| Neringa municipality Neringos savivaldybė |
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Location of Neringa municipality within Lithuania | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Lithuania | ||
| Ethnographic region | Lithuania Minor | ||
| County | Klaipėda County | ||
| Capital | Nida, Lithuania | ||
| Elderships | 2 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Vigantas Giedraitis | ||
| • Ruling party | Coalition "For the Future of Neringa" | ||
| • Council size | 21 members | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 90 km2 (34.7 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 55th | ||
| Population (2001 census)[1] | |||
| • Total | 2,400 | ||
| • Rank | 60th | ||
| • Density | 26.7/km2 (69.1/sq mi) | ||
| • Density rank | 39-40th | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Telephone code | 469 | ||
| Major settlements |
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| Website | www.neringa.lt | ||
Neringa municipality or Neringa (, Lithuanian: Neringos savivaldybė) is a municipality in westernmost Lithuania, in the Curonian Spit. In terms of population, it is the smallest municipality of the country. Until the Lithuanian municipality reform, it was known as Neringa city, although there was never a true city there. It was made a city only because within the Soviet administrative system it was not possible to carve such small districts, but it was possible to grant rights to a city that it would only be responsible to the state itself rather than districts. Neringa is separated from the mainland Lithuania by Curonian Lagoon which, while there is no bridge, it is still accessible from the mainland by ferry only. The villages in Neringa municipality are Nida, Preila, Pervalka and Juodkrantė. They are tourist resorts and by then it was popular to grant more self government to resorts. The municipality is the only one in Lithuania which is not called after a town or city. The name Neringa was created at Soviet time for the new city municipality.
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The name of the city is relatively new and is not found in old scriptures in this form. The name is derived from a German word Neringe, Nerunge, Nehrung which itself is a derivative of a curonian word nerija meaning a long peninsular spit.[2]
Neringa belonged to the former south-curonian landscapes Pilsaten and Lamotina.
Since 1252 the region was under the rule of various German governments, starting with the Teutonic Knights and later Prussia and Germany. Already in 1569 a "confusion of languages" was noticed: German, Lithuanian, Latvian-Curonian (Nehrungs-Kurisch) and Prussian. Nehrungs-kurisch was the language of the fishers.
The colours of the typical houses are handed down from the pagan religion and symbolize Divinities: Earth (brown), Sky and Water (blue), Clouds and Spray (white). At the top two crossed "zirgs" (horse heads).
The plebiscite of 1897 showed that about 60% used the Curonian language, on sea even 65%. In 1923, when sovereignty over the spit came to Lithuania, the inhabitants had problems with their nationality. Only few optated for Lithuania, many emigrated to Germany and others stayed as German "resident foreigners" in their villages. The result of the plebiscite of 1956: 59% Lithuanians, 21% Russians and only 15% (22 families) of the autochtone inhabitants.
The Coat of Arms from the year 1968 shows the black and white symbols of the Klaipėda Region, Kurenwimpel, Nida, Lithuania, Preila, Pervalka, Juodkrantė, Purvinė. The N stayes for the new name.
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