Karklė - reviews of the resort near the Baltic sea in Klaipėda region, Lithuania

Briefly about KARKLĖ

Karklė - a charming ethnographic village in Klaipeda district, on the Baltic Sea, with only about a hundred residents. Karklė - ethno-cultural reserve, with the beach, the park, educational exposition of history of amber, preserved historical old houses, the Curonian cemetery. In the southwestern part of Karklė there is a unique coastal slope - Dutchman's hat. A cliff, 24 meters above the sea.

Accommodation

There are tens of guest-houses, hotels, apartments and rooms for rent in the private sector. It is also possible to rent little houses or a bigger house, a cottage. Quite a few campsites where you can stay in tents or campers. Double-bedded appartments cost 22-45 euros per night. Cottage rental prices are slightly lower - between 13 and 30 Euro per night. Campsites - 3 euros per person (with a tent) or 10 - 15 euros (with camper, with connection to electricity, water and sewer).

Infrastructure, Leisure and Entertainment

Though Karklė is small, still many vacationers come in summer. In particular, a lot of people come to "Karklė live music beach" festival , taking place in August at the beach, on the sea shore.

Karklė has a food and household goods shop, several cafes, it is possible to ride horses. Bicycle path leads to Klaipėda or Palanga.

Communication

Best to come by means of own transportation. But also Karklė can be reached by public transportation or private carriers. Also Karklė is connected with Klaipeda by bicycle trail, which stretches for about 12 km towards the resort of Palanga.

History

The first name of the village - Karklininkai - is derived from the Curonian language. Its meaning - shrubby place by the stream - reflects Karklės geography. The name was till the middle of XX century. Later, the name was shortened, and after World War II became just Karklė.

Historical sources mention Karklė in 1253. In XV century a coastal road connecting Konigsberg, Klaipėda and Riga went through Karklė, so in order to ensure the normal operation of the road and to protect it, roadside inns were introduced, often later becoming shopping centers. In XVI century Karklė has become one of the largest settlements in the land, and Karklė pubs were found later in  historical sources.

Karklininkai village was founded in the middle of XIX century, combining individual homesteads into one village. It stretched about 9 km from the current Girulių and "Dutchman's hat" to Nemirseta , and was the longest village in the Klaipėda region. Karklininkai houses were arranged along the Baltic coast, they each have their own access to the sea.

The XX century. Karklė has had already a couple of inns, a hotel, there were three primary schools and in 1910 Karklininkai Evangelical Lutheran Church was built. Later Karklė gained resort status.

In 1954 part of Karklė village went to the Soviet military, there was established the army training ground, and the old homesteads - destroyed, Karklė church demolished, residents evicted.

Sightseeing, Trivia

"Dutchman's hat" cliff
This is a unique place to have formed 10-15 thousand years ago, when the Lithuanian seaside glacier retreated forming the moraine ridge . The highest pinnacle of the ridge is called Dutchman hat. It is 24 meters above the sea level, overlooking the magnificent sea view.

Educational exposition of history of amber
It is estimated that Lithuanian amber is mostly emissioned in Karklė, so now about 30 amber catchers are engaged in search. Karklė's exposition is about Amber history, morphology, features, colors and inclusions .

Curonian cemetery
On the sea shore there is an old preserved Curonian cemetery with authentic tombstones.

Karklė Park
Over time, Karklė village preserved it's ethnographic identity, so it blends harmoniously with nature and the beach is unique in the Seaside Regional Park.