Curonian Spit

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Curonian Spit and Lagoon

The Curonian Spit (Lithuanian: Kuršių Nerija, Russian: Куршская коса, German: Kurische Nehrung) is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand dune peninsula that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Current state
4 Environmental concerns
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Geography

The Curonian Spit stretches from the Sambian Peninsula on the south to its northern tip next to a narrow strait, across from which is the port city of Klaipėda on the mainland of Lithuania. The northern 52 km long stretch of the Curonian Spit peninsula belongs to Lithuania, while the rest is part of the Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia (see the map). The width of the spit varies from a minimum of 400 m in Russia (near the village of Lesnoye) to a maximum of 3,800 m in Lithuania (just north of Nida).

[edit] History

Curonian Spit

According to Baltic mythology, the Curonian Spit was formed by a strong girl, Neringa, who was playing on the shore of the sea. This child also appears in some other myths (in some of which she is shown as a young strong woman, similar to a female version of the Greek Heracles).

The Curonian Spit was formed about 5,000 years ago. From ca. 800 to 1016, it was the location of Kaup, a major pagan trading centre which has not been excavated as of yet. The Teutonic Knights occupied the area in the 13th century, building their castles at Memel (1252), Neuhausen (1283), and at Rossitten (1372).

In the 16th century, a new period of dune formation began. Deforestation of the spit due to overgrazing, timber harvesting, and building of boats for the siege of Königsberg in 1757 led to the dunes taking over the spit and burying entire villages. Alarmed by these problems, the Prussian government sponsored large-scale revegetation and reforestation efforts, which started in 1825. Owing to these efforts, much of the spit is now covered with forests. Centuries ago the Curonian spit was inhabited primarily by Curonians, with a significant German minority in the south and a significant Lithuanian minority in the north. The population of Curonians eventually dwindled due to assimilation and other reasons; it is close to non-existent these days and even before 1945, when the spit had become totally ethnic German. Until the 20th century, most people in the area made their living by fishing.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, tourism flourished; many Germans, mostly the descendants of the inhabitants of the area, choose the Curonian Spit (especially Nida, as no visas are needed for Germans in Lithuania) as their holiday destination.

From 2002-2005 local environmentalists in both Kaliningrad Oblast[1] and Lithuania [2] protested against Lukoil's plans to exploit the D6 oilfield, which is in the territorial waters of Russia 22.5 km from the Curonian Spit due to the possible great damage to the environment and tourism (a vital source of income in the area) in case of oil leakage. These concerns did not meet support in the government of Russia. They were, however, supported by the government of Lithuania, as the oilfield is just about four km from the boundary of Lithuanian territorial waters and the prevailing northward currents means that the Lithuanian coastlines would receive a large part of potential damage in case of leakage. However, the opposition to the exploitation of D6 oilfield met little international support and the oil platform was opened in 2005.

[edit] Current state

Landsat photo

The Curonian Spit is home to the highest moving (drifting) sand dunes in Europe. Their average height is 35 m, but some attain the height of 60 m.

The largest town on the spit is Nida in Lithuania, a popular holiday resort, mostly frequented by Lithuanian and German tourists. The northern shoreline of Curonian Spit is the site of beaches for tourists. Both Russian and Lithuanian parts of the spit are national parks.

The settlements of the Curonian Spit (from north to south) are:

Smiltynė
Alksnynė
Juodkrantė
Pervalka
Preila
Nida
Morskoe
Rybachy
Lesnoye

The first six are on the Lithuanian side, while the last three are on the Russian side. Russian side of the Curonian Spit belongs to Zelenogradsk district of the Kaliningrad Oblast, while the Lithuanian side is partitioned among Klaipėda city municipality and Neringa municipality.

There is a single road that connects whole Curonian Spit. In the Russian side it goes to Zelenogradsk, while on the Lithuanian side - to Smiltynė. The spit is not connected to mainland Lithuania. Car ferries provide a transportation link between Smiltynė, located on the spit, and the port town of Klaipėda.

Since 2000, the Curonian Spit is on the UNESCO's World Heritage List under cultural criteria "V" (an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture [...], or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change).

[edit] Environmental concerns

There are various environmental concerns related to the Curonian Spit, which is often promoted as a refuge of clean nature.

Due to the importance of tourism and fishing for the regional economy, polluting of sea and coastlines may have disastrous effects for the area as both the unique nature and the economy would be damaged. The construction of oil platform at the D6 oilfield (in the territorial waters of Russia, 22,5 kilometers from the coastline of the Curonian Spit (exact location)) in 2005 has raised concerns over possible oil spills.

Another concern is that increased tourism destroys the very nature that attracts it. For this reason, various measures have been taken, such as banning tourists from hiking at certain areas of the spit.

Natural hazards are also more dangerous in the Curonian Spit than elsewhere in Lithuania or the Kaliningrad Oblast. Storms tends to be stronger here due to the importance of trees in preventing soil erosion, forest fires that happen in summer are more dangerous to the nature.