Around Curonian Spit and Klaipeda Highlights

Juodkrantė (Black Shore) is a quiet seaside resort village on the Curonian Spit, located on the bank of Curovnian lagoon. It is the second largest settlement on Lithuania's part of the spit. It’s very famous for the large collection of wooden sculptures by various artists is displayed on the Hill of Witches. Most of the figures are based on Lithuanian legends or folk tales.

One of most popular places in Klaipėda‘s old town is The Theatre Square. There is a sculpture of Ann from Tharau in the middle of the fountain at the center of the square. The monument is dedicated to Simon Dach, a German poet of Klaipeda origin. Another notable building is the Drama Theatre. Since the 18th century, the theatre has played an important role in the cultural life of Klaipėda.

Ann from Tharaufountain fountain at the centre of the Theater square is the monument dedicated to Simon Dach, a German poet who was born in Klaipėda. He fell in love at first sight with Ann. However, she was engaged to another man. Simon Dach dedicated a poem to her, which became very popular.

Klaipėda's Old Town is different from the rest of Lithuania since it has a lot of German and Scandinavian architecture. The buildings are charming; there is the planned street structure, which can't be found in any other old town in Lithuania. Its streets are geometrically configured very correctly, and the angle of intersection is always straight.

The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. The spit is about 1 mile wide. It is famous for its large sand dunes and "dancing trees", twisted by the wind force.

The Curonian Spit has plenty of wildlife. The legend is that herons have nested near Juodkrantė since 17th century, but the cormorants arrived only at the beginning of 19th century. The colony consists of about 2000 pairs of the large great cormorant and about 500 pairs of grey heron. The special observation spot allows watching the life of the colony without disturbing birds. Please note there are about 50 steep steps to get to the observation spot.