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The Nemunas is right here, across from Paradise Road and the wide coastal meadow. And the life that boiled in her and with her 100 or 50 years ago, told the exhibition of the Visitor Center of the Panemuniai Regional Park. Vaida Mozūraitienė, the chief specialist to the park director who ran it, said that people who came to the visitor center in the first place have an opportunity to see where and what is allowed in this regional park and what is strictly prohibited. Let’s say the areas you can explore unless you are accompanied by park staff.
The birds are sucking, the hares are singing
This park is not very big, around 11 thousand. hectares, located in various districts: a small part in the Kaunas district, then in the Jurbarkas district, and on the other side of the Nemunas ya Šakiai district. “We are located on both sides of the Nemunas,” Vaida said.
Animal voices are heard in the visitor center. The nature of the park is presented in the first exhibition hall. According to Vaida, the plants here are quite common throughout Lithuania, but everyone knows that black alder has pineapples.
“One of the rarest plants is the tulip, which can now be seen in almost all of Lithuania, but the oldest grows in Veliuona, two huge trees that bloom in late June and early July. We have the skulls of various animals, pressing the button next to it turns on the light on the skull and you can read what that animal looks like and hear its voice. I will light the hare – hares do not speak, – after a long question, the specialist rushes to help the howling wolves. – Hares let the voice, if a fox or a wolf catches them, screeches. Anyway, the hares transmit all the information by rubbing their feet, examples, any danger: children, hiding, rubbing their feet and everyone listens well enough, then hides. “
Marius Vizbaras / 15min photo / Šilinė tavern – Directorate of the Panemuniai Regional Park
The birds are shown showing their nests: the male of the paddles “pulls” a kind of sock, hangs it from a birch or a willow tree to swing, then invites the female. Seagulls are often called lazy children here, because the river gull brings some fragments and such a nest, and the little gull does not try as much. But it is a highly protected species of bird as these sparrow-sized birds are rapidly disappearing.
“It just came to our attention then. Last year, 40 of these seagulls were counted, but not all had nests, there were far fewer nests, sometimes there are 10, if 20, that’s a lot. They lay their eggs and hatch only in sand. , gravel, not grass. And it’s the end of the bun or the Nemunas islands. If there is a lot of water in the islands, they flood, then all the nests are washed. If there is not enough water, the islands connect to the shore , foxes and raccoon dogs come, people fish and trample those nests, they don’t even realize it, “said V. Mozūraitienė.
Marius Vizbaras / 15min photo / Šilinė tavern – Directorate of the Panemuniai Regional Park
Among the fish, of course, reeds reign: in the Jurbarkas region there is a very popular fish, there is even a Reindeer Festival. The river lamprey, like a snake, also attracts attention.
A river of time
The exhibition does not allow us to forget that the Nemunas here have always been the axis around which life revolves.
Here is an old fisherman, who lived near Veliuona, but he came from Kubiliai, and said: My mother always said: we are already closing our teeth and, on the other hand, people still caress their stomach.
“Nemunas from the 18th century. pab. until the 20th century. pr. it was, in the true sense of the word, a river of time. Why did this happened? Because the Republic of the Two Nations was a very advanced state and lived according to the Gregorian calendar, but after the division on the right side of the Nemunas, the Russians introduced the Julian calendar, they did not recognize the Pope, and the the other side went to Prussia and the old time remained.
(…) There are such memories that in 1912. The priest Pranaitis, a teacher, came to the Ilguva mansion from Saint Petersburg, and celebrated the Mass of the Three Kings in the church of Ilguva. In winter, he crossed the Nemunas to Veliuona and celebrated the Berneliai mass there (Christmas Eve – ed. Past). This is the case recorded here, as the river separates, “said V. Mozūraitienė.
There are more stories: “Here is an old fisherman who lived near Veliuona, but he came from Kubiliai, and said:” My mother always said: we are already clenching our teeth and, on the other hand, people still caress their belly. ” This means that the fast is over and the other side is still fasting. “
Marius Vizbaras / 15min photo / Šilinė tavern – Directorate of the Panemuniai Regional Park
According to Vaida, Nemunas is changing a lot, and not only historically, but also its image: a hundred years ago it seems that the river almost reached the Šilin tavern, now the shore of Nemunas has receded considerably.
There were no bridges, they rode on ice.
“In this place, the Nemunas moved about 100 meters; this is how we calculate, the Jurbarkas district in this place increased by about 100 meters.” But the Šakiai district decreased by only 30 meters, because the Nemunas moves unevenly.
It was necessary to travel and climb the Nemunas in some way, and there were no bridges, only in Tilžė and Kaunas. People used to get in contact in boats, there were ferries that went up until the ice stopped. When the ice was already appearing, the ice cream was leaving, rising in two, because one pushed the ice, the other rowed. There have been such memories that people got up in Veliuona through Nemunas and froze ships in the middle of Nemunas. Going out was not like, at night, dark, they jumped overnight to avoid freezing. In the morning screaming, mosquitoes, neighbors came. He crossed the frost Nemunas with two long boards, one for walking and one for not falling. So he released those floating people, and a few days later, when the ice grew stronger, he came, cut the boat and took it out, “Vaida knows many stories from the Nemunas.
When the Nemunas stopped, it is said about the frozen river, even cars rode on it. According to Vaida, it was mandatory to open the door while driving, because if the car started to sink, it would jump.
It was necessary to travel and climb the Nemunas in some way, and there were no bridges, only in Tilžė and Kaunas. People used to get in contact in boats, there were ferries that went up until the ice stopped.
It also happened that as soon as they crossed the Nemunas, people could see that the river was moving. “Even if the whole car breaks down, even the elderly say they have not listened. The path through Nemunas was marked with guidelines, finally with a navel. They passed alone and marked,” said V. Mozūraitienė.
Two Gelgaudiškis women on the other side had approached the Panemuniai Regional Park Directorate 8-10 years ago to inquire about the construction. Vaida recalled how the professionals asked to show the documents because only then could he respond accurately. But the women did not have them because they were afraid, “and if we fall.”
There was a ferry at Jurbarkas, for the souls of the Nemunas. You won’t see that anymore. Unless the ship or the ship.
Marius Vizbaras / 15min photo / Šilinė tavern – Directorate of the Panemuniai Regional Park
Swim dry
The Panemuniai Regional Park Directorate also has a boat in its exhibition. When you sit on it, you feel like you are really swimming. As Vaida says, swimming on land is rare.
In this room, as soon as you crossed the threshold, the cold trembled. Vaida laughs: an attempt was made to keep the tavern as authentic as possible, so there is no heating room: it was an old carriage where people who came with horses left the carriages and headed for the tavern. In winter, cold spring is not very pleasant, but being in this room on a hot summer day is a real refreshment.
Here are several ships, authentic local artisans who have practically disappeared, although they still know how to do it. And on the wall, the management demonstrates its treasure: “Our most expensive and important exhibit is the Merkinė ship found in the Nemunas near Merkinė. It is all made of wood, filled with moss, a zuja (rope) made of moss. Its exact year is set in 1757, the date of logging. Such ships were made from wood harvested that year or a year ago and had not been preserved for a decade or more. “
Photo by Marius Vizbaras / 15min / To the left of the border: remains of the Merkinė ship
And then we get on a boat that is invited to sail ashore. “It just caught our attention then. In the water you can, and on land rarely, – Vaida smiles. – You can also fish while you sail, there are kisses here: holes, the fish enter inside, but they cannot return. We also have nets but it is forbidden to fish with them. The cruellest thing is underwater fishing, they are like forks. They fish sparrows with sparrows, because these fish go to blood: it is enough to hurt one and many will swim in the blood. “
To stop the ship, it is necessary to discard the anchor, such a mechanism is also in the exhibition of the Directorate.
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