The most visited places in Druskininkai

The composition "Spring", painted by M. K. Čiurlionis, illustrates rebirth of nature. The melting snow depicts the awakening of Earth after winter’s stagnation, a running river stream nearby, brightening skies.

The painting "Spring motif" shows a tall bell tower ringing and inviting the spring. Spherical clouds in the background seem to be withdrawing, which leaves the feeling of returning spring.

The Crown Monument, created by the well-known sculptor Dalia Matulaitė, is dedicated to a royal couple: Sigismund Augustus, the last of the Jogaila Dynasty, and his second wife Barbora Radvilaitė, who was the great love of his life. The monument is built on the banks of the Nemunas, in the Health Resort Park. It symbolises the co-operation between the resort towns of two neighbouring countries – Augustavas and Druskininkai.

The Health Resort Park is the town’s oldest garden, situated in the historic area of Druskininkai. In the 19th century, it was the centre of the visitors’ daily activities including treatments, entertainment and interactions. The garden’s layout is symmetrical, and its individual parts are based on an English-style garden with winding paths. It has health facilities and a Kurhauz. In the past, the Kurhauz had a station, bookstore-library, confectionary and a theatre hall, and people could have a drink of kefir or kumis there. During Soviet times, a Buvette over a mineral spring was built, along with other buildings for drinking the mineral water. In 2011, the park was reconstructed and new sculptures, paths, benches and lighting were added, new greenery was planted, and the Beauty Spring surroundings were changed. Another historical landmark in the park is a river water level gauge that was built in 1881.

Čiurlionis created seven painted sonatas. In one compositional sonata and series based on rhythm dynamics (Allegro, Andante, Scherzo, Finale), Čiurlionis combined realistic motifs from reality with different spatial planes and moments of time, as well as contrasting symbolic images.

In the Sonata of the Sea Andante painting, Čiurlionis did not shy away from fantasy elements. It features the ruins of the city at the bottom of the sea, a fairy tale and a semantic motif in the past – biographically, this can be associated with Čiurlionis’ thoughts about a planned opera based on the legend of Jūratė and Kastytis.

The Sonata of the Sea Finale is one of the most impressive compositions of Čiurlionis, which depict sea-related motifs and more. The artwork is complemented by a carefully-placed foam bubble of lace that forms the artist’s initials – M K Č.

At The Spring, created by Antanas Dimžlys, is a sculpture that was built in the Health Resort Park in 1965. In this park, you can drink mineral water from the old Buvette near the Nemunas, wash yourself in the salty water of the Beauty Spring, and admire the sculptures, flower beds and the Musical Fountain.

Čiurlionis created seven painted sonatas. In one compositional sonata and series based on rhythm dynamics (Allegro, Andante, Scherzo, Finale), Čiurlionis combined realistic motifs from reality with different spatial planes and moments of time, as well as contrasting symbolic images.

The Finale (Sonata I) is a dark-coloured painting that is full of hidden symbolic meaning. The painter had a challenging objective – to depict the end of the solar cycle and the disappearance of light, marking the last stage of human life.

The third part of the Sonata I (Sonata of the Sun) series – Scherzo – is one of the most famous paintings of this artist. In this landscape, the artist playfully includes butterflies, flowers, thin trees, various types of vegetation and bridges surrounded by sunlight that emit tranquillity.

Recreation, created by Juozas Kėdainis, is a sculpture that was erected in the Health Resort Park in 1959. Juozas Kėdainis focused on recording the peasant worldview, and was able to capture the everyday life of an ordinary person. The sculptor gave his figurative characters a certainty of thought and feelings that made sense of their being, as if catching a moment in their daily routine.

The old mineral water drinking fountain is located a building over a mineral spring from which the mineral water is taken. It is the oldest water Buvette in Druskininkai.

The Druskininkai Resistance and Exile Museum is regarded as one of the best museums in Lithuania built to commemorate the period of Soviet occupation. The museum has about two thousand exhibits including: photographs, documents, handiwork created in exile and other relics from the period of exile and resistance.

Čiurlionis created seven painted sonatas. In one compositional sonata and series based on rhythm dynamics (Allegro, Andante, Scherzo, Finale), Čiurlionis combined realistic motifs from reality with different spatial planes and moments of time, as well as contrasting symbolic images.

The Sonata of the Stars painting differs from the previous sonatas due to a rich tempera layer, a deeper colour ratio, and a cosmic theme which is expressed not through landscape elements or motifs but by directly depicting the vast reached of space and its elements: dark and lighter objects and nebulae, playful stars and planets, an angel and the sun.

Beauty Spring is the most salty and the deepest spring in Druskininkai, which has skin cleansing and rejuvenating properties. The spring flowing from the stone bas-relief near the Nemunas River is more than 300 metres deep. The spring water is especially salty, so drinking it is not recommended. However, the water can be used to wash your face and hands, or to rinse your throat. It is believed that the water rejuvenates the skin, providing it with beauty and invigoration. According to legend, in ancient times a duke accidentally found himself in this place while hunting. The hunt was successful, so the duke had to shoot down a falcon. Pierced by a well-aimed arrow, the falcon fell into the Nemunas and the duke jumped into the water to grab it. On the shore, his duchess began to cry and run along the banks of the river, pouring out salty tears and shouting for her husband. After a while, the duke emerged from the water alive and unhurt, with the falcon in his hands. According to the legend, the salty springs broke through from the places on the ground where the duchess’ tears had fallen.

The monument to Lithuania, built by Vytautas Kašuba in 1995, depicts the Lithuanian King Mindaugas. Mindaugas was the Grand Duke of Lithuania, as well as being the first and only King of Lithuania. The formation of the state of Lithuania and the first steps toward Christianity in the country are associated with Mindaugas.

Druskininkai and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis are integral parts of each other. Čiurlionis, the most famous Lithuanian artist and composer, grew up in Druskininkai, where he created many paintings and wrote his musical works.

The painting Ships (Clouds) is dintinguished from the other works of this artist by its mystery of nature. 

The Winter series of eight paintings, created in 1906–1907, is one of the most remarkable achievements of Čiurlionis’ plastic expressions. This series is characterised by modest colour nuances and exclusive compositions that are full of lyricism and sparkling winter motifs.

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was the most famous Lithuanian artist. He grew up and worked in Druskininkai, and he often mentioned his love of the resort in his letters. The monument to Čiurlionis was built by Vladas Vildžiūnas in 1975, in order to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Čiurlionis’ birth. V. Vildžiūnas and the architect R. Dičius received a national award for this monument.

 The Neo-Gothic Holy Virgin Mary Church, built in 1931, was liked by the Polish Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, and it was often visited by the linguist Juozas Balčikonis, the poet and prose writer Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, and many other famous Lithuanian public figures. The Holy Virgin Mary Church is an extremely valuable and impressive place in terms of both architecture and culture.

 A composition of ceramic sculptures by J. and B. Arčikauskas can be seen by walking along Vilnius Avenue. The composition consists of sculptures titled Ship, Anthill, Lizard, Crow, Capricorn, Thistle and Fairy, which were all built in 1987.

This wonderful musical fountain is a particularly popular gathering place and is one of the most beautiful and most-frequently visited places in the resort. During the warm season, the fountain is pleasant to look at due to its colourful currents of water that rise in tune with various songs, and in the winter the fountain area becomes a Christmas tree park.

There is a lovely arched-type pedestrian bridge at the mouth of the Ratnyčėlė River. The Ratnyčėlė flows out of Latas Lake and is 33 kilometres long. It is particularly beautiful and noisy at the confluence with the Nemunas. The coastline is characterised by extraordinary beauty with large black alders, and it is a popular place to go for a walk – especially along the Love Trail that goes from the mouth of the river to the bridge across M. K. Čiurlionis Street. This bridge is decorated with the Ratnyčėlė sculpture that was built in 1962 (by the sculptor B. Vyšniauskas).

Jacques Lipchitz was one of the most famous artists to have lived in Lithuania, and was a prominent representative of cubism. Although he was born in 1891 in Druskininkai into the Litvak family, he became better known abroad than in Lithuania. The whole exhibition in the Lipchitz sculpture park was created at symposiums named in his honour.

Motherhood (1959) is a sculpture created by the famous Lithuanian sculptor Bronius Vyšniauskas, which can be seen near the Čiurlionis Art School in Druskininkai. Bronius Vyšniauskas was a distinguished figure in the art world, who received a national award and created many sculptures and monuments, such as the sculptures of the Green Bridge, as well as the monument and reliefs of Kryžkalnis and Ratnyčėlė.

Musical Square is an exhibition of playful sculptures located near the Čiurlionis Art School. The seven sculptures in the park symbolise musical notes. The park’s sculpture Relax, created by Artūras Burneika in 2009, was recognised as the best public sculpture in Lithuania.

Čiurlionis created seven painted sonatas. In one compositional sonata and series based on rhythm dynamics (Allegro, Andante, Scherzo, Finale), Čiurlionis combined realistic motifs from reality with different spatial planes and moments of time, as well as contrasting symbolic images.

In the Sonata of the Spring Scherzo, we can see a vertical section of the deep sea with a barely visible fabulous city with mysterious gates and plants painted at the bottom. There is a huge net reaching deep into the water to catch fish, and a distant shore with the small hills from the Sonata of the Spring Andante can be seen above the water.

Čiurlionis created Sonata II (Sonata of the Spring) in 1907 and presented it at the Second Lithuanian Art Exhibition in the spring of 1908. In the Finale, the final part of this series, the artist selected a different composition – the brightest part of this painting is at the bottom. Moving to the right, the planet creates a path for a light space, which is followed by a procession of coloured flags.

The most famous of Čiurlionis’ series is his 12 paintings named THE ZODIAC. This theme was inspired by the ancient myths of the constellations, and it was supported by the artist’s interest in astronomy. According to the memories of his contemporaries, Čiurlionis liked to walk at night, often alone, listening to the sounds of nature and watching the alignments of the stars. The Zodiac is a magnificent cosmic poem about the sun, stars and the endless spaces of the universe, as well as being about the seas, oceans, rocks and deserts, and about the mysterious beauty of the world.