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(English) IU111. CURONIAN SPIT

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LOCATION

Curonian Spit separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. It is a curved, thin, 98 km long sand-dunespit anda transboundary property. It is divided between two countries: in the south it belongs to Russia, in the north to Lithuania. Curonian Spit is on UNESCO World Heritage List, GPS 55°16′N 20°58′E.

        

1. By Laima Gūtmane (simka…, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57899671

SCENIC CHARACTER

There are unique forests and sand dunes, lagoon that create this interesting landscape. The width of spit is diversified. In minimum it is 400 m wide in Russia, near Lesnoy village, in maximum it is 3800 m wide in Lithuania, in Nida. Local dunes are the largest drifting sand dunes in Europe. Tourists can observe a harmony between nature and human existence. There is an archeological heritage of fishermen villages from the 10th and 10th century and younger lighthouses, churches, schools, piers etc.

It is worth to see twisted and curled tree trunks called “Dancing forest” that look like ove-sized bonsai. To protect sand dunes, the lagoon, the rare ecosystem and the surrounding sea, the Curonian Spit National Park was established in 1991.

ATTRACTIONS

There are numerous natural attractions in Curonian Spit: a Lithuanian Sea Museum, Dolphinarium, Aquarium. Aquariums are rich in marine creatures, fish and plants that delight all visitors and takes you into the depths of the water world. Raganų Kalnas  stands in this area – a mountain of witches, a breathtaking exhibition of mystical creatures, unique folk art wooden sculptures of witches and demons. Enthusiasts of fishing, cyclists, swimmers and hikers will find something very interesting in charming towns of Curonian Spit like Smiltyne Juodkrante, Pervalka Preila and Nida.

 

INFORMATION SOURCES

Heritage  Class: [ N ]Natural Heritage  

Subclass [WL] :WIldlife

WEB PAGES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curonian_Spit

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/994

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/lithuania/western-lithuania/curonian-spit

https://wikitravel.org/en/Curonian_Spit

http://www.lithuania.travel/en-gb/attractions/-national-park-of-the-curonian-spit/17136