Palanga is a Lithuanian town on the Baltic Sea, 25 km north of Klaipėda, a climatic and balneological resort. The municipality of Palanga includes the settlements of Palanga, Šventoji and Būtingė.
It is hard to imagine Palanga without the Baltic Sea. Lithuanian folklore is full of legends passed down from generation to generation. Old people tell children about the love of the sea goddess Jurate for the fisherman Kastytis, about the love of the fisherman’s daughter Eglė and the grass snake Žilvinas, about the giants Naglis and Neringa, about the romantic love of the priestess Birutė…
The origin of the name Palanga has a beautiful history. It is said that the fishermen’s houses used to be so close to the shore that the waves washed over them and the wind blew sand up to the windowsill. The name Palanga is most often derived from the archaic Baltic words palvė, palios, pala, palas (meaning low, marshy places) or from the river names Palanga, Palangis, Alanga, Langa.
The Baltic coast attracted overseas settlers: merchants and conquerors. Palanga is mentioned in the legends of the Danish king Valdemar I in 1161. However, it was not until 1253 that the name of the town was mentioned in the chronicles of the Teutonic Knights. There have been many conquerors throughout history. Vikings, Normans and, in the 13th and 14th centuries, Crusaders ravaged these lands. It was only after the Battle of Žalgiris that the Treaty of Melnus put an end to the Order’s invasion of Lithuania, and on 31 December 1435 the Order invaded Lithuania.
On 31 December the Treaty of Brest gave Palanga to Lithuania. From the 13th to the 18th century, the inhabitants were engaged in fishing, collecting amber from the sea and trading with the towns on the Baltic coast. Visiting merchants often exchanged their goods for amber, honey and furs. Buyers from Lithuania and other countries were attracted by the cheaper but high quality goods. The port was always busy and lively.
When Lithuania joined the Russian Empire in 1795, the seafront underwent several changes. Palanga belonged to the Vilnius Governorate and later to the Curonian Governorate. Finally, in 1824, the colonel of the Tsar’s army Mykolas Tiškevičius bought Palanga. The contribution of Count Tiškevičius to the development of the town was obvious – a park was created, a new manor house was built, a harbour was constructed, a brickworks was built, a spa with health resorts was established, and a new church was built.
The storms of history swept over the Baltic coast like the waves of the sea – in 1921 Palanga and Šventoji were handed over to Lithuania, which regained its independence. But the calm was soon over. During the Second World War, Palanga was occupied first by the Soviets and then by the Germans.
After the war, the villas and summer houses were nationalised and replaced by sanatoriums and holiday homes. In 1952, when Palanga was granted the rights of a republican town, the projects for the development of the resort were drawn up. Finally, in 1991, a new page of history was turned. The nationalised buildings and land were returned to their rightful owners and the town, which has preserved its old spa traditions since the 19th century, became one of the most popular resorts on the Baltic coast.