Neringa municipality

Neringa municipality
Neringos savivaldybė
Municipality

UNESCO Monument in Nida

Coat of arms

Location of Neringa municipality within Lithuania
Coordinates: 55°33′20″N 21°07′00″E / 55.55556°N 21.11667°ECoordinates: 55°33′20″N 21°07′00″E / 55.55556°N 21.11667°E
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Lithuania Minor
County Klaipėda County
Capital Nida, Lithuania
Elderships 2
Government
 • Mayor Darius Jasaitis
 • Ruling party Coalition "For the Future of Neringa"
 • Council size 21 members
Area
 • Total 90 km2 (30 sq mi)
Area rank 55th
Population (2001 census)[1]
 • Total 2,400
 • Rank 60th
 • Density 27/km2 (69/sq mi)
 • Density rank 39-40th
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Telephone code 469
Major settlements
Website www.neringa.lt

Neringa ( pronunciation ) or Neringa municipality (Lithuanian: Neringos savivaldybė) is a municipality of Klaipėda County in westernmost Lithuania, comprising several villages in the Curonian Spit. In terms of population, it is the smallest municipality of the county, though Neringa holds the status of a city (miestas).

Name

See also: List of Lithuanian gods and Lithuanian mythology

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]

Until the 2010 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.

Geography

Neringa is located south of Klaipėda, separated from the mainland Lithuania by Curonian Lagoon. While there is no bridge, it is still accessible from the mainland by ferry only.

The villages in Neringa municipality comprise:

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.

History

Traditional fisherman environment.

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 census 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 opted for Lithuania, many emigrated to Germany and others stayed as German "resident foreigners" in their villages. The result of the census of 1956: 59% Lithuanians, 21% Russians and only 15% (22 families) of the autochtone inhabitants.

Coat of arms

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 stands for the new name.

Literature

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nerija.ku.lt
  2. ↑ http://legitbabenames.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/neringa/

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Neringa.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neringa.