Welcome to Druskininkai, one of the favourite Lithuanian health resorts. Stuck in pine-woods on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, the town invites weary minds and bodies for a time of recreation.
The name Druskininkai is the plural of the Lithuanian word ‘druskininkas’ meaning a person engaged in salt production, selling and delivery, which suggests that local people have been collecting this mineral. Long ago the inhabitants of the town discovered that wounds and hurts healed up more quickly after wading in local streams and springs. The usage of mineral waters in medical treatment started in the 17th century. In early 19th century Ignacy Fondberger, a Vilnius University professor, analysed the chemical composition of Druskininkai waters and found out that they contain a lot of calcium, sodium, potassium, iodine, bromine, iron and magnesium. The town was then proclaimed a health resort. Today Druskininkai has 9 sanatoriums which use the most advanced technologies of diagnostics and treatment. Visitors are offered a choice of spa procedures, including underwater massage, Jacuzzi, and a dizzy assortment of baths such as mineral, mud, herbal, pearl, oxygen, and vertical. The town also boasts a health centre and 7 mineral water springs. Moreover, the biggest and the most modern Aqua Park in the Baltics is going to be opened soon. The picturesque landscape of Druskininkai and the Dzūkija National Park situated not far from the town is a paradise for those who love outdoor activities featuring interesting destinations. Numerous hiking paths and cycling routes take you to ethnographic villages, the mystic valley of Raigardas and other places worth seeing. If you look for something reminding of the Lithuanian past, you may also visit the Grūtas Park-museum exhibiting the relics of the Soviet times or the hill-forts of Liškiava and Merkinė. Those who are fond of water entertainment can go canoeing or kayaking, take a trip by a steamboat or go fishing. Among other places to visit are the Druskininkai Town Museum, V. K. Jonynas Gallery, which displays carvings, drawings, and works of lithography, the famous Lithuanian painter and musician M. K. Čiurlionis Gallery, the Museum of Ž. Lipchiz, who was the initiator of Cubism, and the Forest Museum ‘Echo of the Wood’ featuring bird and animal expositions, wooden witches, dwarves and other fairy tale characters settled in the hollows of trees. The amazing neo-gothic Holy Mary Scapular Church and the Russian Orthodox Church are worth gaping at as well. Druskininkai is becoming popular as a venue of seminars, conferences or meetings. The resort has some beautiful and cosy small hotels. Moreover, every year Druskininkai hosts a number of cultural events: concerts of classical and popular music, poetry evenings, and exhibitions.
More articles about Lithuanianian regions:
Shortly About Lithuania
Alytus –City in the Park
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