Birštonas
Encyclopedia
Birštonas is a spa town
in Lithuania
situated 30 km (18.6 mi) south of Kaunas
on the right bank of the Nemunas River
. Birštonas received its city rights
1529, and was appointed a city in 1966.
name of the city. Versions of the name in other languages include Polish
: Birsztany, Russian
: Бирштаны Birshtany, Belarusian
: Біршта́ны Birshtany, Yiddish: בירשטאן Birshtan, Latvian
: Birštona.
in 1382 and described as a "a farmstead at the salty water". Many Lithuanian dukes and other noblemen vacationed in Birštonas during 14th and 16th centuries to hunt. The resort was founded in 1846. Many people from Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian cities visited sanitorium
s for the area's mineral water
and to receive curative mud applications, including Lithuanian writer Balys Sruoga
, who was ill after the Stutthof concentration camp
.
, which is very good for the ill. Some hills offer nice views of the Neman River. There are also shops, police department
, library, theatre, clinic, pharmacy, book store
, schools, museums, cafes, restaurants and the City Hall. There are many apartments and rare houses. Birštonas serves as a center of the Nemunas Loops Regional Park
.
, Vilnius
, and Marijampolė
. It is served by Kaunas International Airport
, the second largest in Lithuania, located in Karmėlava
site.
and motorboat races. Another devoted to jazz
attracts thousands and is held every two years at the end of March. The jazz festival is more than twenty years old and is now broadcast as well.
. This water is used by sanatoria for mineral water pools and baths. There are two large sanatoria in Birštonas – Tulpė (English: Tulip) and Versmė (English: Spring). Both offer halotherapy, therapeutic mud bathes, mineral water pools, baths, massages, and a wide range of curative procedures. Birštonas also has hotels and country farmsteads, adapted for rural tourism
. Local attractions include Vytautas hill, where a Lithuanian Grand Duke
Vytautas had his hunting mansion; two museums; and the Promenade, a path near the Neman River. Cycling in local Žvėrinčius forest, riding a horse, sailing, sculling, or canoeing along the Verknė or the Nemunas rivers are provided. Birštonas is one of Lithuania's few resorts.
Żnin
in Poland
(since 1998) Keila
in Estonia
Sigulda
in Latvia
Sysmä
in Finland
Bykle
in Norway
Neringa
in Lithuania
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
situated 30 km (18.6 mi) south of Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
on the right bank of the Nemunas River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
. Birštonas received its city rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
1529, and was appointed a city in 1966.
Name
Birštonas is the LithuanianLithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
name of the city. Versions of the name in other languages include Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Birsztany, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Бирштаны Birshtany, Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Біршта́ны Birshtany, Yiddish: בירשטאן Birshtan, Latvian
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
: Birštona.
History
Birštonas was first mentioned in chronicles of the Teutonic KnightsTeutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
in 1382 and described as a "a farmstead at the salty water". Many Lithuanian dukes and other noblemen vacationed in Birštonas during 14th and 16th centuries to hunt. The resort was founded in 1846. Many people from Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian cities visited sanitorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
s for the area's mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
and to receive curative mud applications, including Lithuanian writer Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist.He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth...
, who was ill after the Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
.
Environment
Birštonas is surrounded by pine forests and the Neman RiverNeman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
, which is very good for the ill. Some hills offer nice views of the Neman River. There are also shops, police department
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, library, theatre, clinic, pharmacy, book store
Bookselling
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers or bookmen.-Bookstores today:...
, schools, museums, cafes, restaurants and the City Hall. There are many apartments and rare houses. Birštonas serves as a center of the Nemunas Loops Regional Park
Nemunas Loops Regional Park
Nemunas Loops Regional Park was established in 1992 to protect the historical, cultural, and natural character of the loops on the Neman River in central Lithuania....
.
Transportation
Birštonas is accessed by national status roads from KaunasKaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, and Marijampolė
Marijampole
Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...
. It is served by Kaunas International Airport
Kaunas Airport
Kaunas International Airport , which serves Kaunas, Lithuania is the second busiest civil airport in Lithuania after Vilnius airport and the fourth busiest in the Baltic states. Kaunas Airport is the fastest growing airport in the Baltic states in 2009 and 2010...
, the second largest in Lithuania, located in Karmėlava
Karmėlava
Karmėlava is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 2886. The town of Karmėlava is located north east of Kaunas and near the second busiest civil Kaunas International Airport in Lithuania.-History:...
site.
Festivals
Birštonas holds several festivals. The Birštonas town festival is held during the second weekend of June. It features concerts, folk art exhibits, and air balloonHot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
and motorboat races. Another devoted to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
attracts thousands and is held every two years at the end of March. The jazz festival is more than twenty years old and is now broadcast as well.
Tourism
Birštonas is known for its mineral waterMineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
. This water is used by sanatoria for mineral water pools and baths. There are two large sanatoria in Birštonas – Tulpė (English: Tulip) and Versmė (English: Spring). Both offer halotherapy, therapeutic mud bathes, mineral water pools, baths, massages, and a wide range of curative procedures. Birštonas also has hotels and country farmsteads, adapted for rural tourism
Agritourism
Agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Agritourism has different definitions in different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays, as in Italy...
. Local attractions include Vytautas hill, where a Lithuanian Grand Duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
Vytautas had his hunting mansion; two museums; and the Promenade, a path near the Neman River. Cycling in local Žvėrinčius forest, riding a horse, sailing, sculling, or canoeing along the Verknė or the Nemunas rivers are provided. Birštonas is one of Lithuania's few resorts.
Twin towns - sister cities
Birštonas is twinned with:Żnin
Żnin
Żnin is a small town in Poland with a population of 14,558 . It is in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the capital of Żnin County. The town is situated in the historic land of Pałuki and the Gniezno Lake Area on the river Gąsawka.-Etymology:The name originates from the Polish word...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(since 1998) Keila
Keila
Keila is a town and an urban municipality in Harju County in north-western Estonia. It is also the administrative centre of the surrounding rural municipality – Keila Parish.-History:...
in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
Sigulda
Sigulda
Other twinnings: Keila, Estonia chiatura Georgia-References:* , , , , , and -External links:*...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
Sysmä
Sysmä
Sysmä is a municipality of Finland situated in Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is.The municipality is unilingually Finnish....
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Bykle
Bykle
Bykle is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Setesdal. The administrative center is the village of Bykle in the southern part of the municipality. Another village nearby is Nordbygdi...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Neringa
Neringa municipality
Neringa municipality or Neringa 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...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...