Lithuania leads the development of the AIS Route in the Baltic Region

A participatory and collaborative process strengthens Lithuania’s role as a regional reference for the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe dedicated to materia medica

Lithuania as the Baltic hub of the AIS Route

Since the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis – The European Route of Historic Pharmacies and Medicinal Gardens was certified by the Council of Europe in 2024, Lithuania has established itself as a strategic node in the Baltic area. The country has enthusiastically embraced the cultural and participatory approach of the Route, which promotes dialogue between science, memory, and the environment through the enhancement of materia medica. The first official memberships — the Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy bei Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas — marked the start of a conscious integration process, strengthened by numerous field actions and a long-term vision shared by academic, museum, and professional institutions.

AIS Mission, academic cooperation, and cultural governance

In April 2025, a delegation from AIS led by Director María Luisa Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual and Executive Secretary Simona Tardi carried out a mission in Lithuania coordinated by Prof. habil. Ona Ragažinskienė, head of the Scientific Sector on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) of the Botanical Garden at Vytautas Magnus University and a member of the AIS Scientific Committee.

The visit included meetings with the Department of Cultural Heritage – Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, attended by Director Vidmantas Bezaras and Dr. Alfredas Jomantas, national representative to the EPA – Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. Official talks followed with the Rector of Vytautas Magnus University, academic Prof. habil. Dr. Juozas Augutis, Vice-Rector for Development Dr. Vilma Bijeikienė, Director of the Institute of Natural and Technological Sciences Prof. habil. Dr. Algimantas Paulauskas, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences Prof. Dr. Saulius Mickevičius, and Director of the Botanical Garden Dr. Nerijus Jurkonis, alongside Prof. Ragažinskienė. During the mission, AIS representatives also met with the Director of the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), Dr. Tauras Antanas Mekas, pharmacist and historian Zenona Šimaitienė, and museum staff.