Minge
Encyclopedia
Mingė or Minija is a small fishermen's village in Šilutė district, Lithuania
on Minija
river, and is part of Nemunas Delta
Regional Park. This village is unique in Lithuania as the main "road" is the river. Houses are situated on both banks and there is no bridge to connect them. The only way to get around is to use a boat. In 1997 it had 48 residents.
The village was first mentioned in the 16th century. It was part of the Lithuania Minor
in East Prussia
. Traditional peasant buildings survive from the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th centuries and are of architectural value. Mingė reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century when the number of the inhabitants reached 406. The government decided to build levee
s only on the left bank of Nemunas in order to save money. The right side was left unprotected against annual spring flooding. As Mingė was subject to frequent floods, the village did not have its own cemetery. People were buried in nearby Ventė. After World War II, the numbers of residents grew from 42 in 1943 to 124 in 1970. However, at the time only three families remained of the original pre-war Lietuvininks population.
Mingė village is becoming a popular rural
and water tourism
center as it is located close to the Baltic Sea
, Curonian Lagoon
, and all major seaside resorts. Tourism infrastructure is rapidly developing in recent years.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
on Minija
Minija
Minija is a river in western Lithuania and a tributary to Nemunas. It begins from small Lake Didovas, and hidrografically from lake Sydeklis, 14 km south of Telšiai...
river, and is part of Nemunas Delta
Nemunas Delta
Nemunas Delta is the Lithuanian name for the Neman River Delta, in Lithuania.When it reaches the Baltic Sea, the Neman splits into a maze of river branches and canals, forming polders and wetlands that make it a very attractive destination for eco-tourism. The four main distributaries are Atmata,...
Regional Park. This village is unique in Lithuania as the main "road" is the river. Houses are situated on both banks and there is no bridge to connect them. The only way to get around is to use a boat. In 1997 it had 48 residents.
The village was first mentioned in the 16th century. It was part of the Lithuania Minor
Lithuania Minor
Lithuania Minor or Prussian Lithuania is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, later East Prussia in Germany, where Prussian Lithuanians or Lietuvininkai lived. Lithuania Minor enclosed the northern part of this province and got its name due to the territory's substantial...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. Traditional peasant buildings survive from the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th centuries and are of architectural value. Mingė reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century when the number of the inhabitants reached 406. The government decided to build levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s only on the left bank of Nemunas in order to save money. The right side was left unprotected against annual spring flooding. As Mingė was subject to frequent floods, the village did not have its own cemetery. People were buried in nearby Ventė. After World War II, the numbers of residents grew from 42 in 1943 to 124 in 1970. However, at the time only three families remained of the original pre-war Lietuvininks population.
Mingė village is becoming a popular rural
Rural tourism
Rural tourism focuses on participating in a rural lifestyle. It can be a variant of ecotourism. Any village can be a tourist attraction, and many villagers are very hospitable. Agriculture is becoming highly mechanized and therefore requires less manual labor...
and water tourism
Water tourism
Water tourism is traveling by boat while on holiday, with the express purpose of seeing things meant for the water tourist. This can be traveling from luxury port to luxury port, but also landing a boat for lunch or other day recreation at specially prepared day boat-landings...
center as it is located close to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, Curonian Lagoon
Curonian Lagoon
The Curonian Lagoon is separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surface area is . The Neman River supplies about 90% of its inflows; its watershed consists of about 100,450 square kilometers in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast.-Human history:In the 13th century, the area around...
, and all major seaside resorts. Tourism infrastructure is rapidly developing in recent years.