism, thus raising its prestige to the level of a manor. At that time, this family also owned the Ashtriojoi Kirsna manor. After Karenga’s death, the property passed to his four sons. Then the manors acquired an autonomous status, as they passed to several owners. The Bulotiškė homestead was unsuccessfully managed by his son Stanislovas Karenga, since already in 1880 the estate was bought by the Arnolds from auctions. After the latter, the Bergermans rubbed shoulders here a little more. After the First World War until the nationalization of the estate in 1940. he was in the possession of the Gavronskis. Over the years, three manors were formed in this area: Bulakava, Novaradziškės and Aštrioji Kirsna.

The homestead is completely uninhabited, the windows are closed. Peace of mind. The Bulakava manor homestead is unlike many complexes of the classicism era in its unique layout. It seems to form an urban-style closed square. Farm huts and other buildings face the center of the estate, which is the palace. The office building with unusual shapes is the most eye-catching. It’s as if Tadas Karenga, the owner of the estate, tried to replicate the building of the Sharp Kirsna Palace on a reduced scale. The same unsophisticated rectangular cube with a portico of four columns. One can only guess that the Bulakava manor palace building was also decorated with a similar portico. Perhaps it was simply demolished during the reconstruction of the building. Observing the list of the former owners of the Bulakava manor, it becomes clear that the palivark was a component part of the Ashtria Kirsna manor, while the property was in the hands of Tad Karenga. The Gavronskis also combined their capital after buying the estates of Ashtria Kirsna and Bulokavo. 1960 when the purpose of the manor buildings was changed, the real barbarism of the Soviet architects was manifested, the palace was disfigured beyond recognition during the reconstruction, only the office survived a little better. In this place of Dzūkija, four interesting mansions are located at relatively short distances. Rudamina, Ashtria Kirsna, Bulakava and Budvietsi.

Information of the Lazdijai Regional Museum