Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and hassandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 1000 ft wide) and sanddunes.[2][3]
The name of the town is likely ofCuronian origin, as proposed by the linguistKazimieras Būga.[4] The primary argument is the suffix "-ng-", which is particularly distinctive of Curonian toponyms (Gandinga,Ablinga,Būtingė, etc.). The rootpal-, furthermore, is also associated with the landscape of lowlands or marshes. This is exemplified by the Lithuanianpalios, which translates to "large marsh", and theLatvianpalas, meaning "marshy lake shore". These are ancient words with equivalents in other Indo-European languages, includingDacianpala, meaning "marsh, swamp, spit" andLatinpalus, meaning "marsh". Therefore, the original meaning of the name Palanga may have been related to lowlands, marshes, flooded meadows, or similar terms.[5]
In other language Palanga is referred to as:German:Polangen;Polish:Połąga.[6]
Birutės Hill (19th century painting) whereKęstutis met his wifeBirutė, the mother of Lithuanian ruler and national heroVytautas the Great[7]
According to legend, there was apagan shrine at the foot of a hill in Palanga where a beautiful priestess namedBirutė used to tend the ceremonial fires.[7] Having heard of Birutė's beauty,Kęstutis, theGrand Duke of Lithuania, came to make her his wife.[7] The LithuanianBychowiec Chronicle records that Birutė "did not consent, and answered that she had promised the gods to remain avirgin as long as she lived.
Kęstutis then resorted to take her by force, and with great pomp brought her back to his capital,Trakai, where he invited his kinsmen and celebrated with a lavish wedding..."[8] Kęstutis was later murdered and Birutė returned to Palanga and resumed serving at the shrine until her death. The legend claimed that she was buried in the hill which is now named after her.
Not far fromŠventoji, archaeologists discovered an encampment which indicates that the area was inhabited some 5,000 years ago. Between the 10th and 13th centuries Palanga had been one of the main settlements ofMēguva Land, inhabited by theCuronians. Situated upon the trail of the ancientAmber Road, it became a centre of trade and crafts.
In historical documents the name of Palanga was first mentioned in 1161 when KingValdemar I of Denmark disembarked there with his army and captured the castle of theCuronians.
Palanga in 1661
Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the inhabitants of Palanga had to confront theTeutonic Knights in the south and theLivonian Brothers of the Sword in the north. Their adversaries were unable to achieve their goal of capturing the Lithuanian sea-coast fromKlaipėda toŠventoji. Grand DukeVytautas the Great considered granting Palanga to the Teutonic Knights, however Supreme DukeJogaila prevented it.[9] Eventually in 1422 Palanga passed to theGrand Duchy of Lithuania under theTreaty of Melno.[10] In 1427 Jogaila saw sea for the first time in Palanga.[9]
The first small wooden Catholic church in Palanga was built in ~1540 at the behest of Grand DuchessAnna Jagiellon.[11]
The harbour of Šventoji gradually developed into a trading centre. British merchants established enterprises in Šventoji in 1685. During theGreat Northern War, in which thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth allied with Saxony, Denmark and Russia against Sweden, theSwedish Army ravaged Palanga, destroyed the harbour at Šventoji, and blocked up the entrance with rocks in 1701.
In 1824, the manor of Palanga was purchased byCountMichał Tyszkiewicz. His grandson Józef Tyszkiewicz built a pier and engaged ships to transport passengers and bricks to nearbyLiepāja. Palanga began to develop as a resort in the early 19th century. The pier has been a favourite spot for taking a stroll and other recreation since 1892. Józef Tyszkiewiczs's son,Feliks Tyszkiewicz, commissioned the construction of theneo-RenaissanceTiškevičiai Palace, built by the famous German architectFranz Schwechten in 1897.
The Frenchlandscape architectÉdouard André designed a large park around the palace, between 1897 and 1907. The palace became a favourite gathering place for concert performances. Amongst the good friends and associates of Feliks Tyszkiewicz was the notary,Jonas Kentra.
Liepojos-Vytauto streets 1899–1925–2010
Following theLithuanian press ban of 1864, Palanga became an important location for thesmuggling of Lithuanian publications from the west. The Rev.Marcijonas Jurgaitis, physicianLiudas Vaineikis, and notaryJonas Kentra, played significant roles in this activity. After Kentra obtained official permission, a public performance featuring the comedy,America in the Bathhouse (Amerika pirtyje), was performed in the Lithuanian language. This had previously not been permitted. However, later the Tsarist authorities deported Vaineikis and twenty-five other people to Siberia in 1901.[12]
In 1919, after the breakup of the Russian Empire, Palanga temporarily became a part ofLatvia, like the rest of theCourland Governorate. In 1921, after Lithuanian exchange of itsAknysta town,Brunava Parish and some other villages with Latvia, Palanga was peacefully transferred toLithuania following a Lithuanian-Latvian treaty and giving Lithuania access to the sea.[13] In 1926, there was still a significant Latvian minority. A popular amongLithuanians saying of the event at the time was "we exchanged our land with out land".
DuringWorld War II, the town was occupied by theSoviet Union from 1940, then byNazi Germany from 1941, then again by the Soviet Union from 1944.
Before World War II, nearly half the population of the town was Jewish. The production of decorative objects and jewellery made from amber found on the seashore, for which Palanga is famous, was formerly a Jewish industry. Many Jews also earned their livelihood by providing various services for summer vacationers. Between the world wars Jews were active in local government, serving on the city council as mayor or deputy mayor. The deteriorating economy resulting from antisemitism caused many to immigrate to South Africa, the United States, and Palestine. Soon after the outbreak of the German-Soviet war on June 22, 1941, Palanga was occupied by the Germans and all the Jews were concentrated at the bus station. The males aged 13 and above were taken outside the town and murdered in pits they were forced to dig. The women and children were held for a month in the synagogue, and then executed.
TheTiškevičiai Palace's park was converted into abotanical garden in 1960. Today it contains two hundred different types of trees and shrubs, including an oak tree planted by PresidentAntanas Smetona. The palace, now thePalanga Amber Museum, has an extensive collection of amber jewellery and other artifacts. Symphonic concerts as well as other musical festivals and events take place in the summer, usually in the evening.
Palanga is a resort city through which theŠventoji and Rąžė (Samogitian:Ronžē) rivers flow into theBaltic Sea. Rąžė was formerly known as Alanga and gave Palanga its name:[citation needed]Palanga, which literally meanson the Alanga River. The Palanga municipality extends 24 kilometres from Nemirseta in the south to theLatvian border in the north. Palanga is subdivided intoNemirseta, Vanagupė, Kunigiškiai, Manciškiai, and Šventoji – five neighbouring fishing villages which were united into one city following administrative changes to the area. After theKlaipėda Region was ceded to Germany in March 1939, Nemirseta was the northernmost village ofEast Prussia; conversely Palanga was a border checkpoint between Russian-occupied Lithuania and Germany.
The municipality is accessed by roads fromKlaipėda andŠiauliai. There is no railway in the municipality (the closest rail connection is inKretinga, the capital of theKretinga district municipality).Palanga's International Airport, the third largest in Lithuania, offers connecting flights to Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom, Poland and to the biggest city in Baltic States - Riga, Latvia. The airport is located between Palanga and Šventoji, and it handles more flights in the summer due to the resort nature of the municipality.
In the summer, many tourists come to visit and stay in Palanga, both for its beaches and to enjoy the maritime atmosphere. There is a carnival centred onJonas Basanavičius Street, which is a pedestrian-only thoroughfare during the high season. There are dozens of restaurants, bars, rides, and other forms of entertainment. A new observation wheel opened in ~2021 scaling 40 meters. It is claimed its to be the tallest wheel in all of the baltic states.
The aforementionedPalanga Amber Museum is open to the public, as are as the museum's extensive botanical gardens. Anaičiai Ethnographic Cemetery holds a collection of 19th- and early 20th-century graves. In the Sculpture Garden, one can find 28 contemporary statues by artists fromArmenia,Estonia,Latvia, Lithuania andUkraine.
Also found in Palanga is one of the oldest operatingpharmacies in Lithuania. It was established in the mid-19th century.
The city is also home to a regional radio station, FM Palanga.
Of interest is Villa Anapilis built in 1898 and recently restored to its interwar state. Its name refers to theAnapilis mountain, allegedly the place of the afterlife in Lithuanian pagan mythology.[14]
Julius Brutzkus (1870–1951) a Lithuanian Jewish historian, scholar, and politician.
Boris Brutskus (1874–1938) a Russian economist, forced into exile by theBolshevik government in 1922
Vladas Jurgutis (1885 in Joskaudai near Palanga – 1966 in Vilnius) a Lithuanian priest, economist, and professor
Liudvikas Narcizas Rasimavičius (born 1938) a Lithuanian politician. In 1990 he was among those who signed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
^Būga, Kazimieras (1961).Rinktiniai raštai, 3 tomas. Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla. p. 609.
^Vanagas, Aleksandras (2004).Lietuvos miestų vardai (2nd ed.). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. pp. 152–154.ISBN5-420-01354-1.
^Zych, Maciej; Kacprzak, Justyna, eds. (2019).Urzędowy wykaz polskich nazw geograficznych świata [Official List of Polish Geographical Names of the World] (in Polish) (2nd ed.). Warsaw: Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii. p. 167.ISBN978-83-254-2578-4.
^Dokuments par robežu starp Livoniju un Lietuvu no Dobeles apgabala līdz Sventājas grīvai Latvian translation of the Courland-Lithuanian border treaty of 1426.Source: Bielenstein, A. Grenzen des Lettischen Volksstammes und der Lettischen Sprache in der Gegenwart und im 13. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Ethnologischen Geographie und Geschichte Russlands. St.Petersburg: Commissionäre der Kaiserlichen Akädemie der Wissenschaften, 1892. S. 453.
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