Tourist route: “Palanga yesterday and today”

The first small wooden Catholic church in Palanga was built in 1554 on the initiative of Ona Jogailaitė, wife of Stephen Báthory. Another cross-shaped church with a tower and a belfry was built in 1590 on the initiative of the rulers of Lithuania at that time. The church was rebuilt in 1767 and stood for 140 years. In 1897, a new neo-Gothic church was built next to the old wooden one, designed by Swedish architect Karl Eduard Strandmann. The Roman numerals above the main gate indicate that the construction of Palanga Church was completed in 1907.

The church has an impressive pulpit and three artistic altars decorated with bas-reliefs made of marble brought from France. The central altar features a painting of the Virgin Mary, which dates back to the 17th century. The other two wooden altars in the side aisles were moved from the previous wooden church.

In her memoirs, educator and writer Aleksandra Šilgalytė describes the day of March 23, 1915, when Palanga was bombed by the German navy. After the bombing, Palanga looked unrecognizable to the author, who was especially shocked by the appearance of the church and the churchyard: a large part of the churchyard fence was demolished, the walls of the church looked as if they had been pecked at by birds, the windows were broken, and the stained glass had turned into piles of colored glass. She also describes a story she heard about how, on the morning of March 23, when people gathered in the church to listen to Mass, a deafening sound suddenly rang out and a huge shell from the front of the altar of St. The priest and parishioners rushed to hide in the church basement, where they celebrated Mass. The priest and parishioners rushed to hide in the church basement, where they celebrated Mass. It is believed that if the explosive had detonated, the church would have been completely destroyed. The shell was removed by German soldiers themselves.

On April 1, 2018, a tower with an observation deck began operating at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Palanga. The height of the church tower is 24 meters.

Theater (Palanga Concert Hall, Vytauto g. 43),

Tiškevičių Alley, Old Pharmacy (Vytauto St. 33)

Palanga began to gain popularity as a summer resort in the second quarter of the 19th century, but for a long time it lacked recreational facilities such as restaurants, summer houses, and hotels. In 1877, Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), the founder of the Palanga resort, built the first restaurant, which he expanded in 1880 and turned into a hotel. Such multifunctional leisure houses, called kurhauzes, were one of the main elements of every resort town, so the Palanga kurhauzas soon became the center of the emerging resort. Summer visitors were particularly fond of it because it had a restaurant, a reading room, billiard and game rooms, and various concerts, dance evenings, performances, and other entertainment events were organized there. For a long time, the Kurhaus was the only hotel in Palanga.

In 1905, the newly established resort administration and information office began operating in the Kurhaus. Holidaymakers arriving in Palanga had to register and pay various resort fees within 24 hours. The resort administration constantly ensured that holidaymakers had a comfortable stay and were not short of entertainment.

The Palanga Kurhaus was constantly renovated, expanded, and rebuilt, so it never achieved a stylistically uniform form. In 1909, it underwent its most serious reconstruction. During this time, water and sewage systems were installed, and a large hall decorated with impressive classicist moldings and a raised stage was added. An Art Nouveau-style veranda with a view of the new Palanga church was added to the northern facade.

In the interwar period, the Kurhaus became the most popular entertainment venue in Palanga, attracting the educated intelligentsia, who were passionate about the idea of freedom of thought. At that time, the building was lit by electricity and had a telephone. For a long time, the Kurhaus was the main venue for cultural events in the town. It housed the resort association.

The Kurhaus, considered a symbol of the Palanga resort, burned down in 2002. The brick part was rebuilt in 2013, and the wooden part in 2020.

Theater

In the 1890s, Count Juozapas Tiškevičius built a modest wooden theater near the Kurhaus for the entertainment of his family and guests, which was used for amateur performances by family and friends. At the beginning of the 20th century, with more and more vacationers coming to Palanga and seeing the need for this type of cultural institution, Feliksas Tiškevičius built a new 600-seat theater building in 1908, which, according to the press at the time, was “as beautiful as Palanga.” Unfortunately, the new theater did not impress the audience, who complained about the smell of mold, poor acoustics, and lighting. As a result, after the first summer season, it was decided to renovate it, and apparently due to the repairs, a fire broke out in May 1909 and the building burned down.

In 1910, a new, much more modest single-story wooden theater building was constructed. This building served theater lovers for several decades, but it also burned down in 1934.

In 1939, Palanga architect Vadimas Lvovas (1906–1940) designed and built a summer stage on the same site. It is believed that during the Soviet era, it was rebuilt and moved to the park.

In 1971, the famous Palanga Summer Stage with a capacity of 1,000 seats was built (architect Vytautas Gerulis). It hosted concerts by famous performers of the time and various entertainment events. After serving for 40 years during the summer season, the stage was demolished in 2013 and replaced in 2015 by a modern, 2,200-seat concert hall resembling a music box, which is open all year round.

Counts Tiškevičiai Alley

When creating the Palanga resort, the Counts Tiškevičiai built buildings for recreation and entertainment and created various recreational areas for the enjoyment of holidaymakers: parks, gardens, and alleys. One of the oldest parts of the Palanga resort is the promenade, laid out at the end of the 19th century parallel to Liepojos Street (now Vytauto Street). The Kurhauzo Park was established here, and the first villas of the Counts Tiškevičiai and a theater building were constructed. Around 1910, the main Art Nouveau gates to the center of the Palanga resort were built at the beginning of the alley. A fee was collected there for entry to the resort park.

In 2017, in honor of the Counts Tiškevičiai and their contribution to the establishment of the Palanga resort, the alley was restored, the destroyed gates were rebuilt, and sculptures of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius and his wife Countess Antanina Sofija Tiškevičienė were unveiled (sculptor Klaudijus Pūdymas, architect Snieguolė Stripinienė). The pavement of the alley is decorated with the Tiškevičiai family motto engraved in Latin and Lithuanian: “Deligas quem diligas” and “Išsirink, ką myli” (Choose what you love).

The alley is further enhanced and made even more charming by a sculpture park, where visitors can admire 28 sculptures created by famous Lithuanian and foreign sculptors.

Birutė Park (Vytauto g. 15) and

Birutė Hill (Vytauto g. 21).

In 1891, after the death of Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), Palanga was inherited by his son, Count Feliksas Tiškevičius (1869–1932). Having abandoned a career in the military, he continued his father’s work on developing the resort and in 1897 built a representative palace designed by the famous German architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten.

The palace of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius and his wife Antanina Sofija Loncka (1870–1951) is a building in the historicist style typical of the late 19th century, combining Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicist features and compositional elements. It was intended as a permanent residence for the nobility in Palanga.

The interior of the palace is subtly and tastefully decorated. It was adorned with valuable works of art: paintings, family portraits, engravings, bronze artefacts, marble busts, walls decorated with oriental carpets, tapestries and mirrors. The palace was famous for its extensive library and the unique collection of ancient amber artifacts collected by Count F. Tiškevičius himself.

In 1907, an octagonal Neo-Renaissance chapel designed by the same architect was added to the palace. In 1913, the counts traveled to Rome to ask the Pope for permission to hold Mass and other services in the chapel and to receive the Holy Sacrament. The count’s family began and ended each day with prayers in the chapel and gathered there for Mass on Sundays.

The Counts Tiškevičiai resided in Palanga until 1939. After World War II, the palace was nationalized by the Soviet authorities. In 1963, a branch of the Lithuanian National Art Museum, the Palanga Amber Museum, was established there and is still operating today.

Birutė Park

In 1897, a landscaped park was established next to the Tiškevičiai palace. The project was designed by the famous French landscape architect Édouard André (1840–1911). Together with his son René Édouard André (1867–1942), he spent several summers in Palanga and supervised the construction of the park.

The cultural value and artistic success of the park was determined not only by E. F. André’s talent, but also by the natural and historical uniqueness of the location chosen for the park and the abundance and impressiveness of the creative components used in the park. The plants in the park were carefully adapted to the climatic conditions of Palanga. The palace is nestled between the park’s pond and the historically famous Lithuanian sacred site, the legendary Birutė Hill, which offers a magnificent view of the Baltic Sea. The paths are masterfully laid out and flower beds have been planted in the squares. On the northern side of the palace, the large parterre designed by architect E. F. André is still maintained, with a fountain in the center. In the southeastern part of the park is a small parterre decorated with flower beds, a fountain, and sculptures.

The park is rich in small architectural elements. Opposite the palace, a sculpture of Christ the Benefactor was erected in 1905, made in Paris, probably by the famous Maison Raffl company. It was destroyed in 1948 and restored in 1993. One of the most popular photo spots in Palanga is the bronze sculpture “Eglė – Queen of Serpents” created in 1960 by the famous sculptor Robertas Antinis, based on motifs from Lithuanian folk tales.

The park has survived two world wars, numerous natural and other disasters, and has been expanded and restored, but despite this, it has retained the spirit of the parks created by E. F. André and is considered one of the most beautiful parks in Northern Europe.

Since 1960, it has been called the Palanga Botanical Park. In 2011, the historical name of Birutė Park was restored.

Birutė Hill

Birutė Hill is the highest dune on the Palanga seashore and one of the most important symbols of the city. As early as the 9th–10th centuries, overseas merchants traded and lived near Birutė Hill. Silver, copper, lead, and zinc ore for the production of bronze alloys were brought to the mainland via Palanga from Central Europe or directly from Sweden.

In the 11th–12th centuries, the trade center of Palanga was a complex of four settlements, consisting of Birutė Hill, Žemaičių Hill, Rąžės, and the southern settlements. Birutė Hill was a place of defense and worship – an altar. The dates set by the priests were related to the corresponding holidays, during which certain gods and deities were worshipped.

The most important legend of the hill is about the priestesses who tended the eternal altar fire in the shade of the sacred oaks. The wise and beautiful Birutė, daughter of the Samogitian nobleman Vidmantas, served in the sanctuary. The local people considered her a saint. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Kęstutis, met and fell in love with Birutė on his way back from war with the Teutonic Knights. Although she had promised the gods to remain a virgin, Kęstutis took her away and married her. Birutė is the mother of one of the most prominent Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Vytautas. Written sources also confirm that she was a historical figure. To this day, there are stories that the hill itself is Birutė’s burial place.

The Christianization of Samogitia and the weakening of paganism did not affect Birutė’s Hill as a symbol. It did not lose its meaning and importance in the minds of the local people. And from a pagan cultural object, it was reconstructed into a Christian one.

The first wooden chapel of St. George was built on the hill around 1506. It was renovated in 1753. A new brick chapel in the Neo-Gothic style was built in 1869–1870 according to a design by the Riga-based architect Karl Mayer. At that time, steps were built to the hill and a number of trees were planted on its slopes.
At that time, steps were built up the hill and many trees were planted on its slopes. Between 1898 and 1900, a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on the slope of Birutė Hill.

Birutė Park (Vytauto St. 15)

Birutė Hill (Vytauto St. 21).

In 1891, after the death of Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), Palanga was inherited by his son, Count Feliksas Tiškevičius (1869–1932). Having abandoned a career in the military, he continued his father’s work on developing the resort and in 1897 built a representative palace designed by the famous German architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten.

The palace of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius and his wife Antanina Sofija Loncka (1870–1951) is a building in the historicist style typical of the late 19th century, combining Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicist features and compositional elements. It was intended as a permanent residence for the nobility in Palanga.

The interior of the palace is subtly and tastefully decorated. It was adorned with valuable works of art: paintings, family portraits, engravings, bronze artefacts, marble busts, walls decorated with oriental carpets, tapestries and mirrors. The palace was famous for its extensive library and the unique collection of ancient amber artifacts collected by Count F. Tiškevičius himself.

In 1907, an octagonal Neo-Renaissance chapel designed by the same architect was added to the palace. In 1913, the counts traveled to Rome to ask the Pope for permission to hold Mass and other services in the chapel and to receive the Holy Sacrament. The count’s family began and ended each day with prayers in the chapel and gathered there for Mass on Sundays.

The Counts Tiškevičiai resided in Palanga until 1939. After World War II, the palace was nationalized by the Soviet authorities. In 1963, a branch of the Lithuanian National Art Museum, the Palanga Amber Museum, was established there and is still operating today.

Birutė Park

In 1897, a landscaped park was established next to the Tiškevičiai palace. The project was designed by the famous French landscape architect Édouard André (1840–1911). Together with his son René Édouard André (1867–1942), he spent several summers in Palanga and supervised the construction of the park.

The cultural value and artistic success of the park was determined not only by E. F. André’s talent, but also by the natural and historical uniqueness of the location chosen for the park and the abundance and impressiveness of the creative components used in the park. The plants in the park were carefully adapted to the climatic conditions of Palanga. The palace is nestled between the park’s pond and the historically famous Lithuanian sacred site, the legendary Birutė Hill, which offers a magnificent view of the Baltic Sea. The paths are masterfully laid out and flower beds have been planted in the squares. On the northern side of the palace, the large parterre designed by architect E. F. André is still maintained, with a fountain in the center. In the southeastern part of the park is a small parterre decorated with flower beds, a fountain, and sculptures.

The park is rich in small architectural elements. Opposite the palace, a sculpture of Christ the Benefactor was erected in 1905, made in Paris, probably by the famous Maison Raffl company. It was destroyed in 1948 and restored in 1993. One of the most popular photo spots in Palanga is the bronze sculpture “Eglė – Queen of Serpents” created in 1960 by the famous sculptor Robertas Antinis, based on motifs from Lithuanian folk tales.

The park has survived two world wars, numerous natural and other disasters, and has been expanded and restored, but despite this, it has retained the spirit of the parks created by E. F. André and is considered one of the most beautiful parks in Northern Europe.

Since 1960, it has been called the Palanga Botanical Park. In 2011, the historical name of Birutė Park was restored.

Birutė Hill

Birutė Hill is the highest dune on the Palanga seashore and one of the most important symbols of the city. As early as the 9th–10th centuries, overseas merchants traded and lived near Birutė Hill. Silver, copper, lead, and zinc ore for the production of bronze alloys were brought to the mainland via Palanga from Central Europe or directly from Sweden.

In the 11th–12th centuries, the trade center of Palanga was a complex of four settlements, consisting of Birutė Hill, Žemaičių Hill, Rąžės, and the southern settlements. Birutė Hill was a place of defense and worship – an altar. The dates set by the priests were related to the corresponding holidays, during which certain gods and deities were worshipped.

The most important legend of the hill is about the priestesses who tended the eternal altar fire in the shade of the sacred oaks. The wise and beautiful Birutė, daughter of the Samogitian nobleman Vidmantas, served in the sanctuary. The local people considered her a saint. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Kęstutis, met and fell in love with Birutė on his way back from war with the Teutonic Knights. Although she had promised the gods to remain a virgin, Kęstutis took her away and married her. Birutė is the mother of one of the most prominent Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Vytautas. Written sources also confirm that she was a historical figure. To this day, there are stories that the hill itself is Birutė’s burial place.

The Christianization of Samogitia and the weakening of paganism did not affect Birutė’s Hill as a symbol. It did not lose its meaning and importance in the minds of the local people. And from a pagan cultural object, it was reconstructed into a Christian one.

The first wooden chapel of St. George was built on the hill around 1506. It was renovated in 1753. A new brick chapel in the Neo-Gothic style was built in 1869–1870 according to a design by the Riga-based architect Karl Mayer. At that time, steps were built to the hill and a number of trees were planted on its slopes. At that time, steps were built up the hill and many trees were planted on its slopes. Between 1898 and 1900, a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on the slope of Birutė Hill.

In 2016, an interactive fairy tale park was established in Palanga, based on Lithuanian folklore. Here, you can not only take a leisurely stroll among the ancient pine trees, but also get acquainted with the most popular Lithuanian fairy tales. Each sculpture has an information board where you can not only read the fairy tale, but also hear it in Lithuanian and English by pressing a special button. Children especially enjoy trying out the sculptures created from Lithuanian folk motifs. The sculptures, made of metal, stone, concrete, and wood, are designed not only to be touched, but also to be played with, climbed on, spun around, and so on.

Seven fairy tales are presented in the park: “Eglė – the Queen of Serpents” (by Agnesė Rudzitė (Latvia)), “The Sky is Falling” (by Krists Zarins (Latvia)), “The Old Woman Had a Grey Goat” (by Povilas Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Krists Zarins (Latvia), “The Old Woman Had a Grey Goat” (by Povilas Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Jug” (by Andrius Petkus), “I’m Following a Fairy Tale” (by Algis Kasparavičius), “The Sun and the Moon”
(by Rolandas Šmitas), “Pupa” (by Gediminas Mažintas). All of the sculptures are extremely attractive and charming with their colors, artistic expression, and unconventional solutions. This park has undoubtedly become the most popular place for young summer visitors to relax.

Warm baths have been operating in Palanga since the end of the 19th century as an alternative to sea bathing. At first, these were temporary facilities – baths set up in the premises of the gymnasium during the summer. In 1905, Count Feliksas Tiškevičius (1869–1932) built a wooden building for heated baths in a particularly cozy resort location on Kęstučio Street. Vacationers were offered heated sea water baths with pine extract or salt added upon request, as well as oxygen or carbon dioxide baths. Various therapeutic procedures were also performed.

Around 1911, as the resort’s seasonality declined and the number of wealthy vacationers increased, the building was expanded with two side wings on the east and west sides. Twenty-four baths were planned in them: six first-class, twelve second-class, and four third-class.

After renovations in 1929, there were 25 bathrooms. After World War II, the warm bathhouse was nationalized, and in 1952, a balneological (water and mud) treatment center was established there.

It can be said that this building and the services it provided were one of the first health centers in the Palanga resort, offering SPA (Latin: sanitas per aqua; sanus per aqua; solus per aqua – “health through water”) services, which are particularly popular today.

In the interwar period, it was prestigious to relax in Palanga, so it is not surprising that officers belonging to the Lithuanian elite at that time also decided to purchase summer houses. In 1934, a 6,000 square meter plot of land located between Kęstučio and Simpsono streets, with a two-story 1,633 square meter wooden summer house, was purchased from Marija Gorskienė (?) by attorney Liubomiras Bociarskis (?). During the renovation, 18 rooms with spacious balconies were built, and the building itself was designed with seven separate entrances so that the officers could relax without disturbing each other.

The villa was primarily intended for the recreation of members of the Officers’ Club and their families, but if there were rooms available, civilian employees of the Ministry of National Defense could also vacation there. A room with service cost 2 litas per night. This price included a bed with a mattress, pillow, and blanket, bed linen, and towels. Certain rules had to be followed in the villa – guests had to pay for any damage, and gambling and alcohol were prohibited.

There was a croquet court next to the villa, as this game was very popular among the officers staying there.

Palanga Bridge

Beach

One of the most beautiful legends of the seaside about the love of the goddess Jūratė and the fisherman Kastytis was brought to life in 1961 by sculptor Nijolė Gaigalaitė (1928–2009) in her sculptural composition “Jūratė and Kastytis.” The square adorned by this sculpture, one of the most important symbols of the Palanga resort, was also named after it.

The tragic love legend, heard by the residents of Palanga almost two centuries ago, was first recorded and published in 1842 in the book “Memories of the Land of Samogitia” by Adomas Liudvikas Jucevičius (1813–1846). In 1920, the poet Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis (1862–1932) published the ballad Jūratė ir Kastytis (Jūratė and Kastytis) in Lithuanian in the magazine Pavasario balsai (Voices of Spring). This marked the beginning of a new life for this legend in literature.

The legend tells of an amber palace standing in the depths of the Baltic Sea, whose mistress, the sea goddess Jūratė, protected and ruled all the waters and their inhabitants. No one had any reason to complain or lament, and everyone lived in harmony and peace. Once, Jūratė learned that the fisherman Kastytis was catching her fish and condemning them to death. She became angry and rose to the surface of the water to scold the disobedient fisherman. The fisherman pulled in his net and could not believe his eyes – there stood the queen of the sea herself. Jūratė scolded Kastytis, asking him why he was catching her fish and condemning them to death, but the young fisherman grew more and more fond of her. Jūratė invited the fisherman to stay at her amber palace, and he forgot about his home and his waiting mother, about the passing of time – he saw only his beloved Jūratė. The mighty god Perkūnas looked down from the heavens onto the sea and saw Jūratė happily spending time with the mortal, and he became terribly angry. Perkūnas shot his fiery arrow at Jūratė’s amber palace and smashed it into tiny pieces. The fisherman Kastytis, who dared to fall in love with the goddess, was killed. The ruler Jūratė, chained to a rock at the bottom of the sea by Perkūnas, still mourns her lost lover, and her amber tears are sometimes washed up on the sandy shore…

The Bridge

Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), doubting that a railway would ever be built to Palanga, thus facilitating transport to the town, invested in maritime transport and, around 1888, built an L-shaped pier almost a kilometer long. The count’s steamboat Feniksas moored there, transporting bricks made in the brickworks of the village of Vilimiškės and other agricultural products to Liepāja, and holidaymakers to Palanga. A narrow-gauge railway was built from the brickworks to the end of the pier to facilitate the transport of goods. The goods were transported by horse-drawn carts.

However, it soon became clear that the conditions were unsuitable for shipping, as after every storm the port became too shallow to navigate, and its constant deepening was too expensive. The ship was sold, and the bridge became a favorite spot for vacationers, who enjoyed romantic walks and watching the sunset. The horse-drawn narrow-gauge railway also served vacationers, allowing them to reach the beach without getting stuck in the sand.

In 1905, a spacious arbor decorated with an open wooden structure was built on the bridge. Holidaymakers would hide there from the hot sun or unexpected rain. During the interwar period, in 1932, the bridge underwent major repairs, and a café and kiosk were built on it. During the Soviet era, the bridge did not lose its important recreational function, and summer visitors were offered boat rides.

In 1991, it was decided to replace the old dilapidated wooden bridge with a new, more durable reinforced concrete structure with a wooden surface. The new bridge has a pier for small boats and four fishing platforms. The Palanga Bridge is one of the most important symbols of the unique resort life in Palanga.

Beach

In the first half of the 19th century, Palanga became increasingly popular with summer visitors due to its healthy seaside climate and the growing popularity of balneology in the Baltic region. Swimming was the main purpose of a visit to the seaside, so the Counts Tiškevičiai made sure that the beach was equipped with facilities for relaxation, changing, and swimming.

Changing rooms were built on Palanga beach in the second quarter of the 19th century and remained important until the First World War. Around a hundred changing rooms lined up in rows could be rented for the entire summer season. There was a certain order on the beach, which was maintained by supervisors. They made sure that the designated bathing hours for men and women were observed. Until the end of the 19th century, the bathing hours were announced by beating a drum. Later, this was replaced by a pole with a flag that was raised when it was time to go in the water.

At the end of the 19th century, bathing carts began to be used on Palanga beach. These were wooden huts on four wheels that were pulled into the sea by horses. The bathing carts had three uses: as simple changing rooms, as well as for naked bathers to hide from unwanted eyes and to avoid wading through the breaking waves, which could be fun for the young and healthy, but a difficult obstacle for the elderly and infirm.

There were also cold baths on Palanga beach. Right on the shore, a row of single-story changing cabins in the shape of the letter “U” was built on tall poles driven into the sand. Light entered the cabins through rectangular windows, and from the cabins it was possible to access a platform that surrounded the entire inner part of the bathing area. The platform, which extended into the sea, allowed vacationers to comfortably enter the water. This bathing facility was also popular with vacationers in the interwar period. Later, due to changing bathing habits, it disappeared from the seaside landscape.

During the Soviet era, a therapeutic beach operated on the beach, established in 1973.

Since 2004, the blue flag has been flying on the 500-meter-long beach in Birutė Park, indicating that the beach meets the highest environmental quality standards.

The Anapilis villa of the Counts Tiškevičiai is one of the most famous villas in the Palanga resort, distinguished by its unique architecture, which has no analogues on the Lithuanian coast. The history of the building dates back to 1898, although the exact date of construction and the architect are unknown.

The first owner and, presumably, the person who commissioned the villa was Countess Sofija Tiškevičienė (1837–1919). For a long time, the villa was named after her. After her death, the villa was inherited by her daughter Marija Tiškevičiūtė (1871–1941). After World War I, it was purchased by the Lithuanian Agricultural Bank, whose main shareholders were brothers Jonas (1886–1944) and Juozas Vailokaičiai (1880–1955). The villa began to be called “Anapilis,” although the residents of Palanga had already been calling it that because of its unique architecture.

In 1940, the villa was nationalized and converted into residential premises, and in the post-war years, the Jūratės sanatorium club was established there. Dance evenings, themed evenings, concerts, and similar entertainment were organized for vacationers at Anapilis.

After Lithuania regained its independence, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania assigned the Anapilis villa to the Palanga City Municipality. It became part of the Palanga Cultural Center. Soon, an acoustic music club was established in the villa, symbolically named Anapilis. The activities of the music club were reminiscent of the bohemian atmosphere of interwar Lithuania, when the villa was frequented by famous public figures and artists.

Since 2014, the Anapilis villa has housed the Palanga Resort Museum. In 2019, a modern, contemporary historical exhibition was installed there.

Various legends still circulate about the villa. The wind organ installed in the tower added even more mysticism and fueled rumors about séances that took place there. These wind catchers “caught” the seaside winds and emitted unusual sounds that matched the name of the villa. It is said that Countess S. Tiškevičienė complained of poor health, so wind harps were installed in the villa’s tower to cheer her up. As soon as the countess felt unwell, she would open the windows of the tower and listen to the unusual sounds of musical instruments.

The wind organ at the Anapilis villa is unique. There are no known analogues of this type of tin drums built into a building and functioning as “wind catchers” in Lithuania or abroad. Unfortunately, the wind organ discovered and restored during the renovation is not in working order, but it has been given a new lease of life in the Palanga Resort Museum exhibition.

At the end of the 19th century, as more and more summer houses were built in Palanga, only two brick villas were constructed. One of them was Villa Baltoji, intended for Count Feliksas Tiškevičius’ good friend and business partner, Prince Mykolas Oginskis (1849–1902). The prince did not own the villa for long, as he soon exchanged it for the villa Svitezis, located closer to the sea, which belonged to Countess Marija Tiškevičiūtė (1871–1943).

Between the wars, M. Tiškevičiūtė rented the Baltoji villa in the summers to the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona (1874–1944), who would come to Palanga with his family and a whole entourage of servants and advisors. The president’s vacation lasted from four to six weeks. A. Smetona enjoyed swimming in the sea, walking in the park and along the seashore, reading a lot, and watching the sun set from the pier every evening. For the convenience of the president and his entourage, the Palanga City Council had built a small, beautiful wooden cabin on the beach, which was surrounded by a low fence with a small sandy area.

In 1938, the villa was purchased by Vladas Stašinskas (1874–1944), a public figure and lawyer of the Republic of Lithuania. The building now belongs to his descendants.

From the oldest part of the Palanga resort, which includes the park, the first villas of the Counts of Tiškevičiai, the theater building, and the Kurhauzas, to the sea, runs the main street of the resort, which was called the Counts of Tiškevičiai Boulevard more than 120 years ago. Spacious plots have been formed around this street, ensuring exceptional comfort and privacy for their owners. The first wooden villas were built, surprising with their unique architecture and surviving to this day – Anapilis, Jūros akis, Aldona, Pajauta, Baltoji, Romeo, and Džiuljeta. The boulevard naturally continued into the sea, becoming a bridge for holidaymakers to stroll along and watch the sun set.

In 1921, when Palanga was awarded to Lithuania by the decision of the International Arbitration Commission, one of the most famous figures in Lithuanian culture and politics, scientist, promoter of Lithuanian culture, Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927), prepared a report entitled “From the History of Palanga,” which is considered the first historical study of the Palanga region. In 1924, J. Basanavičius visited Palanga and was treated at one of its sanatoriums. That same summer, he celebrated his name day in Palanga with two other patriarchs of the Lithuanian nation, Jonas Šliūpas (1861–1944) and Jonas Jablonskis (1860–1930). In the same year, the Palanga District Council renamed Tiškevičių Boulevard after Jonas Basanavičius. Since 2002, the beginning of this street has been adorned with a bust of J. Basanavičius (sculptor – Juozas Zikaras, architect – Vytautas Moncevičius).

Today, J. Basanavičiaus Street is the main entertainment street in Palanga, with bars, restaurants, and other places of entertainment. For vacationers, walking down this street to the bridge and watching the sun set from there remains one of the most important resort activities.

In the middle of the 20th century, the restaurant Vasara appeared in Palanga and was considered the most important restaurant in the resort for a long time. Designed by architect Aleksandras Eigirdas in 1964 and built in 1967, the building became a kind of icon of Lithuanian modernism. Vasara was the first building in the entire former Soviet Union to use a new thin-walled reinforced concrete construction technology. The restaurant was circular and glass-walled. In the evenings, the decorations inside glowed from afar. Due to its unique architectural design, it became perhaps the most important landmark representing the resort town of Palanga in various informational publications.

The restaurant was only open in the summer and was intended to serve independent vacationers. To this day, stories circulate that having dinner at Vasara was considered prestigious, and due to the long queues, not everyone was able to do so. Even the intense heat inside the building, which was like a greenhouse due to its glass construction, did not deter resort visitors.

In 2003, the building was renovated and modernized. The spiral staircase, the column supporting the building, and the exterior of the building remained almost unchanged, retaining its cylindrical shape and authentic window partitions.

In 1422, the Peace of Melno established the border between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Livonia, which ran along the Šventoji River. In the 14th–17th centuries, Šventoji was mentioned in the Hanseatic merchant routes between Königsberg and Riga. For a long time, Šventoji was more strategically important than Palanga – it had shipyards, a trading center, a fortress, and a park. In the 16th–18th centuries, English, Dutch, and Swedish ships visited Šventoji, taking grain, furs, and honey and bringing iron, manufactured goods, salt, wine, herring, and weapons.

In 1923–1925, work began on rebuilding the port, adapting it mainly for fishermen. In 1939–1940, the southern and northern piers were repaired. However, ships with large drafts could not enter this port because sand silted up the port gates. Šventoji never became a major port. After the war, its territory belonged to the fishing farm “Pajūris.”

Šventoji began to expand again after 1955. It was built up with wooden single-story houses, and later with private homes. In 1965, the Soviet border zone regime was relaxed and summer resorts were allowed to be built in Šventoji. In 1970, Šventoji was incorporated into Palanga. In 1972, the Greater Palanga Plan was drawn up, which provided for the construction of brick holiday homes in Šventoji. This area grew into a resort town.

In 1982, a 4-meter-high sculptural composition by sculptor Zuzana Pranaitytė, “The Fisherman’s Daughters,” was erected on the dunes near the gates of Šventoji Harbor.
It depicts not only the fisherman’s daughters waiting for their father to return from fishing, but also symbolizes the three Baltic states striving for independence. Lithuania is in the middle.

In the middle of the 16th century, a state institution – a customs office – operated in Palanga. In 1555, it was leased for three years by a Jew named Feliksas. The establishment of a customs office in Palanga testifies to the fact that the town was a magnet for traders.

In the 19th century, the main export goods were raw hides and cattle, while sugar, wool, cotton, and silk fabrics were imported. In the 19th century, trade in Palanga was a traditional example of Eastern European and Northern and Western European exchange: agricultural products, forest materials, and raw materials were exchanged for bakery goods, ironware, wine, fabrics, and salt.

In addition to fishing, amber extraction and processing, the inhabitants of Palanga had additional income from trade in contraband goods. Vodka, known locally as “Prussian,” colonial goods (tea, sugar), fabrics, illegal and Lithuanian books were transported across the border. Merchants and fishermen transported weapons and ammunition to the rebels in 1831 and 1863. During World War I, cigarettes, spirits, and saccharin were brought in from Prussia.

On October 5, 1865, by order of the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, it was forbidden throughout the empire to print or import any publications in the Lithuanian language using the Latin alphabet. The ban on the Lithuanian press lasted until 1904. The Tsarist border guards were obliged to fight Lithuanian book smugglers who transported illegal Lithuanian publications. Guards and customs officers received 10 kopecks for each book they seized, and as much as 10 rubles for a pood of newspapers or other publications. Transporting banned Lithuanian publications was very dangerous.
Many book smugglers had to fight with Russian border guards, and many were caught and brutally beaten. In 2004, UNESCO recognized book smuggling as a unique phenomenon with no equivalent anywhere else in the world.

Birutė Park,

Birutė Hill (leave your car near Birutė Park, Vytauto Street)

In 1891, after the death of Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), Palanga was inherited by his son, Count Feliksas Tiškevičius (1869–1932). Having renounced his military career, he continued his father’s work on developing the resort and in 1897 built a representative palace designed by the famous German architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten.

The palace of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius and his wife Antanina Sofija Loncka (1870–1951) is a building in the historicist style typical of the late 19th century, combining Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicist features and compositional elements. It was intended as a permanent residence for the nobility in Palanga.

The interior of the palace is subtly and tastefully decorated. It was adorned with valuable works of art: paintings, family portraits, engravings, bronze artefacts, marble busts, walls decorated with oriental carpets, tapestries and mirrors. The palace was famous for its extensive library and the unique collection of ancient amber artifacts collected by Count F. Tiškevičius himself.

In 1907, an octagonal Neo-Renaissance chapel designed by the same architect was added to the palace. In 1913, the counts traveled to Rome to ask the Pope for permission to hold Mass and other services in the chapel and to receive the Holy Sacrament. The count’s family began and ended each day with prayers in the chapel and gathered there for Mass on Sundays.

The Counts Tiškevičiai resided in Palanga until 1939. After World War II, the palace was nationalized by the Soviet authorities. In 1963, a branch of the Lithuanian National Art Museum, the Palanga Amber Museum, was established there and is still operating today.

Birutė Park

In 1897, a landscaped park was established next to the Tiškevičiai mansion. The project was designed by the famous French landscape architect Édouard André (1840–1911). Together with his son René Édouard André (1867–1942), he spent several summers in Palanga and supervised the construction of the park.

The cultural value and artistic success of the park was determined not only by E. F. André’s talent, but also by the natural and historical uniqueness of the location chosen for the park and the abundance and impressiveness of the creative components used in the park. The plants in the park were carefully adapted to the climatic conditions of Palanga. The palace is nestled between the park’s pond and the historically famous Lithuanian sacred site, the legendary Birutė Hill, which offers a magnificent view of the Baltic Sea. The paths are masterfully laid out and flower beds have been planted in the squares. On the northern side of the palace, the large parterre designed by architect E. F. André is still maintained, with a fountain in the center. In the southeastern part of the park is a small parterre decorated with flower beds, a fountain, and sculptures.

The park is rich in small architectural elements. Opposite the palace, a sculpture of Christ the Benefactor was erected in 1905, made in Paris, probably by the famous Maison Raffl company. It was destroyed in 1948 and restored in 1993. One of the most popular photo spots in Palanga is the bronze sculpture “Eglė – Queen of Serpents” created in 1960 by the famous sculptor Robertas Antinis, based on motifs from Lithuanian folk tales.

The park has survived two world wars, numerous natural and other disasters, and has been expanded and restored, but despite this, it has retained the spirit of the parks created by E. F. André and is considered one of the most beautiful parks in Northern Europe.

Since 1960, it has been called the Palanga Botanical Park. In 2011, the historical name of Birutė Park was restored.

Birutė Hill

Birutė Hill is the highest dune on the Palanga coast and one of the most important symbols of the city. As early as the 9th–10th centuries, overseas merchants traded and lived near Birutė Hill. Silver, copper, lead, and zinc ore for the production of bronze alloys were brought to the mainland via Palanga from Central Europe or directly from Sweden.

In the 11th–12th centuries, the trade center of Palanga was a complex of four settlements, consisting of Birutė Hill, Žemaičių Hill, Rąžės, and the southern settlements. Birutė Hill was a place of defense and worship – an altar. The dates set by the priests were related to the corresponding holidays, during which certain gods and deities were worshipped.

The most important legend of the hill is about the priestesses who tended the eternal altar fire in the shade of the sacred oaks. The wise and beautiful Birutė, daughter of the Samogitian nobleman Vidmantas, served in the sanctuary. The local people considered her a saint. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Kęstutis, met and fell in love with Birutė on his way back from war with the Teutonic Knights. Although she had promised the gods to remain a virgin, Kęstutis took her away and married her. Birutė is the mother of one of the most prominent Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Vytautas. Written sources also confirm that she was a historical figure. To this day, there are stories that the hill itself is Birutė’s burial place.

The Christianization of Samogitia and the weakening of paganism did not affect Birutė’s Hill as a symbol. It did not lose its meaning and importance in the minds of the local people. And from a pagan cultural object, it was reconstructed into a Christian one.

The first wooden chapel of St. George was built on the hill around 1506. It was renovated in 1753. A new brick chapel in the Neo-Gothic style was built in 1869–1870 according to a design by the Riga-based architect Karl Mayer. At that time, steps were built to the hill and a number of trees were planted on its slopes.
At that time, steps were built up the hill and many trees were planted on its slopes. Between 1898 and 1900, a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on the slope of Birutė Hill.

In 2016, an interactive fairy tale park was established in Palanga, based on Lithuanian folklore. Here, you can not only take a leisurely stroll among the ancient pine trees, but also get acquainted with the most popular Lithuanian fairy tales. Each sculpture has an information board where you can not only read the fairy tale, but also hear it in Lithuanian and English by pressing a special button. Children especially enjoy trying out the sculptures created from Lithuanian folk motifs. The sculptures, made of metal, stone, concrete, and wood, are designed not only to be touched, but also to be played with, climbed on, spun around, and so on.

Seven fairy tales are presented in the park: “Eglė – the Queen of Serpents” (by Agnesė Rudzitė (Latvia)), “The Sky is Falling” (by Krists Zarins (Latvia)), “The Old Woman Had a Grey Goat” (by Povilas Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Andrius Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Crow” (by Krists Zarins (Latvia), “The Old Woman Had a Grey Goat” (by Povilas Butkevičius), “The Fox and the Jug” (by Andrius Petkus), “I’m Following a Fairy Tale” (by Algis Kasparavičius), “The Sun and the Moon”
(by Rolandas Šmitas), “Pupa” (by Gediminas Mažintas). All of the sculptures are extremely attractive and charming with their colors, artistic expression, and unconventional solutions. This park has undoubtedly become the most popular place for young summer vacationers to relax.

Warm baths have been operating in Palanga since the end of the 19th century as an alternative to sea bathing. At first, these were temporary facilities – baths set up in the premises of the gymnasium during the summer. In 1905, Count Feliksas Tiškevičius (1869–1932) built a wooden building for heated baths in a particularly cozy resort location on Kęstučio Street. Vacationers were offered heated sea water baths with pine extract or salt added upon request, as well as oxygen or carbon dioxide baths. Various therapeutic procedures were also performed.

Around 1911, as the resort’s seasonality declined and the number of wealthy vacationers increased, the building was expanded with two side wings on the east and west sides. Twenty-four baths were planned in them: six first-class, twelve second-class, and four third-class.

After renovations in 1929, there were 25 bathrooms. After World War II, the warm bathhouse was nationalized, and in 1952, a balneological (water and mud) treatment center was established there.

It can be said that this building and the services it provided were one of the first health centers in the Palanga resort, offering SPA (Latin: sanitas per aqua; sanus per aqua; solus per aqua – “health through water”) services, which are particularly popular today.

In the interwar period, it was prestigious to relax in Palanga, so it is not surprising that officers belonging to the Lithuanian elite at the time also decided to purchase summer houses there. In 1934, a 6,000 square meter plot of land located between Kęstučio and Simpsono streets, with a two-story 1,633 square meter wooden summer house, was purchased from Marija Gorskienė (?) by attorney Liubomiras Bociarskis (?). During the renovation, 18 rooms with spacious balconies were built, and the building itself was designed with seven separate entrances so that the officers could relax without disturbing each other.

The villa was primarily intended for the recreation of members of the Officers’ Club and their families, but if there were rooms available, civilian employees of the Ministry of National Defense could also vacation there. A room with service cost 2 litas per night. This price included a bed with a mattress, pillow, and blanket, bed linen, and towels. Certain rules were observed in the villa – guests had to compensate for any damage, and gambling and alcohol were prohibited.

There was a croquet court next to the villa, as this game was very popular among the officers staying there.

Beach

One of the most beautiful legends of the seaside about the love of the goddess Jūratė and the fisherman Kastytis was brought to life in 1961 by sculptor Nijolė Gaigalaitė (1928–2009) in her sculptural composition “Jūratė and Kastytis.” The square adorned by this sculpture, one of the most important symbols of the Palanga resort, was also named after it.

The tragic love legend, heard by the residents of Palanga almost two centuries ago, was first recorded and published in 1842 in the book “Memories of the Land of Samogitia” by Adomas Liudvikas Jucevičius (1813–1846). In 1920, the poet Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis (1862–1932) published the ballad Jūratė ir Kastytis (Jūratė and Kastytis) in Lithuanian in the magazine Pavasario balsai (Voices of Spring). This marked the beginning of a new life for this legend in literature.

The legend tells of an amber palace standing in the depths of the Baltic Sea, whose mistress, the sea goddess Jūratė, protected and ruled all the waters and their inhabitants. No one had any reason to complain or lament, and everyone lived in harmony and peace. Once, Jūratė learned that the fisherman Kastytis was catching her fish and condemning them to death. She became angry and rose to the surface of the water to scold the disobedient fisherman. The fisherman pulled in his net and could not believe his eyes – there stood the queen of the sea herself. Jūratė scolded Kastytis, asking him why he was catching her fish and condemning them to death, but the young fisherman grew more and more fond of her. Jūratė invited the fisherman to stay at her amber palace, and he forgot about his home and his waiting mother, about the passing of time – he saw only his beloved Jūratė. The mighty god Perkūnas looked down from the heavens onto the sea and saw Jūratė happily spending time with the mortal, and he became terribly angry. Perkūnas shot his fiery arrow at Jūratė’s amber palace and smashed it into tiny pieces. The fisherman Kastytis, who dared to fall in love with the goddess, was killed. Queen Jūratė, chained to a rock at the bottom of the sea by Perkūnas, still mourns her lost lover, and her amber tears are sometimes washed up on the sandy shore…

The Bridge

Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), doubting that a railway would ever be built to Palanga, thus facilitating communication with the town, invested in maritime transport and, around 1888, built an almost one-kilometer-long L-shaped pier. The count’s steamboat Feniksas moored there, transporting bricks made in the brickworks of the village of Vilimiškės and other agricultural products to Liepāja, and holidaymakers to Palanga. A narrow-gauge railway was built from the brickworks to the end of the pier to facilitate the transport of goods. The goods were transported by horse-drawn carts.

However, it soon became clear that the conditions were unsuitable for shipping, as after every storm the port became too shallow to navigate, and its constant deepening was too expensive. The ship was sold, and the bridge became a favorite spot for vacationers, who enjoyed romantic walks and watching the sunset. The horse-drawn narrow-gauge railway also served vacationers, allowing them to reach the beach without getting stuck in the sand.

In 1905, a spacious arbor decorated with an open wooden structure was built on the bridge. Holidaymakers would hide there from the hot sun or unexpected rain. During the interwar period, in 1932, the bridge underwent major repairs, and a café and kiosk were built on it. During the Soviet era, the bridge did not lose its important recreational function, and summer visitors were offered boat rides.

In 1991, it was decided to replace the old dilapidated wooden bridge with a new, more durable reinforced concrete structure with a wooden surface. The new bridge has a pier for small boats and four fishing platforms. The Palanga Bridge is one of the most important symbols of the unique resort life in Palanga.

Beach

In the first half of the 19th century, Palanga became increasingly popular with summer visitors due to its healthy seaside climate and the growing popularity of balneology in the Baltic region. Swimming was the main purpose of a visit to the seaside, so the Counts Tiškevičiai made sure that the beach was equipped with facilities for relaxation, changing, and swimming.

Changing rooms were built on Palanga beach in the second quarter of the 19th century and remained important until the First World War. Around a hundred changing rooms lined up in rows could be rented for the entire summer season. There was a certain order on the beach, which was maintained by supervisors. They made sure that the designated bathing hours for men and women were observed. Until the end of the 19th century, the bathing hours were announced by beating a drum. Later, this was replaced by a pole with a flag that was raised when it was time to go in the water.

At the end of the 19th century, bathing carts began to be used on Palanga beach. These were wooden huts on four wheels that were pulled into the sea by horses. The bathing carts had three uses: as simple changing rooms, as well as for naked bathers to hide from unwanted eyes and to avoid wading through the breaking waves, which could be fun for the young and healthy, but a difficult obstacle for the elderly and infirm.

There were also cold baths on Palanga beach. Right on the shore, a row of single-story changing cabins in the shape of the letter “U” was built on tall poles driven into the sand. Light entered the cabins through rectangular windows, and from the cabins it was possible to access a platform that surrounded the entire inner part of the bathing area. The platform, which extended into the sea, allowed vacationers to comfortably enter the water. This bathing facility was also popular with vacationers in the interwar period. Later, due to changing bathing habits, it disappeared from the seaside landscape.

During the Soviet era, a therapeutic beach operated on the beach, established in 1973.

Since 2004, the blue flag has been flying on the 500-meter-long Birutė Park beach, indicating that the beach meets the highest environmental quality standards.

The Anapilis villa of the Counts Tiškevičiai is one of the most famous villas in the Palanga resort, distinguished by its unique architecture, which has no analogues on the Lithuanian coast. The history of the building dates back to 1898, although the exact date of construction and the architect are unknown.

The first owner and, presumably, the person who commissioned the villa was Countess Sofija Tiškevičienė (1837–1919). For a long time, the villa was named after her. After her death, the villa was inherited by her daughter Marija Tiškevičiūtė (1871–1941). After World War I, it was purchased by the Lithuanian Agricultural Bank, whose main shareholders were brothers Jonas (1886–1944) and Juozas Vailokaičiai (1880–1955). The villa began to be called “Anapilis,” although the residents of Palanga had already been calling it that because of its unique architecture.

In 1940, the villa was nationalized and converted into residential premises, and in the post-war years, the Jūratės sanatorium club was established there. Dance evenings, themed evenings, concerts, and similar entertainment were organized for vacationers at Anapilis.

After Lithuania regained its independence, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania assigned the Anapilis villa to the Palanga City Municipality. It became part of the Palanga Cultural Center. Soon, an acoustic music club was established in the villa, symbolically named Anapilis. The activities of the music club were reminiscent of the bohemian atmosphere of interwar Lithuania, when the villa was frequented by famous public figures and artists.

Since 2014, the Anapilis villa has housed the Palanga Resort Museum. In 2019, a modern, contemporary historical exhibition was installed there.

Various legends still circulate about the villa. The wind organ installed in the tower added even more mysticism and fueled rumors about séances that took place there. These wind catchers “caught” the seaside winds and emitted unusual sounds that matched the name of the villa. It is said that Countess S. Tiškevičienė complained of poor health, so wind harps were installed in the villa’s tower to cheer her up. As soon as the countess felt unwell, she would open the windows of the tower and listen to the unusual sounds of musical instruments.

The wind organ at the Anapilis villa is unique.
There are no known analogues of this type of tin drums built into a building and functioning as “wind catchers” in Lithuania or abroad. Unfortunately, the wind organ discovered and restored during the renovation is not working, but it has been brought back to life in a different form in the Palanga Resort Museum exhibition.

At the end of the 19th century, as more and more summer houses were built in Palanga, only two brick villas were constructed. One of them was Villa Baltoji, intended for Count Feliksas Tiškevičius’ good friend and business partner, Duke Mykolas Oginskis (1849–1902). The prince did not own the villa for long, as he soon exchanged it for the villa Svitezis, located closer to the sea, which belonged to Countess Marija Tiškevičiūtė (1871–1943).

Between the wars, M. Tiškevičiūtė rented the Baltoji villa in the summers to the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona (1874–1944), who would come to Palanga with his family and a whole entourage of servants and advisors. The president’s vacation lasted from four to six weeks. A. Smetona enjoyed swimming in the sea, walking in the park and along the seashore, reading a lot, and watching the sun set from the pier every evening. For the convenience of the president and his entourage, the Palanga City Council had built a small, beautiful wooden cabin on the beach, which was surrounded by a low fence with a small sandy area.

In 1938, the villa was purchased by Vladas Stašinskas (1874–1944), a public figure and lawyer of the Republic of Lithuania. The building now belongs to his descendants.

The main street of the resort, which was called Tiškevičiai Boulevard more than 120 years ago, runs from the oldest part of Palanga, which includes the park, the first villas of the Counts Tiškevičiai, the theater building, and the Kurhauzas, all the way to the sea. Spacious plots were formed around this street, ensuring exceptional comfort and privacy for their owners. The first wooden villas were built, surprising with their unique architecture and surviving to this day – Anapilis, Jūros akis, Aldona, Pajauta, Baltoji, Romeo, and Džiuljeta. The boulevard naturally extended into the sea, creating a bridge for holidaymakers to stroll along and watch the sun set.

In 1921, when Palanga was awarded to Lithuania by a decision of the International Arbitration Commission, Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927), one of the most famous figures in Lithuanian culture and politics and a scholar and promoter of Lithuanian culture, prepared a report entitled “From the History of Palanga,” which is considered to be the first comprehensive study of the history of Palanga. scholar, and promoter of Lithuanian culture, Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927), prepared a report entitled “From the History of Palanga,” which is considered the first historical study of the Palanga region. In 1924, J. Basanavičius visited Palanga and was treated at one of its sanatoriums. That same summer, he celebrated his name day in Palanga with two other patriarchs of the Lithuanian nation, Jonas Šliūpas (1861–1944) and Jonas Jablonskis (1860–1930). In the same year, the Palanga District Council renamed Tiškevičių Boulevard after Jonas Basanavičius. Since 2002, the beginning of this street has been adorned with a bust of J. Basanavičius (sculptor – Juozas Zikaras, architect – Vytautas Moncevičius).

Today, J. Basanavičiaus Street is the main entertainment street in Palanga, with bars, restaurants, and other places of entertainment. For vacationers, walking down this street to the bridge and watching the sun set from there remains one of the most important resort activities.

In the middle of the 20th century, the restaurant Vasara was built in Palanga and was considered the most important restaurant in the resort for a long time. Designed by architect Aleksandras Eigirdas in 1964 and built in 1967, the building became a kind of icon of Lithuanian modernism. Vasara was the first building in the entire former Soviet Union to use a new thin-walled reinforced concrete construction technology. The restaurant was round and glass-walled. In the evenings, the decorations inside glowed from afar. Due to its unique architectural design, it became perhaps the most important landmark representing the resort town of Palanga in various informational publications.

The restaurant was only open in the summer and was intended to serve independent vacationers. To this day, stories circulate that having dinner at Vasara was considered prestigious, and due to the long queues, not everyone was able to do so. Even the intense heat inside the building, which was like a greenhouse due to its glass construction, did not deter resort visitors.

In 2003, the building was renovated and modernized. The spiral staircase, the column supporting the building, and the exterior of the building remained almost unchanged, retaining its cylindrical shape and authentic window partitions.

The most beautiful and architecturally interesting villas in Palanga were built by the Counts Tiškevičiai. One of these is Villa Aldona, which originally belonged to Vladislav Tiškevičius (1865–1936), who was very interested in culture. He was the editor of the first humorous newspaper La Limande (The Flounder), published in Palanga in the summer of 1886. He signed his articles under the pseudonym M. Monstre. Four issues were published. They reviewed the advantages of the Palanga resort, the abundance of vacationers, their distribution according to social status and nationality, the purposes of vacationing at the resort, and events at the resort, as well as cultural, economic, and financial news.

From 1902, the Aldona villa was owned by the count’s mother, Sofija Tiškevičienė (1837–1919). The villa stood out not only for its wooden decorations, but also for its open gazebos, attics, and well-planned wide driveway. There are legends about the origin of the villa’s name. It is believed that the name is related to the character Aldona in the poem “Konradas Valenrodas” by the poet Adomas Mickevičius.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Countess S. Tiškevičienė rented out the villa and established the Olga guesthouse there.

In 2017, a unique entertainment complex, the Eureka House of Illusions, was established in the villa. Visitors have the opportunity to see themselves in unusual situations and environments that are completely unfamiliar to them, try out various experiments, and even experience more intense sensations.

The first small wooden Catholic church in Palanga was built in 1554 on the initiative of Stephen Báthory’s wife, Anna Jagiellon. Another cross-shaped church with a tower and a belfry was built in 1590 on the initiative of the rulers of Lithuania at that time. The church was rebuilt in 1767 and stood for 140 years. In 1897, a new neo-Gothic church was built next to the old wooden one, designed by Swedish architect Karl Eduard Strandmann. The Roman numerals above the main gate indicate that the construction of Palanga Church was completed in 1907.

The church has an impressive pulpit and three artistic altars decorated with bas-reliefs made of marble brought from France. The central altar features a painting of the Virgin Mary, which dates back to the 17th century. The other two wooden altars in the side aisles were moved from the previous wooden church.

In her memoirs, educator and writer Aleksandra Šilgalytė describes the day of March 23, 1915, when Palanga was bombed by the German navy. After the bombing, Palanga looked unrecognizable to the author, who was especially shocked by the appearance of the church and the churchyard: a large part of the churchyard fence was demolished, the walls of the church looked as if they had been pecked at by birds, the windows were broken, and the stained glass had turned into piles of colored glass. She also describes a story she heard about how, on the morning of March 23, when people gathered in the church to listen to Mass, a deafening sound suddenly rang out and a huge shell from the front of the altar of St. The priest and parishioners rushed to hide in the church basement, where they celebrated Mass. The priest and parishioners rushed to hide in the church basement, where they celebrated Mass. It is believed that if the explosive had detonated, the church would have been completely destroyed. The shell was removed by German soldiers themselves.

On April 1, 2018, the tower with an observation deck began operating at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Palanga. The height of the church tower is 24 meters.

Palanga began to gain popularity as a summer resort in the second quarter of the 19th century, but for a long time it lacked recreational facilities such as restaurants, summer houses, and hotels. In 1877, Count Juozapas Tiškevičius (1835–1891), the founder of the Palanga resort, built the first restaurant, which he expanded in 1880 and turned into a hotel. Such multifunctional leisure houses, called kurhauzes, were one of the main elements of every resort town, so the Palanga kurhauzas soon became the center of the emerging resort. Summer visitors were particularly fond of it because it had a restaurant, a reading room, billiard and game rooms, and various concerts, dance evenings, performances, and other entertainment events were organized there. For a long time, the Kurhaus was the only hotel in Palanga.

In 1905, the newly established resort administration and information office began operating in the Kurhaus. Holidaymakers arriving in Palanga had to register and pay various resort fees within 24 hours. The resort administration constantly ensured that holidaymakers had a comfortable stay and were not short of entertainment.

The Palanga Kurhaus was constantly renovated, expanded, and rebuilt, so it never achieved a stylistically uniform form. In 1909, it underwent its most serious reconstruction. During this time, water and sewage systems were installed, and a large hall decorated with impressive classicist moldings and a raised stage was added. An Art Nouveau-style veranda with a view of the new Palanga church was added to the northern facade.

In the interwar period, the Kurhaus became the most popular entertainment venue in Palanga, attracting the educated intelligentsia, who were passionate about the idea of freedom of thought. At that time, the building was lit by electricity and had a telephone. For a long time, the Kurhaus was the main venue for cultural events in the town. It housed the resort association organization.

The Kurhaus, considered a symbol of the Palanga resort, burned down in 2002. The brick part was rebuilt in 2013, and the wooden part in 2020.

In the 1890s, Count Juozapas Tiškevičius built a modest wooden theater near his family’s summer residence for the entertainment of his family and guests. It was used for amateur performances by family members and acquaintances. At the beginning of the 20th century, with more and more vacationers coming to Palanga and seeing the need for this type of cultural institution, Feliksas Tiškevičius built a new 600-seat theater building in 1908, which, according to the press at the time, was “as beautiful as Palanga.” Unfortunately, the new theater did not impress the audience, who complained about the smell of mold, poor acoustics, and lighting. As a result, after the first summer season, it was decided to renovate it, and apparently due to the repairs, a fire broke out in May 1909 and the building burned down.

In 1910, a new, much more modest single-story wooden theater building was constructed. This building served theater lovers for several decades, but it also burned down in 1934.

In 1939, Palanga architect Vadimas Lvovas (1906–1940) designed and built a summer stage on the same site. It is believed that during the Soviet era, it was rebuilt and moved to the park grounds.

In 1971, the famous Palanga Summer Stage with a capacity of 1,000 people was built (architect Vytautas Gerulis). It hosted concerts by famous performers of the time and various entertainment events.
After serving for 40 years during the summer season, the stage was demolished in 2013 and replaced in 2015 with a modern concert hall with 2,200 seats, resembling a music box, which is open all year round.

When creating the Palanga resort, the Counts Tiškevičiai built buildings for recreation and entertainment and created various recreational areas for the enjoyment of holidaymakers: parks, gardens, and alleys. One of the oldest parts of the Palanga resort is the promenade, laid out at the end of the 19th century parallel to Liepojos Street (now Vytauto Street). The Kurhauzo Park was established here, and the first villas of the Counts Tiškevičiai and a theater building were constructed. Around 1910, the main Art Nouveau gates to the center of the Palanga resort were built at the beginning of the alley. A fee was collected there for entry to the resort park.

In 2017, in honor of the Counts Tiškevičiai and their contribution to the establishment of the Palanga resort, the alley was restored, the destroyed gates were rebuilt, and sculptures of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius and his wife Countess Antanina Sofija Tiškevičienė were unveiled (sculptor Klaudijus Pūdymas, architect Snieguolė Stripinienė). The pavement of the alley is decorated with the Tiškevičiai family motto engraved in Latin and Lithuanian: “Deligas quem diligas” and “Išsirink, ką myli” (Choose what you love).

The alley is further enhanced and made even more charming by a sculpture park, where visitors can admire 28 sculptures created by famous Lithuanian and foreign sculptors.

The old pharmacy in Palanga, established in 1827, is still in operation today. It is believed that it was built in the 3rd or 4th decade of the 19th century.

The founder and first owner of the Palanga pharmacy was Wilhelm Johann Grüning, a German from Riga. Later, the pharmacy was inherited by his son Wilhelm, who studied pharmacy at the University of Dorpat and had a master’s degree in pharmacy. The Palanga pharmacy became famous for patenting the production of an original 27-herb extract called “Trejos devynerios” (Three Nines). The pharmacy also produced the famous tincture mixture “Essentia cordialis” or “Tinctura Schräderi” according to a recipe by Dr. Schräder from Klaipėda, as well as patented medicines made from iron mixtures. The pharmacy had the trademark “Raudonas raktas” (Red Key). During the Lithuanian press ban, the owners of the Palanga pharmacy, father and son Grüningai, printed prescriptions and medicine labels in Lithuanian.

From 1910, the pharmacy belonged to Wilhelm Bertnig, and was later inherited by his son Oskaras Aleksandras. From 1940 to 1944, the northern wing of the pharmacy housed a library, and later, until 1951, it was the headquarters of the NKVD. After the war, the pharmacy became a state-owned enterprise. Today, the building is privately owned.