The village of Šuminai, established on the shore of Lake Baluošas in Aukštaitija National Park, Utena district, had many names. The first time the settlement was mentioned in 1784 and was referred to as Pabaluošė, later — Smaldiškės, Smalgiškės, Užubaluošė and received the name of Šuminai village only in the 20th c., based on the surnames of the residents. The 18th c. arrangement of the buildings makes Šuminai village an architectural monument. This village attracts curious visitors not only for the ethnographic buildings, but also interesting surroundings, where the Lithuanian Cinema Studio had once filmed the legendary movie Tadas Blinda, which has already became the classics of Lithuanian cinema.
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The first data of the people living here dates back to the inventory of Linkmenai volost of 1554. The village belonged to Ažvinčiai manor. Šuminai was established here in the 18th c. According to the data of 1830 there were 16 inhabitants, in 1851 — 21 and in 1903 — 58. The locals engaged in fishing, forest works and log driving. There was also a tar and pitch distillery, coal burner and the Great Trail of log drivers, stretching from Ažvinčiai forest to Neris River. Now Šuminai feature only two 19th c. buildings — the house of Veronika Rukienė, built by the first generation of Šuminai, four granaries and two hay storage buildings. The number of residents at the village is only 15. Interestingly, they all carry the same surname — Šuminai.
