From the second half of the 18th century and into the 19th century, Šetejny belonged to the Syruci family, whose family nest was in nearby Syrutyszki. In 1792, Casimir Konstanty de Broel-Plater mentioned a Vitebsk castellan, Simon (d. 1774), who ruled in the Kėdainiai region and was not a good landlord. This Szymon was the son of Józef, a Kaunas land magistrate and military officer, who married a maiden from the Zabiełłoło family and had a son, who in 1706 became a Kaunas town clerk and treasurer. He was also secretary to Stanisław Leszczyński, and for his services was awarded the castellany of Vitebsk and the Order of the White Eagle. His portrait, which the poet later wrote about in his work, hung in the Šeteniai court. Another Szymon Syruć, related to the above-mentioned Vitebsk castellan, was born in 1809 as the son of Michał and Józefa née Drucka-Sokolińska, and he successfully managed an estate in Šetejny. It is known that as a young man he served in the Tsar's army and worked for the enfranchisement of peasants.

Szymon Syruć, the poet's great-grandfather, with his first wife Eufrozyna née Kossakowska, had two daughters - Anna and Elvira. His second marriage was to Weronika née Bogdanowicz, primo voto Kossakowska, who gave birth to Józefa, the future wife of Zygmunt Kunat, who came from Krasnogruda. The poet's grandmother Józefa Syruciówna brought Szetejna as dowry to Zygmunt Kunat, a graduate in agronomy at the Warsaw Main School, and gave birth to a daughter Veronica - Czesław's mother. The future poet's cousin Oskar Miłosz called Zygmunt un gentilhomme du XVIII siècle for his attachment to Polish traditions, customs and native history. According to the future Nobel laureate, the Kunats came from a family with Yotvingian roots. In interviews, the writer repeatedly referred to an old legend according to which Duke Leszek the Black defeated the Yotvingians, and one of the captives - the chief's son - was taken in and given the Topór coat of arms. He also wrote about this in Family Europe.

The aforementioned Kunats' daughter Veronika married Aleksander Miłosz, a student at the Riga Polytechnic (who came from Serbin near Łabunów). The future Nobel laureate was born precisely at his grandparents' manor house on 30 June 1911. Before the First World War, the poet's father - a road and bridge engineer - left for Russia with his wife and son because of his work. In 1918, the family returned to the Niewiaža River and lived there until 1921, then moved to Vilnius. Later, during his studies, Czeslaw returned to the family home every year for summer holidays.

The first manor house in Štiauliai was built in the 18th century, and flourished under Simon Syruć; it was he who furnished it, established the library, and planted the first oak and lime trees. It is known that the manor house was small and had two wings. It was rebuilt in 1839 and the manor park was planted around 1830. The manor house was expropriated in 1940. After World War II, the house was inhabited by Russians, then the residence was first ruined and then demolished in the 1960s, and today only fragments of the park with linden avenues and the reconstructed former granary remain on the Niewiaž River.

In his works, the future poet and novelist repeatedly mentioned his ancestors and family home, describing it as a brick house with a porch supported by columns. A grand piano stood in the living room, and an oilcloth sofa, which he recalled in 'The Issa Valley', was placed in the dining room. The house also had a cold dining room, closed for the winter.

At the time when little Czesław spent his childhood years in Szetejnie, it was a large and prosperous village.

A kilometre away, the former Legmiadź manor, reached by a road running along the river and planted with old trees, is home to a larch farm building built on high foundations, where Milosz's mother ran a school for village children. Weronika Kunat died in 1945, and the school operated until 1967. Miłosz wrote in his work 'The Year 1911':

. "It had nothing to do with the school, which in the manor house
was established for peasant children by Wercia, or Wecia,
. Later my mother. She taught reading and writing.
In what language? Polish, of course."

Czeslaw and his younger brother returned to Shetejny as young adults, visiting, among other things, the school run by their mother, bringing sweets and books to the children from Vilnius. The mother also taught her son to read and write.

Andrzej Franaszek in his book 'Milosz. Biografia' writes that the future poet was born not in Szetejnie in the nearby Podkomorzynek manor house, which belonged to Veronika Miłoszowa. In this house, the Miłosz family lived on the first floor, while the ground floor was occupied by farm workers.

To commemorate his last stay in Szetejnie in 1999, the poet planted an oak tree in the place where the manor stood. Czesław Miłosz wrote about his hometown in "Another Abecadło":
"The traveller, driving across this plain today, does not guess what was once there. The smoke of villages, the creaking of well cranes, the crowing of roosters, the barking of dogs, human voices have disappeared. Gone are the verdant orchards in which the roofs of the cottages were immersed - apple, pear and plum trees were grown in every farmyard, between house, barn and pigsty, so that the village street was framed by trees."

That world is no longer there today.

In 2001, a sculpture plein-air workshop "The Issa Valley 2001" was organised. It was then that wooden sculptures were created depicting, among other things, characters from the "Issa Valley". They set the scene for this very novel by Miłosz. The sculptures were placed in the former manor park, of which only fragments remain. The sculptures mentioned are: "Celtic Cross of Life" (Hannes Hermann Bischof from Austria), a work by the Czech artist Jaroslav Bunck "Guardian of Nature", Andrzeaj Wasilewski from Poland "Mother of God - Protector of Sejny", Algimantas Sakalauskas from Lithuania "St. John Nepomucen - patron saint of water". Jan Nepomucen - Patron Saint of Waters", "Black Pig" from "The Issa Valley", Birutė Jakštienė from Lithuania "Magdalena" from "The Issa Valley", Adolfas Pranas Kartanas from Lithuania "The Devil" from "The Issa Valley".

Large book-shaped plaques with quotations from Milosz's work in three languages, Lithuanian, Polish and English, photographs and engravings were also placed on the ground in the former manor house. One of them indicates where the poet's house, destroyed in Soviet times, stood. Another was installed by the old pond, which the poet called the Black Eye because sunlight never reached it, and a black pig, whose statue stands over the water, is said to have stomped its hooves there at night. The sculpture 'Magdalena' recalls the girl whose story he described in his novel 'The Issa Valley'.

The surroundings of Shetejn and the river Nevaža were reflected in the Nobel laureate's works, including the novel 'The Issa Valley'. His childhood home is preserved in his memory like a vivid image of the old times. In the novel, the manor house comes to life with all its objects, the people living there, various stories and news, and in his poem 'The Year 1911', he wrote that it was the very heart of Lithuania, full of white noble manors. He depicted the stories of the local people and the myths of the land, Lithuanian folklore and local customs and traditions. This place was one of the greatest sources of his inspiration.

The poet's brother Andrzej (a journalist and translator) recalled that the most important figure for little Czesław was his grandfather Zygmunt Kunat. It was from him that Miłosz inherited his interest in nature, plants and birds.

From the former granary to the river bank, you can walk down a dirt road, among the scrubby bushes of a feral park or sideways on a grassy knoll. The Niewiaża, the Issa of the novel, flows in picturesque curves through dense vegetation. In one place, the shoreline walling remains, perhaps there was a bridge here. From here, you can see a bend in the river, where there are no people, animals or buildings.

The poet saw Shetejnie only towards the end of his life, in 1992, after a fifty-two-year break. At that time, he visited his homeland on the occasion of being awarded an honorary doctorate from Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University and honorary citizenship of Lithuania. In 1997, the Lithuanians presented Miłosz with a deed of ownership of Szetejń. However, he renounced this right and donated it to the Family Places Foundation named after him.


In 1999, a conference centre was set up in the reconstructed former granary (architect Algimantas Kančas). During the works, the walls of the surviving building were raised by about 60 cm, which made it possible to design an attic mansard. The building housed a conference room on the first floor, a spiral staircase to the attic and a kitchen. A guest room was also designed, where Miłosz rested in July 1999, when he visited Szetejnie for the last time. The window through which the future Nobel laureate as a child observed the towers of the Kėdainiai parish church has been preserved. It is worth mentioning that about a third of the walls of the granary have remained authentic, and in several places the old plaster has been left on the wall, the original stone foundation has also been preserved, and authentic wooden beams on the ceiling have been preserved in the interior. Honorary patronage of the construction was given by the then President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus. The centre now belongs to Vytautas Magnus University and hosts cultural events. The centre includes an exposition presenting Czesław Miłosz's biography, showing his relationship with his homeland, telling about his hometown, his work, and his contacts with Lithuanian intellectuals. Much attention is paid to the Nobel laureate's visits to Lithuania, the restoration of the granary and the recreation of the poet's childhood land.