The Nemunas Delta Regional Park is shaped by the Atmata, Skirvytė and Minija rivers, Krokų Lanka lagoon, flooded delta meadows, Ventė Cape, Minija village and Rusnė island.
Ventė Cape is a peninsula reaching into the Curonian Lagoon, with a history going back to the 14th century. In 1360 the Teutonic Order built Windenburg castle and a church here, but lagoon storms and ice destroyed them. The first wooden lighthouse was built at the tip of the cape in 1837, and in 1863 it was replaced by today’s 11-metre red brick tower — one of the few lighthouses you can climb to enjoy the view of the lagoon and the Neringa dunes.
In 1929, on the initiative of Professor Tadas Ivanauskas, an ornithological station was founded here — one of the oldest in Europe. Ventė Cape has the largest bird traps in the world, and almost 2.5 million birds have been ringed here over the years. The museum tells the story of bird migration and ringing.
The best time to visit is the spring and autumn migration, when huge flocks fly over the cape. The lighthouse is just a few hundred metres’ walk from Ventainė.
Minija (Mingė) village, often called the Venice of Lithuania, lies on the lower reaches of the Minija river, close to where it flows into the Curonian Lagoon. It has been mentioned in historical records since 1540, when it had 76 houses and more than 400 inhabitants.
It is the only village in Lithuania where the river serves as the street: there is no bridge over the Minija, so people on opposite banks travel by boat, and every homestead has its own landing. The brick and wooden houses typical of Lithuania Minor face the river with their main facades.
The village is best seen from the water — by boat, kayak or on our sightseeing trip around the Nemunas Delta. Along the way you pass reed beds, delta meadows and the quiet life of a fishing village.
Aukštumala raised bog in the Nemunas Delta holds a special place in the history of peatland science. In 1902 the German botanist Carl Albert Weber published a monograph on it, regarded as the world’s first scientific study of a bog, which is why Aukštumala is called the cradle of peatland research.
A nature trail more than a kilometre long leads across the raised bog on wooden boardwalks. Information boards tell about the bog’s plants and wildlife, the bog villages that once stood here and the first scientific research.
At the end of the trail, by a small bog lake, a 3-metre viewing platform opens up a remarkable panorama of the bog. The trail suits families and an easy walk in any season.
