Kuršiu nerija

About Kuršiu nerija  

Kuršiu nerija - 98 - kilometre strip of land is situated between the Baltic sea and Curonian Bay. The 54 - kilometre strip of Kuršiu nerija belongs to Lithuania, the other part of Kuršiu nerija belongs to Russia. People and cars come from Klaipeda to Kuršiu nerija by ferry.

Edita and Egle

Together with Latvia and Estonia Lithuania is one of the Baltic states

The ferry "Nida"

We are going from Smiltyne to Klaipeda by ferry.

The dunes of Kuršiu nerija

Beautiful woods grew there a few hundred years ago. They were cut down or burned down during the fires.
Deserts appeared in this place. Strong winds carried sand and covered up even fourteen villages. The dunes there are called "the dead dunes".
Sandy hills stand in this place now. People planted pines around the sandy hills so that winds couldn't destroy the dunes.
Kuršiu Nerija is a national park.

Edita

  
These dunes stretch for even 9 kilometres

The nature of Kuršiu nerija

The nature in Kuršiu Nerija is really beautiful - sunny dunes, nice beaches, pine forests. 
Woods rustle there. Different kinds of mushrooms grow there, big and small animals - hares, foxes, squirrels, wild boars and various birds live in those forests
.Not only people from Lithuania, but also people from other countries come to Kuršiu nerija.

Egle

The elk - the biggest animal in Kuršiu nerija"

A "hedgehog". 
This animal is similar to ball of needles.

Juodkrante, small town

Smiltyne, Juodkrante, Preila, Pervalka and Nida are small towns which are situated in Kuršiu Nerija. Juodkrante is the second largest town in Kuršiu nerija. There is a nice basic school named after Liudvikas Reza, a famous Lithuania writer. The school is not big. 102 students study in this school. There is a yard and a tennis court near the school. 
Various concerts take place there in summer.

Mantas

The photo of "Liudvikas Reza basic school". A lot of excursions visit this school.

The hill of witches

There is a hill of witches in Juodkrante. That is a huge dune covered with high trees.
It is very different from other sand dunes. 
Wooden sculptures of devils and witches, Naglis and Neringa make the dune even more interesting.

Laura

Wooden sculptures of witches

Birds of Kuršiu nerija

Various birds: ducks, geese, swans, eagles, fly to warm countries over Kuršiu nerija. 
Therefore there is a ringing station of birds. 
Kormorans (these birds are similar to ravens) make nests in the forests of Kuršiu nerija. 
These birds were endangered some time ago. Now they have appeard again. 
Kormorans eat fish. They eat about 100 - 300 gramme of fish during a day. 
Fishermen don't like them, because kormorans steal fish from them.

Dalius

A ringing station of birds

The birds are caught by nets and ringed

A woodpecker

A woodpecker is a motley bird and lives in the forests.

A crane

A crane is a bird of the swamps, therefore he has long legs and a long beak.

Ethnographical fisherman's seaside homestead

A very old fisherman's homestead is standing in Smiltyne, one of the smallest cities in the Curonian Spit. That is an ethnographical seaside homestead. A lot of people visit this place.
The homestead has a living house, a barn, a cellar, a bathhouse, a smokehouse and a cattle - shead. Roofs of all the buildings are made of canes. Clay was used Kurenai. They sailed them to the Curonian lagoon to fish. Old fishing ships take place near the homestead.

Martynas

A "barn".

Here fishermen kept various things and clothes. They also could sleep there.

The old fishing ships.

A few decades ago fishermen sailed on these ships to sea.

Aquarium - Dolphinarium

There is an Aquarium - Dolphinarium in Smiltyne, a small town near the city Klaipeda.
Dolphins live in big pools. A lot of children and adults, guests from other countries go to see the dolphins performances. There are lessons for students too. During these lessons students learn about the sea whales and dolpinhs, learn how they can see and hear. 
Dolphins show how they breathe and dive. Besides, they have the same illnesses as people. 

Alina

The inhabitants of the dolphinarium

The dolphins demonstrate how they breathe.

School: Klaipeda Liudvikas Stulpinas basic school
State: Lithuania
Involved students (number) 21
Age of involved students: 9-11