Panevėžys projects receive significant national and international awards

Panevėžys has been receiving significant awards for several years now for successfully implemented infrastructure, culture, and ecology projects. This year, the city received 5 awards, affirming its leadership. These accolades prove that Panevėžys boldly moves forward, creating a modern city that maintains its traditions, harmonizing contemporary technological solutions, ecology, and culture.

“I am pleased that our efforts to create a city where modernity, traditions, and ecology harmoniously blend are receiving international recognition. The awards we received this year confirm that Panevėžys is on the right path and compel us to keep advancing. We are managing the city comprehensively – from infrastructure renewal to cultural development, constantly striving for a holistic approach to ensure Panevėžys maintains its uniqueness, preserves traditions, and remains modern and innovative. We think about the long-term development of the city, implementing eco-friendly and innovative solutions that make the city attractive for both residents and businesses. We will continue to aim for Panevėžys to be a modern, green, and innovative city – an appealing space to live, work, and spend leisure time for everyone who calls it home,” says the Mayor of Panevėžys, Rytis Račkauskas.

One of this year’s major achievements is the “Golden Krivūlė,” awarded to the Panevėžys City Municipality for a new direction on the European art lovers’ map. Panevėžys earned this recognition for a significant cultural project – the modern arts center “Stasys Museum,” which opened its doors to the public on June 1st. It has become a symbol of modernization and architectural dynamism, as well as a new landmark for the capital of Aukštaitija and a cultural attraction in Europe.

Two projects from Panevėžys – the “Stasys Museum” and the reconstruction of Senvagę Park – made it into the top five best architectural works in Lithuania. These projects stand out for their innovative solutions and provide the city with modern infrastructure and visual aesthetics. A unique feature of the Senvagę project that caught the attention of architects is the path made of clay bricks that connects the main park attractions: the island, the pond, the banks of the Nevėžis River, the slopes, and the upper and lower terraces. The “Stasys Museum” impressed with its simplicity, logic, and imagination, maintaining a continuity of the artist Stasys Eidrigevičius’s work, expressed through the spatial solutions of the building.

Panevėžys has also become a laureate of the “European Sail 2024” competition for investments in people. This prestigious award was given to the city for the construction of a modern complex service center for children with disabilities and their families, named “City of Harmony.” The modern complex service center will include consultation and education, specialized family support, day care, temporary relief, and structured learning centers. This is the first center of its kind in the Panevėžys region, which will provide comprehensive support to families.

The oldest gem in Panevėžys, the Juozo Čerkeso-Besparnio estate in Skaistakalnis Park, reborn as a creativity center “Pragiedruliai” after reconstruction, has been recognized as the best recreational architecture work of 2023. Surrounded by nature, the revived creativity center has become a place that unites the community, where heritage, present, and future converge.

This year, Panevėžys was recognized as the greenest municipality in the country. This award was given for consistent efforts in the environmental field, aiming to contribute to climate change mitigation. The city is implementing a sustainable development strategy that promotes sustainable mobility, improves access to public services, and creates an integrated non-motorized transport system. Food and textile waste are actively sorted in Panevėžys, and by decision of the city council, single-use plastic products are banned at events. The majority of the city’s residents are connected to centralized sewage systems, and the network of electric vehicle charging stations and bike paths reflects the Municipality’s goal to promote sustainable movement.

Finally, Panevėžys has made it among the seven cities selected as finalists in the “European Green Smart Tourism Leader 2025” competition. The city was nominated for this award for its development of sustainable tourism, bike paths, and green areas, as well as for innovative initiatives that promote active leisure and ecological awareness. Being part of the finals of this prestigious competition is an important recognition on an international level.

Last year, Panevėžys also received numerous accolades and awards. In the ranking of Lithuanian municipalities prepared for accepting tourists, which evaluated the best-prepared municipalities and attractions for tourism, four sites in Panevėžys stood out as successful examples: the Art Gallery, Freedom Square, Culture and Recreation Park, and Panevėžys Beach.

Furthermore, a study conducted by the international organization “Transparency International” confirmed that Panevėžys is the most transparent municipality in Lithuania.

Last year, the city also received a high rating from the “Financial Times” investment experts’ division, “fDi Intelligence,” ranking fourth in the category of small European cities for its foreign direct investment strategy.

The list of last year’s awards was further enhanced by the European Council’s mark awarded to the city municipality for impeccable democratic governance, and the “Ekrano” Lagoon project was recognized as one of the most successful projects funded by the EU Ministry of the Interior.

In the Lithuanian Sports Management Awards, Panevėžys was declared the Sports City of Lithuania for 2023, recognizing its contribution to the development of sports infrastructure and the organization of sports events.

Panevėžys is renewing itself and is purposefully working on creating a future city where innovation, ecology, and culture harmoniously converge.