"The
Curonian Spit is so unique that it is worth seeing just like Italy or Spain
especially if you want to give your soul a wonderful sight", wrote the
famous German scientist Wilhelm Humboldt at the beginning of the 19th century.
In the year 2000, the Curonian Spit was included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes
of Europe.
The Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann built a summer house in
Nida and spent the summers of 1930 and 1931 there. Today, this house serves as
the writer’s memorial exposition and the culture centre called after his name.
Popular Thomas Mann festivals are hosted here every year.
The German artists-expressionists who adored the beautiful
nature of the Curonian Spit used to stay at the hotel of Hermann Blode (in the
2nd half of the 19th century-the beginning of the 20th century). Artists paint
in Nida all through the summer and the exhibitions of their works are held at the
V. and K. Mizgiris Artists’ House.
The nearby Amber Gallery-Museum introduces the history of
amber, shows the full range of its colours, and displays the inclusions and the
amulets of the treasure of Juodkrantė.
One should visit the old cemetery of the town with the old
krikštai (minor tombstones of unique shape) having survived from the ancient
times.
Another original feature of Neringa is its weathercocks that
would indicate the belonging of a kurėnas (an ancient Curonian fishing boat) o some
particular village. The administrative centre of the Curonian Spit, the town of
Neringa (pop. 2.8 thousand), is Nida settlement; another bigger settlement is
Juodkrantė; Pervalka and Preila remind us of colourful fishermen's villages.
Nida boasts a great number of hotels of various levels; some
of the local inhabitants rent their houses or flats to vacationers as well. The
red-roofed settlement, sheltered beneath pinewoods, is exceptionally cosy and
clean.
The beaches of Nida and Juodkrantė have met the requirements
of the Blue Banner for several years already.
Nida is the warmest part of Lithuania that enjoys the
biggest number of sunny days in a year. In summer, it receives more than
100,000 holidaymakers the majority of whom are guests from various foreign
countries.
Juodkrantė is a fascinating settlement with a perfectly
arranged and adorned promenade by the Curonian Lagoon, the reconstructed
stylish old villas and fishermen’s houses abounding in flower gardens and green
orchards. It is a sin to be in the Curonian Spit and not to visit its
“travelling” sand and the "dead" dunes, not to see the great colony
of the black herons and cormorants settled nearby Juodkrantė, or not to enjoy
the wooden sculptures on the Hill of Witches in Juodkrantė.
Without seeing all that, one can hardly realise how rich and
marvellous the peninsular is. Washed by the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea,
sometimes it creates an impression of a desert. The Curonian Spit represents a
national park. The visitors are offered a perfectly established information
system indicating the location of all the objects with their descriptions in
several languages. |