Before the establishment of freethinkers' cemeteries, all non-believers were imprisoned for burying their relatives in Catholic cemeteries or the latter were "buried in the swamp." In 1923 The Freethinkers' Society of Ethical Culture was established in Lithuania, connecting all those who had no relationship with any religion or church. This society established cemeteries, bookstores, and reading rooms for freethinkers. To establish freethinkers' cemetery in Kupiškis was not an easy task. First, it was necessary to collect 10,000 litas. Then the land was bought from the well-known forester Povilas Matulionis, and the student Karazija made a plan for the cemetery. After receiving permission from the Ministry of the Interior, Kupiškis freethinkers' cemetery was established in 1937. The archives of Kupiškis Etnographic Museum contain receipts showing how much the construction works cost. For example, cement cost about 750 litas, building the fence – 1100 litas, bringing gravel and stones – 40 litas, ploughing up the plot – 10 litas. The first freethinker buried in this cemetery was the farmer Juozapas Dūda. His grave is very modest, it is surrounded only by a metal fence, the rodes of which were used to perpetuate the name of the deceased. To this day, only a few tombstones remain in the freethinkers' cemetery, and these have been rebuilt. The freethinkers' cemetery also commemorates the mass murder during the Second World War, when about 1,000 Kupiškis residents, mostly Jews, were killed there. Soviet soldiers who died in the surroundings of Kupiškis were also buried in the cemetery.
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