UNESCO heritage – the Curonian Spit

It is said that in deep antiquity Keringaitis' daughter Neringa grew up a big big, real giant. She was kind-hearted and helped people a lot - she stormed the sea during storms and sailed ships lost ashore. But once Bangs (the "god of the storm" in the Baltic religion) became angry, it caused storms that did not stop. Neringa stood up to defend the people. She drew sand in an apron, carried it to the sea, and poured it into the water. He carried it until the spit poured. That spit enclosed the lagoon from the sea. People out of gratitude named that strip of sand and called Neringa.

According to other legends, the Curonian Spit was flooded by a small, very strong girl playing at the sea, Neringa. There are sculptures describing the life of Neringa and her hikes on the Witches' Hill in Juodkrante.

The word spit is believed to be of Prussian origin. Initially, the term spit was used only for the long peninsula near Aistmariai, but later it was also used for the peninsula near Curonia. This word is related to the Lithuanian spit - "narrow long shallow sand in the sea along the shore", although such a word is better known from scriptures than from colloquial language. The root of the word ner- can be related to the word crochet - “suddenly slip into the water, sink, swim underwater”….

The unique part of Lithuania, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is unique not only for its nature, but also for its impressive adaptation for cyclists. There are several tens of kilometers of bicycle paths on the Curonian Spit. Ferries from Klaipeda take pedestrians and cars to the peninsula.

It is recommended to travel by car or bicycle along the route. Before planning your trip, please note that the estimated time indicated for the route is indicative and has been calculated for the distance from one object to another - the final time of the whole trip will depend on you and the time spent on each object.

You can start the nature route here.

Travel in Lithuanian nature this autumn! Download our mobile app and get to know the impressive Lithuanian cultural and natural heritage objects comfortably and independently. The DayTrip Lithuania mobile app can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play platforms.