Migrating cultures

Today, culture is all about people too. You can expect to be greeted by a friendly, natural smile on a face of a professional tourist guide as well as a local stranger. Soon, most probably, it will be followed by a friendly invitation to come inside. Feel free!

Before entering, take a moment to enjoy the facades of the manor houses or the authentic architecture of wooden country houses. When indoors, make sure to explore traditional interior treasures, since it takes only a second until you are seated at the table. Traditional local fish dishes, Samogitian cheese and Prussian kafija - these are only a few examples of the broad range of the culinary specialties in the region. While you are guessing the gourmet secrets, your talkative hosts will reveal not only the recipes, but also local traditions and ancient crafts, such as shipbuilding, fishing or agriculture, as well as local history. Songs, dances and games by local folklore ensembles will rouse you from becoming too engrossed in leisurely eating. And this is only where the entertainment begins. Wool felting, weathervane colouring, sailing a traditional fishing boat on a river or in the Curonian Lagoon – all this is yet to come.

Enjoy museums just as much as entertainment? In addition to numerous ethnically themed houses, you will also find on your travels an exhibition on the general culture and history of the Klaipėda region. There is also a museum dedicated to the historical border between Lithuania and Prussia. This was, more precisely, a region of Prussia, where a large community of Lithuanians, cultivating their own unique local culture, used to live at that time. And if all these impressions make you want to take a quiet little break, you will find it in the evocative churches and monasteries scattered all around the region. If not there, then definitely in The Room of Calm, an impressive space created in accordance with the genuine philosophy of Vydūnas, a famous Lithuanian thinker, which is supposed to awaken our senses.

You too can sense the border culture of the Klaipėda region. Though the border has disappeared, it continues to flourish.