The settlement of Jašiūnai belonged to one of the most powerful and richest Lithuanian noble families at that time – the Radvilas – since 1402.In 1811, the Jašiūnai manor was bought from the settled Radvilas by Ignacas Balinskis. After his death, the manor passed to his younger son Mykolas Balinskis. In 1820, the Sniadecki family settled in Jašiūnai after he married Sofija Sniadeckytė, the daughter of Andrius Sniadecki, a professor at Vilnius University. Jašiūnai became even more popular when Professor Jonas Sniadecki, after his retirement as rector, decided to settle here with his brother’s daughter’s family. On the initiative and at the expense of Jonas Sniadecki, a magnificent late-classical palace was built in 1824-1828 according to the design of the VU architecture professor. Other architecturally valuable buildings of the former manor are the oficina, which was begun in the Classical style and extended in the so-called Historicism period. The stables are located away from the palace, with the gardener’s, gamekeeper’s and coachman’s quarters on the second floor. Next to the stables is a barn, a folk architecture building.
Jašiūnai was an important cultural centre of the last century, where many famous people of the time lived and visited. The Balinskis were also concerned about the development of industry, and in the 19th century, wood processing began in Jašiūnai, with sawmills, a turpentine factory, a later blacksmith’s forge and a copper foundry. After the death of Mykolas Balinskis, Jašiūnai was inherited by his son Konstantinas, and the last owners of the estate were Alexander and Anna Peresvet-Soltan of the Balinskis
