PLACES TO VISIT

Monument of Independence

The history of the modest Monument to Independence in Kretinga reads almost like a detective story. The monument was built in 1928 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Lithuania. The initiative came from the members of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union in Kretinga. For a long time, however, there was debate about who had actually created the monument. Was it Robertas Antinis, the author of the famous sculpture Eglė the Queen of Serpents (Eglė žalčių karalienė)? Or perhaps prisoners from the jail in Bajorai? Eventually, it became clear that the original monument was made by the stonemason Jonas Akinskas. After the war, the monument mysteriously disappeared—someone stole it and sank it in the Akmena River. In 1989, while cleaning the river, people rediscovered the lost obelisk. Although it had been damaged by water and time, after Lithuania restored its independence the monument was repaired and once again placed in the historical center of Kretinga, where it stands today.