The Curonian Spit stretches from theSambia Peninsula on the south to its northern tip next to a narrowstrait, across which is the port city ofKlaipėda on theLithuanian mainland. The northern 52 km (32 mi) long stretch of the Curonian Spit peninsula lies inKlaipėda County, Lithuania, while the rest is part ofKaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The width of the spit varies from a minimum of 400 m (1,300 ft) in Russia (near the village ofLesnoy) to a maximum of 3,800 m (12,500 ft; 2.4 mi) in Lithuania (just north ofNida).
The Curonian Spit was formed about 3rd millennium BC.[1] A glacialmoraine served as its foundation; winds and sea currents later contributed enoughsand to raise and keep the formation above sea level.[1]
The existence of this narrowshoal is inherently threatened by the natural processes that govern shoreline features.[2] It depends on a dynamic balance between sand transport and deposition. Geologically it is an ephemeral coast element. The most likely development is that the shallow bay inside the Curonian Spit will eventually fill up withsediment, thus creating new land.
According tofolk etymology for the name ofNeringa Municipality, there was a giantess girl namedNeringa, who formed the Curonian Spit and helped fishermen.[3]
Significant human impacts on the area began in the 16th century.[1] From the 18th century, it was part of theKingdom of Prussia.Deforestation of the spit due toovergrazing,timber harvesting, and building of boats for theBattle of Gross-Jägersdorf in 1757 led to the dunes taking over the spit and burying entire villages. Alarmed by these problems, thePrussian government sponsored large-scale revegetation andreforestation efforts, which started in 1825.[citation needed] Owing to these efforts, much of the spit is now covered with forests.
In the 19th century the Curonian Spit was inhabited primarily byKursenieki, with a significantGerman minority in the south and aLithuanian minority in the north. The population of Kursenieki eventually dwindled due to assimilation and other reasons; it is close to non-existent these days.[citation needed]
AfterWorld War I,Nidden, together with the northern half of the Curonian Spit became part of theKlaipėda Region according to the 1919Treaty of Versailles and was annexed byLithuania in 1923. Officially renamedNida, the village nevertheless remained a German-majority settlement – the border with the remainingEast Prussian half of the Spit lay only a few kilometres to the south.
In 1929Nobel Prize-winning writerThomas Mann visited Nida while on holiday in nearbyRauschen and decided to have a summer house erected on a hill above the Lagoon, mocked asUncle Tom's Cabin (Onkel Toms Hütte) by locals. He and his family spent the summers of 1930–1932 in the thatched cottage; parts of the novelJoseph and His Brothers (Joseph und seine Brüder) were written here. Threatened by theNazis, Mann left Germany after Hitler'sMachtergreifung in 1933 and never returned to Nida. After the Klaipėda Region was again annexed byNazi Germany in 1939, his house was seized at the behest ofHermann Göring and served as a recreation home forLuftwaffe officers.
FollowingWorld War II, theMemelland and its part of the spit was restored to Lithuania, while the remainder fell to Russia. The German population was expelled after the war by the occupying Soviet forces in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement. Like elsewhere in present-dayKaliningrad Oblast, the assimilation of the territory and colonization by Russian settlers was completed by changing the historic German toponyms to Russian ones throughout the Russian-controlled part of the Spit.
After the breakup of theSoviet Union, tourism flourished; many Germans, mostly the descendants of the inhabitants of the area, choose the Curonian Spit (especially Nida, as no visas are needed for Germans in Lithuania) as their holiday destination.In 2019 the making ofCuronian Lagoon Boats’ Weathervanes was inscribed into TheIntangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Lithuania as a form offolk art, traditional craftsmanship or agricultural activities.[6]
While today theKursenieki, also known as Kuršininkai, are a nearly extinctBaltic ethnic group living along the Curonian Spit, in 1649 Kuršininkai settlement spanned fromMemel (Klaipėda) toGdańsk. The Kuršininkai were eventually assimilated by theGermans, except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were consideredLatvians[by whom?] until after World War I, whenLatvia gained independence from theRussian Empire, a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims[when?] over the Curonian Spit,Memel and other[quantify] territories ofPrussia, which would be later[when?] dropped.
The Curonian Spit is home to the highest moving (drifting) sand dunes in Europe. Their average height is 35 metres (115 ft), but some attain a height of 60 metres (200 ft). Severalecological communities are present on and near the Spit, from its outer beaches to dune ridges,wetlands, meadows, and forests.[7] Its location on theEast Atlantic Flyway means it is frequently visited by migratory waterfowl. Between 10 and 20 million birds fly over the feature during spring and autumn migrations, and many pause to rest or breed there.[7]
Both the Russian and Lithuanian parts of the spit arenational parks.
The settlements of the Curonian Spit (from north to south) are:
There is a single road that traverses the whole length of the Curonian Spit. Carferries provide a transportation link betweenSmiltynė, located on the spit, and the port town of Klaipėda.
Since 2000, the Curonian Spit has been onUNESCO'sWorld Heritage List under cultural criterion "V" ("an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture [...], or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change").
As of March 2012, there was a demand to demolish a number of homes on the Curonian Spit. These homes are owned by people who were given permits to build by corrupt local government[specify] officials. The demand to demolish the homes is due to the Spit being a UN World Heritage Site, and the only structures that were to be allowed outside official settlements were fishing huts.[8]
Parnidis sand dune, subjected to drift by harsh winds, is rising up to 52 metres (171 ft) above sea level. Local residents believe that the nameParnidis comes from the phrase meaning "passed acrossNida", because this wind-blown dune has several times passed through the village of Nida. Scientists estimated that each person climbing or descending on the steep dune slopes moves several tons of sand, so hikers are allowed to climb only in designated paths.
There is a granite sundial built on Parnidis dune in 1995 that accurately shows the time. The sundial was rebuilt in 2011 following storm damage. The sundial is a stone pillar 13.8 metres (45 ft) high and weighing 36 tonnes (35 long tons; 40 short tons). It consists in small steps covered with granite slabs, carved with hour and half-hour notches, as well as one notch for each month, and four additional notches for solstices and equinoxes. From the astronomical point of view Parnidis dune is an ideal place for the sundial inLithuania.[9]
The Curonian Spit is known for its fine sandy beaches (Nida, Lithuania).
There are environmental concerns related to the Curonian Spit, which is often promoted as a refuge of clean nature.
Due to the importance of tourism and fishing for the regional economy, pollution of sea and coastlines may have disastrous effects for the area as the unique nature and the economy would be damaged.
The construction of an offshore drilling facility (theKravtsovskoye (D-6) oilfield) in the territorial waters of Russia, 22.5 km (14.0 mi) from the coastline of the Curonian Spit raised concerns over possible oil spills. Between 2002 and 2005 local environmentalists in Kaliningrad Oblast[10] and Lithuania[11] protested againstLukoil's plans to exploit the oilfield, objecting to the possible great damage to the environment and tourism (a vital source of income in the area) in case ofoil leakage. These concerns did not engender support in the government of Russia. They were, however, supported by the government of Lithuania. The oilfield is about 4 km (2.5 mi) from the boundary of Lithuanian territorial waters; the prevailing northwardcurrents means that the Lithuanian coastlines would receive much potential damage in case of leakage. Opposition to the operation of D-6 met little international support, and the oil platform was opened in 2004. During the first decade of the 21st century the two states agreed to a jointenvironmental impact assessment of the D-6 project, including plans for oil spill mitigation.[12] The assessment and mitigation project had not been completed as of 2010.[12]
Another concern is that increased tourism destroys the very nature that attracts it. For this reason, protective measures have been taken, such as banning tourists from hiking in certain areas of the spit.
Natural hazards are more dangerous in the Curonian Spit than elsewhere inLithuania or theKaliningrad Oblast. For example, storms tend to be stronger there. Due to the importance of trees in preventing soil erosion, forest fires that happen in summer are more dangerous to the ecology.
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