THE CITY OF UNLIMITED ENERGY
I have been blessed to find a new home in the beautiful town of Panevėžys. There’s a special raw energy about this city, a vibrant natural power that speaks to my nature. When the locals started telling me stories about the city and its legends, I immediately thought to myself that this city is full of heroes, and the world needs to know their stories.
What I wish for the men from this city is that they stick to their true selves and follow their authentic path. My job, of course, is to make haircuts and beard styles fit and express the man that lives within. But, beyond trims and cuts, I also want the people of this city to feel even more proud of the place they call home. And to do more for the good of this city.
That is why in this section, we will be sharing stories about the past and present heroes of Panevėžys – each different but each legendary in his own way. Let‘s celebrate Panevėžys and its history with respect to all of its sides – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
About the biggest scoundrel in Lithuania
Every town needs a legend. A story about heroes and villains that helps us be ourselves. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to tell a villain from a hero.
You see, the boring ones are often offended by the brave, the crazy, and the charismatic. And so, history often transforms heroes into villains.
Nowhere is this truer than in our own legend of the great nobleman Čičinskas, or, as we like to call him, Crazy Čiči. According to legend, the dude was so eccentric that he rode a horse into a church while casually smoking a cigar. For entertainment, he would have his serfs cover themselves in tar, climb into the trees, and mimic the songs of birds. And this is just the beginning, the stories can get even wilder…
One has it that Crazy Čiči was such a nasty badass that he set a village on fire on Christmas Eve, only to be struck dead by a vengeful bolt of lightning from the hand of God later that very night. Even in his afterlife, Čiči remained true to his wild nature. Following his peculiar request, his body was embalmed, and his preserved remains, now a mummy, embarked on a journey, becoming a source of fascination and entertainment as they traveled from one bar to the next.
It’s hard to tell which stories are complete fabrications, and which may have a grain of truth in them. What is true, however, is that Čiči was a war hero who served honorably in the seventeenth century wars against Moscow. He was also his own man who was not afraid to think for himself and follow his own path. A Protestant among Catholics, a freethinker among traditionalists and conformists, a wealthy man among poor and envious villagers, Crazy Čiči pissed people off because he dared to be different. And so they turned the coolest badass hero of our lands into an enemy and a villain.
