Juodkrantė

Juodkrantė (literally: "Black Shore", German: "Schwarzort" ["Black Place"] ) with permanent population of about 720 people is a quiet Lithuanian seaside resort village located on the Curonian Spit. A part of Neringa municipality, Juodkrantė is the second largest settlement on Lithuania's part of the spit. It started as a fishermen village and underwent a tourist boom in the late 19th - early 20th century. For several centuries, until Klaipėda Revolt in 1923, Juodkrantė, then known under its German name Schwarzort, was a part of East Prussia.

History

Juodkrantė was first mentioned (as "Schwarzort") in 1429 in a letter by the Teutonic Knights describing storm damages. It was initially situated along the Baltic Sea shore, about 2.5 km from the present location. In the early 17th century, facing black death and moving sand dunes, threatening to bury the village, the town lost almost all of its inhabitants. In the 1680s, the village relocated to its present location along the Curonian Lagoon shore. After 1724, the sources do not mention the village along the Baltic Sea shore any more. The village did quite well in the new location: a tavern was opened in 1673, a school in 1743, and a wooden church in 1795. Until 1740 the village belonged to Klaipėda County ( _de. Kreis Memel) then from 1740-1795 to Karvaičiai Church District ( _de. Kirchspiel Carwaiten). It grew in importance after Carwaiten/Karvaičiai village was swallowed by traveling sand and the seat of the church district relocated here. The wooden church burned down in 1878 but was soon replaced by a red brick Lutheran church in 1885.

Major developments took place in 1860s. In the late 1850s the lagoon waterway was deepened and now ferries could arrive. It was the easiest way to travel, but it also had a side effect: workers found samples of amber. In 1860 Stantien & Becker company was founded to dig amber just north of the village. During 30 years of operations, it dug out about 2,250,000 kg of amber. During its peak the company employed about 1,000 workers. The company had a positive effect on the village as it built barracks for its workers, a second school, a luxurious villa "Flora", and a dock suited for ferries. The land dug out was used to reinforce the shore and swampy areas. After the company relocated to Palmnicken (now Yantarny) in 1890, the population of Juodkrantė dropped from 851 in 1885 to 423 in 1895.

The tourist business was started in 1860s by Edward Stellmacher, who turned an old tavern house into a hotel named "Kurischer Hof" (Lithuanian: "Kuršių kiemas", now "Gintaras"). Because of the amber business, a new Juodkrantė started to develop north to the old fishermen village. Many villas and hotels were built there. In the beginning of the 20th century there were 5 hotels, 20 villas, and a convalescent home "Luisenbad" (Lithuanian: "Luizės maudykla"). The new town was considered a luxury resort and attracted about 3,000 visitors a year. The World War II destroyed the tourist business. Neringa was a strictly regulated border region. Only in the early 1960s tourists started to come back. However, Nida became a more popular destination for tourists. This allowed Juodkrantė to retain its old business - fishing. Sometimes it is referred to as the "capital of fishermen" and holds annual fishermen festival in July.

Amber treasure

Workers of Stantien & Becker company would dig up many pieces of amber shaped as amulets or knick-knacks. At first they would give them out as souvenirs, but then started collecting these items from the Mid Neolithic and the Bronze Ages. Richard Klebs, professor at Königsberg University, described 435 items (pendants, buttons, tubular beads, discs, and figurines of humans and animals) in his book "Stone Age Amber Adornments" in 1882. These ancient "Schwarzorter Funde" are considered to contain earliest known amber carvings. About 150 items have detailed images. The collection was shown in Berlin, St. Petersburg, London, Chicago. After Klebs death, Königsberg University purchased his collection. However, during the turbulent times of World War II most of the large collection in Königsberg was destroyed or stolen and only a few items were saved at Göttingen University, the previous sister university of Königsberg. But because of detailed illustrations in Klebs' book, scientists managed to make replicas.

Tourist Attractions

Hill of Witches

A large collection of unique wooden sculptures by various artists is displayed on the Hill of Witches ( _lt. Raganų kalnas). The sculpture park was started in 1979 and now has more than 70 wooden objects. Most of the figures are based on Lithuanian legends or folk tales. Before the surrounding area was planted with tress, visitors could admire a view of the sea and the lagoon.

culpture park "Land and Water"

Another sculpture park was finished in 2002. It houses 31 stone and metal sculptures created during an international symposium "Land and Water." The sculptures are located on the recently built quay, 2.4 km in length, along the lagoon shore.

A Museum of Weathercocks is maintained by Daiva and Remigijus Žadeikiai. The gallery informs on Nerija cultural heritage. There is also a gallery maintained by the "Lithuanian National Art Museum".

The heron and cormorant colonies

Of interest to nature watchers are the large great cormorant (2000 pairs) and grey heron (500 pairs) colonies west of Juodkrantė.It is believed that the herons have nested near Juodkrantė since 17th century, and the cormorants arrived only at the beginning of 19th century. Eventually, the cormorants were exterminated at the end of 19th century due to Prussian administration regulations and started to re-appear only in the 1970s. The large cormorant colony has damaged the old and fragile forest because the ingredients of the birds' excrement burn tree roots. During last 15 years about 10 ha of forest has died. Fishermen blame the birds for diminishing fish catches, but unlike in Prussia, the regulations now do not allow killing them as both grey heron and great cormorant are protected species in Lithuania.

Famous people

Gustav Fenkohl, a sea- and landscape painter was born 1872 in nearby Memel and lived for many years in the village.

port

Juodkrantė is one of the best kitesurfing / windsurfing [http://www.extreme-sports.lt/pages/jegos-aitvarai/spotai/pajurio-zona.php spot] and [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114845649234516213884.00044ccd934ccd2e502db&ll=55.574463,21.168594&spn=0.204185,0.66124&z=11 kitebeach] in Lithuania. Open for all wind directions.

References

* Nijolė Strakauskaitė, Klaipėda, Kuršių nerija, Karaliaučius (2005). R. Paknys Publishing. Pages 94-103. ISBN 9986830826.
* [http://www.nerija.lt/en/zmogus/juodkrante.php History: Juodkrantė (former Schwarzort or Schattenort)] , Direction Kuršių Nerija National Park. Accessed August 19, 2006.
* Matas Mizgiris, [http://www.ambergallery.lt/english/muziejus-archeologiniai_radiniai-jlobis.htm Treasure of Juodkrantė] , Amber Museum-Gallery. Accessed August 19, 2006.
* Asta Aleksėjūnaitė, [http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=9408465 Prieš kormoranus - balionais] , L.T., March 28, 2005. Delfi.lt. Accessed August 19, 2006.