Location: Kaliningrad Oblast Map
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hotels, motels and where to sleep
Curonian Spit is a narrow stretch of land on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Much of this land is covered by sandy dunes, pine forests and small fishermen villages. Curonian Spit National Park sits on the shores of the Baltic Sea on its western side and Curonian Lagoon on the eastern side on the border between Lithuania and Kaliningrad Russian Federation. This sand bar reached a length of 98 km in length and in width it reaches 3.8 km, although in its most narrowest parts it measures just 400 meters. Much of the protected reserve is covered by coniferous pine forests, sand dunes and birches. In 2000 Curonian Spit was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Park covers a total area of 7890 hectares. In addition to picturesque nature, beautiful Baltic Sea, Curonian Spit was also inhabited by people by centuries. The only way to make a living here is by fishing. Hence national park also contains traditional fishermen villages including Lesnoe (Forest in Russian), Rybachiy (Fisherman) and Morskoe (Marine).
Curonian Spit is a narrow stretch of land formed about 3rd millennium BC by the glacial deposits that protect Curonian Lagoon. Although local legends claim that it was giantess Neringa that was playing on a shores of a Baltic Sea. A patchwork of sand dunes, pine forests and meadows covered by a carpet of flowers is easily accessed by numerous trails. Human impact on the region was brief, but devastating. Deforestation quickly decreased soil stability. Alarmed by impeding disaster that could easily swallow up local fishermen's villages, Prussian government put a stop to any ecological destruction in 1825. Since then the Spit was preserved and nature quickly recovered.
Curonian Spit despite its modest size plays an important role in the migration route of birds that come here from Finland, Karelia region (Russia) and the Baltic states on their way to southern Europe and Africa. This route probably formed because for most of human history and development, Curonian Spit was never inhabited by any significant amount of people. Thus it became a high density of migratory birds flow in spring and autumn periods.
The climate in the region of a Curonian Spit is
variable throughout a year. It has mild winters, moderately warm
summer, warm autumn and cool spring. The landscapes of the Curonian
Spit has an extraordinary beauty and aesthetic effect on the person
and provide a unique facility for the development of eco-tourism and
recreation.
The special significance of the Curonian Spit is manifested in a
rare combination of natural and cultural heritage. Here there is a
high level of presence of artifacts of human presence from various
chronological periods. Curonian Spit is also famous for numerous
well preserved historical fishing villages.
Most visitors get into the spit either by taking a
ferry from Klaipėda to Smiltynė, or taking a bus from Zelenogradsk.
From Klaipėda
Take a ferry to Smiltynė. The old ferry
terminal nearer to the city centre is for passengers and bikes only,
and the new ferry terminal is for cars. Fare is €1 for round-trip
ticket per passenger. After getting off the ferry, there is an
hourly bus connection to the villages until Nida, and a daily bus
239 which runs all the way along the spit to Zelenogradsk and
Kaliningrad.
There are also long-distance buses which the bus
itself travel on the ferry, from the city centre of Klaipėda to
Nida.
From
Zelenogradsk
Take any
bus to Morskoye (Морское) or Klaipėda. These buses include 210
(Zelenogradsk — Morskoye), 239 (Kaliningrad international bus
station — Smiltynė old ferry terminal), 384 (Kaliningrad —
Klaipėda), 593 (Kaliningrad — Klaipėda) and 596 (Otradnoye —
Morskoye). Fare depends on the distance travelled.
From
Kaliningrad
Bus 593
from the city centre to the spit. The journey costs less than 120
rubles and takes about two hours. As departures are few, it is
advisable to take a train or bus to Zelenogradsk first and continue
by any bus there.
A car or a motorbike
entering Neringa municipality that contains most of the spit on the
Lithuanian side is charged an ecological fee of €20, and campers are
charged €30 (2018 rates). A car entering the Russian part is charged
300 rubles.
Entering some of the nature reserves, including
the border zone, is either limited or prohibited.
1. Ferries. The only way to get to Kos from the rest of Lithuania is
by ferry. Two ferry crossings across the Klaipeda Strait connect
Smiltine and Klaipeda. The old ferry (lit. Senoji Perkėla) has been
operating since the 19th century. It connects the bus terminus in
Smiltin and the center of Klaipeda. Until 2008, universal ferries
operated on it, since 2008 new ferries designed specifically for
passenger transportation have appeared, and car crossings are no longer
carried out here, although ferries have ramps for loading cars in
special cases (firefighters, ambulances). The new ferry has been
operating since the 1980s and carries all types of transport.
2.
Buses. Local buses: there are 3 routes in the Kaliningrad part of the
Spit: 210 Zelenogradsk-Morskoye. In summer, route 593
Kaliningrad-Zelenogradsk-Morskoye runs.
The local bus
Nida-Smiltine runs along the Lithuanian part of the Spit (the route is
not numbered). In the summer season, there is a minibus route in Nida
connecting the bus station with the beach, and in Smiltin there is a bus
route from the old ferry crossing to the Maritime Museum.
Intercity buses Kaliningrad-Klaipeda: route 239 serves the ATP from
Kaliningrad. The bus does not stop in Klaipeda. Its final stop is at the
Old Ferry in Smiltin, from where passengers can ferry to the center of
Klaipeda. Route 384 serves the Klaipeda ATP. He reaches the ferry in
Smiltin, and then goes to a New ferry, crosses the Klaipeda Canal by
ferry and arrives at the Klaipeda bus station. In summer, intercity
buses Nida-Klaipeda-Vilnius and Nida-Klaipeda-Kaunas run along the Spit.
3. Road transport. There is one Zelenogradsk-Klaipeda highway along
the Curonian Spit. It passes through Lesnoye, the outskirts of Rybachy
and Yodokrante. There are exits to the rest of the villages. All roads
have one lane in each direction. In addition to visiting the Curonian
Spit, this road is also used for transit traffic from the Kaliningrad
region to Lithuania. This is largely facilitated by the fact that there
are no long queues at the Curonian Spit border crossing. The movement of
trucks along the Spit is prohibited (except for transport delivering
goods to the Spit).
4. Bicycle transport. Part of the European
Cycling Route R1 runs along the Curonian Spit. A bike path has been laid
along the entire Lithuanian part of the Spit from Nida to Smiltina.
There are also local bike paths in the vicinity of all settlements of
the Lithuanian part. The Nida-Klaipeda bike route has the number 10. The
Klaipeda-Palanga-Latvian Border and Klaipeda-Shilute-Rusne bike routes
also have this number.
In the village of Lesnoy (Curonian Spit, the narrowest part) there
are cafes, 1 minimarket of everything necessary, in the summer season
there are tents with fruits and vegetables. If desired, after learning
the schedule, you can go to Zelenogradsk for food. There is more choice
in Zelenogradsk, there are supermarkets. The journey time to
Zelenogradsk is about 20 minutes in one direction.
Cafe
"Fischhoff" (Fish yard), Rybachy village, Pobedy Street, 27. ☎ +7 911
467 87 67. A small cozy cafe where dishes from local fish are prepared.
There is beer and delicious morse. Smoked fish from the local smokehouse
can be bought at the store next door. There is a small parking lot near
the cafe.
There are 3 villages on the Russian side of the spit: Morskoye,
Rybachye and Lesnoye. It is convenient to live in Lesnoye: 5-7
minutes walk to the sea, and if you get tired of relaxing on the
spit, you can easily and quickly get to Zelenogradsk (from where
buses run to Svetlogorsk, Baltiysk, Kaliningrad). In Rybachy it is 4
km to the sea. In the village of Lesnoye in the hotel "Curonian
Spit" you can rent badminton, balls, play table tennis, go to the
sauna. There are also bicycles, but of very poor quality (costs 100
rubles /hour). Excursions along the spit and in the village are
organized at the House of Culture on Tsentralnaya Street.Amber,
there is a pool table. A good cafe next to the Cooperator store
(near the bus stop, Tsentralnaya str.)
The Dune camp site on
the Russian half of the spit (since January 2013, the work of the
camp site may have been suspended)
Morskoye Hotel in Morskoye
Leisure Guest house complex in Morskoye
The Altrimo Guest
Complex.
Guest house Ponart (Zarkau), Lesnoye village, Lesnaya
str., 3. ☎ +79062151802. 1500 RUB/2-bed room with amenities. Very
cozy, private garden-courtyard, friendly hosts. The room has a TV
and a refrigerator. In the courtyard there is table tennis (free of
charge), a swing. Bicycle rental - 50 rubles/hour. You can order
breakfast (150 rubles) and dinner (300 rubles). To the sea - 7
minutes on foot.
Guest house Boykova, Lesnoye village,
Tsentralnaya str., 38-zh. ☎ +7-921-100-14-51. 1600 (winter) - 2500
(summer) RUB/2-bed room with amenities. A cozy small guest house.
There are 5 rooms in total. They heat the bathhouse (for a fee),
there is 1 billiard table (free of charge). Shared living room for
10-15 people, banquet table, fireplace, plasma TV with satellite TV.
Private territory with a terrace, barbecue, children's and teen
bicycles. Breakfast and dinner can be ordered. To the sea - 5
minutes on foot.
Manor "Green yard": village Rybachy, Stepnaya
str., 1
It is forbidden to set up tents on the spit
It is forbidden to walk on the dunes: you can simply fall into the
sand.
Be careful when meeting wild boars, especially if it is a wild
boar with a brood.
There are few mosquitoes on the spit, but when
going for a walk in the forest, it is better to stock up on a repellent.
After a walk in spring and summer, check yourself and your companions
for ticks!
The body of the spit consists of sand covered with a thin (several
centimeters thick) vegetable layer. The formation of this layer has been
going on for many decades.
The Curonian Spit is a unique natural
and anthropogenic landscape and an area of exceptional aesthetic
significance, the largest sandy body, which, along with the Helsk and
Baltic braids, is part of the Baltic complex of sandbanks, which has no
analogues in the world. The high level of biological diversity due to
the combination of different landscapes — from desert (dunes) to tundra
(upland swamp) — gives an idea of important and long-lasting ecological
and biological processes in the evolution and development of
terrestrial, riverine, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of
plants and animals.
The most significant element of the spit's
relief is a continuous strip of white sand dunes 0.3 — 1 km wide and up
to 67.2 m high (Wetzekrugo dune, one of the highest in the world). The
Curonian Spit contains the most representative and important natural
habitats for the conservation of biological diversity, including those
where endangered species are preserved. 72% of the spit's territory is
occupied by forests, in which about 600 species of woody, artisanal and
herbaceous vegetation grow. The fauna includes 296 species of
terrestrial vertebrates (elk, roe deer, wild boar and others).
The Curonian Spit is called the bird bridge. Due to its geographical
location and orientation from northeast to southwest, it serves as a
corridor for migratory birds of 150 species flying from the northwestern
regions of Russia, Finland and the Baltic States to the countries of
Central and Southern Europe and further north Africa. Every year in
spring and autumn, from 10 to 20 million birds fly over the spit, a
significant part of which stop here for rest and feeding. On migration
days, up to a million birds fly over the spit every day. 102 species of
birds nest here.
For the first time, the Curonian Spit was mentioned in the order's
written sources in 1258 under the name Nestland (German Nestland) — "The
Land of nests". According to Lithuanian historian Romas Batura, the
original Baltic name of the spit was the word Nerge. According to
linguistic data, the Curonian Spit, as well as the northern coast of
Sambia, was occupied by speakers of the Letto-Lithuanian linguistic
heritage — the Curonians associated with the areas of the historical
regions of Kursiai and Kurzeme.
In German, the spit is called
Kurishe Nerung (German Nehrung — "spit, sandbank"). In Lithuania, it is
called Kurshu-Neringa or Kurshu-Neria (lit. nerija — "narrow long sand
spit"). After the transition of the southern part of the spit to the
Kaliningrad region, in 1947 it was given the name Kursk Nereus, then in
1959 the name was changed to Kursk Spit, and in 1971 it took its modern
form.
In the X—XI centuries, there was a Viking settlement on the Curonian
Spit. It was located next to the current village of Rybachy. For the
first time, traces of Vikings were discovered by German archaeologists
back in 1893, but only in 2008, during the work carried out by
Kaliningrad archaeologists, it was possible to establish that the
Vikings had a permanent settlement on the spit. During the excavations,
many objects characteristic of the material culture of the Vikings were
discovered.
In the middle of the XIII century, the Curonian Spit
became part of the possessions of the Teutonic Order and served as the
shortest road between the northern and southern parts of the order's
lands, connecting its capital Marienburg, Konigsberg Castle with the
three surrounding towns and Memel (present-day Klaipeda). The knights
built several guard castles here to repel the raids of warlike Lithuania
and Zhmudi and a brick factory. At that time, impeccable order was
maintained on Kos. But as soon as the order fell into decline,
deforestation and grazing began on the spit, which led to the
destruction of the vegetation layer that anchored the sands. There was
no protection from the wind, the thin layer of soil was trampled by the
hooves of cows and the dunes began to collapse. The exposed sands began
to move under the influence of the wind and fill up entire villages. In
the middle of the XIX century, a real desert was formed here — for fifty
kilometers northeast of Zarkau (present-day Lesnoye), sandy treeless
hills with a height of 60-70 meters stretched. This state of affairs did
not suit the Prussian authorities, and work on landscaping the spit
began here. By the First World War, the advance of the dunes was
stopped, and the spit was planted with pine trees. To protect the coast
from the formation of new dunes, an artificial avenue was built,
stretching along the entire hundred-kilometer sea coast.
Fringilla ornithological station, one of the first in the world and the
oldest in Europe, located in the village of Rybachy, operates on the
spit. It was founded by the German theologian and bird lover Johannes
Tinemann in 1901.
In 1937, an order was issued on the creation of
the German Elk Forest State Nature Reserve. The reserve created at that
time included lands to the east and southeast of the Curonian Lagoon
with a total area of 46,550 hectares. In 1939, the forest districts of
the Curonian Spit were annexed to the "German Elk Forest". In 1941, the
protected forests were removed from provincial subordination and
directly subordinated to the Imperial Forestry and Hunting Service.
Despite its short history, the employees of this reserve have managed to
achieve unprecedented success in the development of hunting and breeding
of the East Prussian moose.
Until 1945, the Kursenieks who lived
on the Curonian Spit spoke their own Curonian dialect, close to Latvian
and Lithuanian. Special pennants were used to indicate the belonging of
the kurenas boats to a particular fishing settlement. Most of the
students were German citizens. At the end of the war, they evacuated to
Germany, and therefore the Curonian Spit lost its own language. Now the
Curonian dialect is spoken by several dozen elderly people, most of whom
live in Germany.
In Soviet times, the filming of the film
Treasure Island (1982) and some others took place on the Curonian Spit.
In 2007, the Russian government decided to create a special economic
zone of tourist and recreational type on the protected spit. However,
five years later (December 2012), the Kurshskaya Spit SEZ was liquidated
due to the lack of potential investors.
In fact, the spit is a peninsula, since in the area of Klaipeda there
is a strait connecting the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, through
which ships pass to and from the Curonian Lagoon.
On the
Lithuanian side, passenger and car ferries run through the strait
between Kosa and the city of Klaipeda. The Lithuanian Maritime Museum is
located next to the strait in the old German fort.
Part of the Curonian Spit belongs to Russia, part to Lithuania (as a
result of the administrative—territorial transformation in 1999, the
Neringian self-government was formed on the Lithuanian part of the
spit). The border is located on the 49th kilometer of the spit (if you
count from Zelenogradsk).
A small section of the spit, 2 km long,
adjacent to the border on the Russian side, is allocated to the border
zone. On the Russian half of the Curonian Spit there is the national
park "Curonian Spit" (the status was assigned in 1987) and settlements:
villages. Lesnoy, Rybachy, Morskoye (Zelenograd district).
The
largest settlement in the Lithuanian half is the village of Nida, other
settlements are Preila, Parvalka, Juodkrante and Smiltina. To simplify
administrative management, all settlements of the Lithuanian side,
except Smiltine, which is part of Klaipeda, are formally united into the
city of Neringa as part of the Klaipeda county. There is also a national
park in the Lithuanian part, founded in 1991.