Nida is a settlement in the Curonian Spit, on the southern
outskirts of the city of Neringa, near the national road 167
Smiltynė–Nida. Administrative center of Neringa municipality. A
resort settlement that receives about 200-300 thousand visitors
every summer. (about 700,000 tourists visit Neringa a year) - many
from Lithuania and Western Europe, especially Germany. From Nida to
Klaipėda (Smiltynė's new transfer) there is a Neringa bicycle path.
There are rest and lodging houses, hotels, camping in Nida. At the
lagoon there is a port, a marina, and a yacht club. There is an
airport three km northeast of the Nida settlement.
A dozen
side streets (mostly cul-de-sac type) lead to the central street.
Remaining old, XIX-XX centuries. junction of cottages and villas.
History Museum (founded in 1966). In it, you can get acquainted with
the household and culture of local residents, traditional businesses
- fishing, catching crows, etc. Fisherman's Ethnographic Homestead
(established in 1974), Tomas Mano Memorial Museum (since 1995) V.K.
Mizgiriau Amber Gallery-Museum (since 1995), which exhibits works of
contemporary artists made of amber, as well as copies of
archaeological finds. St. Nida Virgin Mary Christian Aid Church
(serves all of Neringa), Nida Evangelical Lutheran Church (built in
1888), next to the church is an ethnographic cemetery where you can
see baptismal tombstones made of wood. There is also a G.D. Kuverts
monument in the city, built in 1856 for the landscaper of the Nida
area. It stands at the end of G. D. Kuvertas street. Later, dune
caretakers and foresters were buried in this place, in the old
cemetery of Nida dune planters.
In Nida, there is Neringa
Gymnasium, since 2005. a branch of the Professional Training Center
for Business Employees of Kaunas State Enterprise operates, Neringa
Municipality Public Library, Neringa Post Office (LT-93012),
forester.
High dune. The Parnidžio kopa is the second highest dune in Europe.
Sundial. The viewing platform of the sundial offers one of the best
viewing points over Nida, the lagoon and the border with Russia, which
is only 2km away.
Lighthouse. The Nidos švyturys stands west of Nida.
It was blown up at the end of the Second World War and rebuilt in 1953.
It is almost 30 meters high and the beacon is 77 meters above sea level.
Open: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. Price: €5, reduced €3.
Port of Nida (Nidos
uostas), Taikos g. . The last fishing boats on the Curonian Spit are
anchored at the former fishing port, now a marina.
Protestant church. Church building from 1895.
Catholic Church.
Mary, help of Christians. Church building from 2003.
Thomas Mann House (Tomo Mano memorialinis muziejus) . Thomas Mann
spent the summer months in this house with his family from 1930 to 1932.
The furnishings in the building have not been preserved, so you can only
see the empty rooms and some documents in the building. Open: 10 a.m. to
6 p.m. Price: €2.50, reduced €1.
Neringa History Museum, Pamario g.
53. Email: neringosmuz@is.lt. Open: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Price: €1, reduced
€0.50.
Historic fishing farm, Nagliu g. 4. Open: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Price: €2, reduced €1.
Hermann Blode Museum. At the end of the 19th
century, the restaurateur and hotelier Hermann Blode, as a committed art
collector, became the founding father and patron of what was then the
Nidden artists' colony. Price: Free entry.
Swimming on the Baltic Sea beach: The guarded bathing beach on the
Baltic Sea side of the spit can be reached on foot in 20 to 30 minutes.
Hikes through the sand dune landscape and climbing the High Dune: The
dune landscape, which has already served as a film set for western
films, is located between the southern outskirts of Nida and the border
to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast. Hikers do not have to
worry about accidentally crossing the national border. A national park
administration fence blocks the border section from pedestrians.
Cycling - Bicycles can be rented to explore the area.
Velo Nida
(bicycle rental). Tel.: +370 68214798, Email: infovelonida@gmail.com.
Open: Only in the summer season. Price: Price per hour 8 litas, per day
30 litas.
By plane
Palanga Airport (Palangos oro uostas, IATA: PLQ) .
Palanga Airport, located 20km north of Klaipėda, is served by the
airlines SAS from Copenhagen, AirBaltic from Riga and
NorwegianAirShuttle from Oslo. There are no direct connections to
German-speaking countries.
By train
Klaipeda railway station.
The nearest train station is Klaipėda Train Station, about 50 km away.
Passenger trains from Vilnius run to Klaipėda.
On the street
From the 3rd Klaipėda ferry pier you can take the car and passenger
ferry to the 4th ferry pier Smiltynė on the northern tip of the Curonian
Spit and then drive about 50 km to Nida. To drive on the road with your
own vehicle you have to pay an entrance fee to the national park.
Traveling via Kaliningrad and the southern Russian part of the spit
is not recommended due to the complicated Russian entry and exit
formalities, visa requirements and border controls. For political
reasons, Lithuania has closed the local border crossings Nida-Morskoye
and Nida-Rybačij since 2022.
Attention: Wildlife crossing is
always to be expected outside built-up areas. The narrow spit is the
habitat for a sizeable population of moose, which can also be found near
the outskirts. A collision with these large deer is not only unpleasant
for the animals.
By bus
5 Klaipėda Bus Station, Butkų Juzės g.
9. Tel.: +370 46 41 15 47, Email: tarptkasa@klap.lt. There is a central
bus station for long-distance bus traffic in Klaipėda.infoedit
From
there you can reach the ferry pier to the Curonian Spit by local bus or
taxi (fare around 10 litas, as of August 2014).
A local bus runs
from Smiltynė on the northern tip of the spit to Nida. The timetable
depends on the season (fare 10 litas, as of August 2014).
By boat
6 Klaipėda ferry port. From the Klaipėda ferry port there are ferry
connections to Kiel and Karlshamn in Sweden with DFDS, as well as to
Denmark.
By bicycle
Cyclists come across the Curonian Spit
from the north and south via the parallel cycle paths “Hansa Circuit”
and “Iron Curtain Trail”. You follow the coast in both directions.
There are numerous souvenir shops and stalls in Nida. One focus of
these businesses is the trade in amber jewelry. Amber can also be found
in this region. However, one should not assume that all amber items
offered in Nida come from local sites. Imitations made of plastic are
also available, which are difficult to distinguish from real pieces. The
individual retailers usually “guarantee” the authenticity of their own
products and the inferiority of competing goods.
1 Amber Museum
(Amber Museum), Pamario 20. Tel.: +370 46952573, Email:
info@ambergallery.lt. In the shop, which has a small museum attached,
you can have the special features of amber explained to you (also in
German) for an entrance fee of 4 litas. The exhibits also include
insects and small animals encased in amber. Open: June to August daily
9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., April to May and September to October daily
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
2 Maxima (supermarket), Taikos g. 29a.
Cheap
1 Kavinė Kuršis, Naglių g. 29, LT-93123 Nida. The “Kuršis”
restaurant offers simple cuisine, but it is not a fast-food restaurant.
The food is not cooked in advance and kept warm, but rather prepared for
the individual guest. Bring some time, it's worth it. Open: Mon.–Sun.
9:00 a.m. to midnight.
2 Nidos Pastoge, G.D. Kuverto g. 2, LT-93123
Nida. Open: Mon.–Sun. 9:00 a.m. to midnight (during the season).
Medium
3 Nidos Seklyčia, Lotmiškio g. 1, LT-93123 Nida. Tel: +370 469
50000.
Some restaurants and bars are open until midnight during peak season. In addition, the health resort of Nida, whose offerings are mostly aimed at those seeking relaxation, active vacationers and families, has no nightlife to speak of.
Medium
1 Nidos Smiltė, Skruzdynės g. 2, LT–93123 Neringa. Tel.:
+370 469 52221, Fax: +370 469 52762, Email: info@smilte.lt. The former
hotel of the art collector Hermann Blode became the nucleus of what was
then the Nidden artists' colony at the end of the 19th century. Today
the three-star hotel maintains a small museum in memory of Hermann
Blode. Price: from 200 LT/double room.
2 Vila Banga, Pamario g. 2,
LT-93124 Nida. Tel.: +370 46951139, Email: info@nidosbanga.lt. Well-kept
family hotel on the lagoon, directly on the waterfront, in a charming,
thatched building. Price: from 200 LT/double room.
The official language is Lithuanian. The majority of the population
speaks or understands Russian. Younger residents, whose schooling dates
back less than two decades, usually speak English very well. The German
language is less widespread, but is now increasingly being learned as a
second foreign language.
1 Culture and Tourism Information Center
(Agila), Taikos g. 4. Tel.: +370 469 52 345, Fax: +370 469 52 015,
Email: info@visitneringa.lt. The municipal tourist information office is
in the center of town.
2 post office, Taikos g. 13. Tel.: +370 469 52
647.
Miscellaneous
In Nida, free WiFi access is possible in
the area of the tourist information building, in most hotels,
restaurants, bars and, in the summer season, even on the beach.
The name of Nida has been mentioned since the 14th century. of the
end, primarily in descriptions of the roads of the Teutonic War (Noyken)
as a village near Rasytė. However, it remains unclear how k could have
turned into d.
Kazimieras Būga connected the name of the
settlement with the Prussian land name, which in the 15th century.
mentioned as Nyda (Neyde). Since similar water names have survived in
the area of Celtic languages (Main tributary Nidda, Sar tributary Nied,
etc.), K. Būga guessed that the name Nida could be related to the
Sanskrit word nedati, which means "flow, stream". According to J.
Otrembskis, there are also names of similar origin: Niedus, Niedulis,
Nieda, etc. Later, the origin of the root nid- and neid- in European
hydronymics was analyzed in detail and widely by J. Udolfas, who also
relied on the Sanskrit origin of such water names.
Exactly which
limb was originally common is unclear. Even now it happens that the
settlement is called Nide, similar to what the Germans mentioned in the
Middle Ages. Therefore, it is likely that the original gender was Nidė
or even Naidija or Neidija. If this is true, then Nida's name would not
be related to Sanskrit, but to Latvian naids, naidus - "strife, enmity,
hatred" or is even of personal origin.
There are speculations
that Nida is of personal origin. Some derive the name Nida from the
personal name Nidžiai.
Nida is the southernmost settlement belonging to Lithuania in the
Curonian Spit. The dunes near Nida are impressive, possibly containing
the cemetery of French prisoners. Dunes were also fascinated in 1965.
French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, winner of the Nobel
Literature Prize, visited Nida. The famous photo by A. Sutkaus "Sartras
fighting the wind in the Curonian Spit" was taken here, which inspired
the French sculptor Roseline Granet.
Fragments of old coastal
pine forests have survived near Nida. Among the largest dunes are the
Parnidis dune with the Sundial (the part of Stela destroyed by Hurricane
Anatolia on December 4, 1999), the Urbas hill (the Nida lighthouse is
located on it), the Big dune.
Due to its special geographical
position (the westernmost Lithuanian settlement), several climate
records of the country are recorded in Nida:
1990 was the highest
average air temperature of the year (+9.4 °C);
in 2002 August had the
highest monthly average temperature (+22 °C);
in 1970 October and
1999 the highest wind speed was recorded in December – 40 m/s;
the
highest long-term July temperature (17.6 °C).
Nida is located in its current location quite recently, it has
already been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC. Ave. m. e. at the
beginning, when the Curonian Spit was covered with lush deciduous
forests. Old Nida, mentioned since 1385. in the descriptions of the
Crusader war roads, it was then about 2 km south of the present day,
closer to the Baltic Sea. Town in 1529 received the rights of Magdeburg.
In 1603-1606, plague raged in Nida.
in 1675 After old Nida was
covered by sand, its inhabitants began to settle in the north, near the
Curonian Lagoon, and in 1732 settled in present-day Nida. The villages
of Skruzdynė and Purvynė were already located nearby, so the current
Nida consisted of three small villages - Nida, Skruzdynė and Purvynė.
Since the 19th century The 2nd half is known as a summer residence.
19th century At the end of the 19th century, a fishing harbor was built
in the Nida settlement, and later a steamboat pier. in 1874 the Nida
lighthouse (later destroyed by the Nazis) was built on the green Urbas
hill. 1923-1939 belonged to Lithuania in 1933 declared a resort. Until
the end of World War II, the Nida painters' colony was located in the
resort. in 1945 January 30 the Soviet army entered Nida. The city was
rebuilt in 1945. and in 1953 soviet in 1946 August 3 became a city-type
settlement (as a summer residence), in 1947 annexed to Klaipėda, 1961
November 15 After the founding of the city of Neringa by decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Council of Soviet Lithuania, it became part of
it and became an administrative center. in 1967 restored T. Mano house
(later equipped as a museum).
During the Soviet era, rest houses
"Guboja" (architect A. Zaviša), "Žuvėdra", "Nerija", militia and savings
bank (architect J. Panavas), Neringa executive committee building
(architect G. Tiškus), inn "Ešerinė" were built in Nida during the
Soviet era. architect V. Guogis), "Agilas" cinema. The settlement was
expanded towards the Great Dune according to the project of architect R.
Kraniauskas.
in 1828 German entomologist August Kuvertas and painter Erika
Freyer-Henkel were born in Nida. famous German painters summered and
worked in the resort: impressionists Lovis Corinth and Carl Knauf,
expressionists Max Pechstein, Ernst Mollenhauer and Karl
Schmidt-Rottluff, painters of the famous Bridge (Die Brücke) group.
Nobel laureate Tomas Manas 1930-1932 summered in Nida. His summer
house has survived to this day and has become a cultural center with a
memorial exposition dedicated to the famous writer.
Georg Dovydas
Kuvertas, who started the greening of the dunes, is buried in Nida. in
1972 poet and translator Neringa Abrutytė was born. in 1973 - Bishop
Genadijus Linas Vodopjanovas.
Many cultural events, which have become international and
traditional, are organized every year in Nida and neighboring
settlements:
Presentation of Ludvikos Rėza culture and art prize
Reed Sculptures Symposium and Burning Action, Wood Sculptors Symposium
"Witches Hill"
Festival of Sacred Music "Laudate Dominum"
Organ
Summer Festival
Bard and pop music events in memory of Vytautas
Kernagis "Ben, let's sail to Nida!"
Folklore festivals "Tek sauluže
ant marathi", "Blow, wind!"
Chamber music festivals "The land of the
disobedient", "The Curonian Spit"
Thomas Man Festival "Native Europe"
Nida Jazz Festival
Days of old crafts
Choral and vocal music
festival "Vox academia"
Baltic Wave Film Festival
Plein air
painting "Nida's Expression"
Photographers' seminar
"Ant Bangos"
electronic music festival
Close to the coast of Nida, in the Curonian Lagoon, there lived a mysterious maiden, called the Nida Maiden. On clear nights, a small island appears in the waters, where this maiden appears, dressed in a wreath of lilies. Her songs are very charming and can be heard in the whole neighborhood. In this way, the beauty is lured to her island, where the trees are green for centuries, bliss reigns, and the heart is filled with happiness. If someone likes her song, he jumps into the waves and swims to the island, but he is not happy there for long: suddenly a hole opens and swallows the one who came with the whole island. In this way many young men were killed, enchanted by the songs of that graceful maiden.