{"id":19067,"date":"2022-01-21T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/lankytinos-vietos\/zemaiciu-alka\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T14:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T11:40:01","slug":"samogitian-sanctuary-zemaiciu-alkas","status":"publish","type":"lankytina_vieta","link":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/sightseeing-places\/samogitian-sanctuary-zemaiciu-alkas\/","title":{"rendered":"Samogitian Alka"},"template":"","vietu_kategorija":[741],"class_list":["post-19067","lankytina_vieta","type-lankytina_vieta","status-publish","hentry","vietu_kategorija-monuments-sculptures-and-the-alkas"],"acf":{"irasas_1_latitude":"56.0407403","irasas_1_longitude":"21.074935","irasas_1_nuotrauka":15370,"irasas_1_nuotraukos_rodymas":"on","irasas_1_nuotrauka_2":"","irasas_1_aprasymas":"When visiting \u0160ventoji, be sure to visit the Samogitian Alka, located on a dune near the Energetikas health center at the end of Jonpapar\u010dio Street. This is a pagan sanctuary with a paleoastronomical observatory, rebuilt in 1998, which stood on Birut\u0117 Hill in Palanga in the 15th century. During the reconstruction of the pagan sanctuary, wooden pillars carved by folk artists were erected in the Samogitian Alka, each bearing the name of a god or goddess from Baltic mythology:\r\nPerk\u016bnas, Au\u0161rin\u0117, \u017demyna, Aust\u0117ja, Ondenis, Patrimpas, Patulas, Velnias, Leda, Saul\u0117, and M\u0117nulis.\r\nAs the sun sets into the sea, the arrangement of the shadows cast by the pillars can be used to calculate the calendar holidays that have come down from pagan times. Nowadays, pagan festivals are celebrated here.\r\n\u017demai\u010di\u0173 alkas is a structure on a dune with religious and astronomical significance, consisting of 12 oak pillars. The pillars of the alkas are positioned so that the shadows cast by the sun can be used to determine the Baltic calendar holidays. They were created based on an original 2-meter-high wooden pillar with a mask of a goddess with owl features carved into it, discovered during the archaeological expeditions of Dr. Rimut\u0117 Rimantien\u0117. This structure was erected on the dune in 1998 by the Palanga branch of the Samogitian Cultural Society, based on research data from a medieval (14th-15th century) observatory discovered by archaeologists on Birut\u0117 Hill in Palanga. The pillars, carved by folk artists and creatively associated with Baltic gods, are dedicated to Perk\u016bnas, Au\u0161rin\u0117, \u017demyna, Aust\u0117ja, Ondenius, Patrimpas, Patulas, Velinas, and Lada. Twelve oak pillars were erected on the dune based on research conducted by Klaip\u0117da University professor and archaeologist Vladas \u017dulkus on Birut\u0117 Hill. They are arranged so that when the sun sets over the sea, the shadows cast by the pillars can be used to determine the dates of the main calendar holidays \u2013 Rasas, Gandro Day, U\u017egav\u0117nes, Christmas, etc. Pagan festivals are held here by enthusiasts of ancient Baltic culture and religion, celebrating the goddesses Milda (May 13), Rasos (June 22), and Lygiadienis (March 22). The Jor\u0117 festival (April 23) is called the festival of pagan celebrations in Palanga, which attracts attention with its rituals and ceremonies (during which amber dust is sacrificed by throwing it into a bonfire and wishing for something good or expressing one's deepest desires). The Samogitian altar in \u0160ventoji is located on a dune surrounded by beautiful scenery. It is believed that a wooden church of the Elija settlement once stood on the site of the Samogitian altar. By order of K\u0119sgaila, the church was moved to Birut\u0117 Hill.\r\nMembers of the Palanga branch of the Samogitian Society, who built this altar in 1998 (sculpture architect S. Manomaitis), celebrate pagan holidays here.","irasas_1_adresas":"Samogitian Alkas (near Jonpaparcis Street and the Curonian Trail), \u0160ventoji","irasas_1_google_maps_nuoroda":"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?q=56.040740,21.074935&ll=56.040740,21.074935&z=12","irasas_1_telefonas_1":"","irasas_1_telefonas_2":"","irasas_1_el_pastas":"","irasas_1_tinklalapis":"","irasas_1_booking_nuoroda":"","irasas_1_tripadvisor_nuoroda":"","irasas_1_facebook_nuoroda":"","irasas_1_instagram_nuoroda":"","irasas_1_galerija":[15360,15362,15364,15366,15368,15372,15374,15376],"irasas_1_zemelapis":{"address":"\u017demai\u010di\u0173 Alka, Kur\u0161i\u0173 takas, Palanga, Lietuva","lat":56.0407403,"lng":21.074935,"zoom":14,"place_id":"ChIJtXGaVD8y5UYRRYhmk-PFUsU","name":"\u017demai\u010di\u0173 Alka","street_number":289,"street_name":"Kur\u0161i\u0173 takas","street_name_short":"Kur\u0161i\u0173 tak.","city":"Palanga","state":"Klaip\u0117dos apskritis","state_short":"Klaip\u0117dos apskr.","post_code":317,"country":"Lietuva","country_short":"LT"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lankytina_vieta\/19067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lankytina_vieta"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/lankytina_vieta"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lankytina_vieta\/19067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57678,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lankytina_vieta\/19067\/revisions\/57678"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15376"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15374"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15372"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15368"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15366"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15364"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15362"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vietu_kategorija","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visit-palanga.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vietu_kategorija?post=19067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}