Rusnė

Rusnė

Coat of arms
Rusnė

Location of Rusnė

Coordinates: 55°17′50″N 21°22′40″E / 55.29722°N 21.37778°E / 55.29722; 21.37778Coordinates: 55°17′50″N 21°22′40″E / 55.29722°N 21.37778°E / 55.29722; 21.37778
Country  Lithuania
County Klaipėda County
Municipality Šilutė district municipality
Elderate Rusnė elderate
Population (2001)
 • Total 1,642
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Rusnė (German: Ruß) is a border town in Šilutė district, Lithuania, located on the Rusnė Island in the Nemunas Delta, 9 km south-west from Šilutė.

History

Rusnė was first mentioned in historical sources in the 14th century. In 1419 the first church was built in Rusnė, and in 1553 a Lithuanian parish school was established.[1] In 1863 the Rusnė synagogue opened.

In 1946 Rusnė received municipal rights, and in 1967 the whole Island of Rusnė was given this status.

Geography

Some parts of the town of Rusnė near Lake Dumblė are located below the sea level[2] and are the lowest in Lithuania.

Rusnė is on the Russian border, which is marked by the Skirvytė river.[2]

Anglers in Rusnė island

Tourism

Rusnė town and Rusnė island is very popular place for angling, as Nemunas delta is rich in various kinds of fish, and tourism infrastructure is built up in recent years. It is also a popular place for birdwatching.

Kursenieki

For more details on this topic, see Kursenieki.
Curonian-populated area in 1649.

While today the Kursenieki, also known as Kuršininkai are a nearly extinct Baltic ethnic group living along the Curonian Spit, in 1649 Kuršininkai settlement spanned from Memel (Klaipėda) to Danzig (Gdańsk), including in the area of the Nemunas Delta. The Kuršininkai were eventually assimilated by the Germans, except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were considered Latvians until after World War I when Latvia gained independence from the Russian Empire, a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims over the Curonian Spit, Memel, and other territories of East Prussia which would be later dropped.

Notable residents

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rusnė.

References

  1. ↑ Nemunas Delta Regional Park website Accessed September 16, 2006
  2. 1 2 Nemunas Water Route:Your Guide To The River Nemuna. State Tourism Department under the Ministry of the Economy. 2007. p. 158.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/31/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.