We recommend starting your exploration of the Kartenos surroundings at the Abakai Lourdes. In 1921, a resident of Abakai village, Kazimieras Navirauskas, had a strange dream. In the dream, the Virgin Mary was standing near a spring, and on a hill – Jesus Christ. After the dream repeated a couple of times, the resident of Abakai decided to take action: he built a Lourdes grotto near the spring close to his homestead, and on the hill he had seen in the dream, he erected a wooden chapel. The grotto is adorned with a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was brought from France through the care of the then parish priest, and the chapel is adorned with a statue of Christ carrying a cross, brought from Švėkšna. The altar inside the chapel is from the 18th century and was transported from the Budriai Church. The spring next to the grotto is famous for its healing properties.
Descending along the scenic road through the valley of the town of Kartenos, an impressive Kartenos hillfort opens up. According to legends, this hillfort was built by the stubborn Samogitians who fought against the Swedes and Russians. The name Kartenos is said to have originated from this very hill. Allegedly, the Samogitian king stood in his fortress when two enemy armies, the Swedes and the Russians, began to march towards the castle. The Swedes and Russians argued over who should attack the castle first. Watching the quarrel, the Samogitian king uttered: ‘veiziekit, karė tena.’ In Samogitian, this would mean – look, there’s a war. According to archaeological studies, the castle on the Kartenos hillfort was built not by the Samogitians, but by the Curonians in the 8th–9th century. Those who climb to the hillfort can enjoy a stunning view of the Kartenos surroundings.
One of the most beautiful buildings in the town of Kartenos is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Standing in the Minija River valley, the church adorns Kartenos like a bright flower. The colorful wooden church has been known since the 17th century. Before the current one, there were three predecessors of the church in Kartenos. After the last church was burned down, permission was granted in 1874 to build a new one, which still stands today. Upon arriving in Kartenos, it’s pleasant just to walk around the church, whose surroundings are decorated with pseudo-Gothic gates and 14 stone chapels. If you enter the church, you will be amazed by the exceptionally beautiful pulpit, three lovely altars, a metal cross-reliquary dating back to the 17th century, and one of the oldest baroque-classical style organs in the Kretinga region.
The Gintarų hillfort, or Cherry Hill, is the place famous for the legend that every three hundred years, the live-buried noblewoman rises from the hill and walks out of the castle’s cellar. It is said that while walking around the hillfort, one can find secret entrances to the ruins of the castle that once stood here, filled with treasures. If that doesn’t work, it is worth noting that cremation graves, dating back to the 2nd century B.C., were found near Cherry Hill. Thus, this place was once inhabited by the ancestors of the Balts and Curonians.
And if you want to feel like you’re in Switzerland, there’s no need to travel there. In the Kretinga district, you can find Lithuania’s version of Switzerland – the stunning meanders of the Minija River, where impressive cliffs have formed over the years. One of the most beautiful is the Dauginčiai Cliff. Its width is 44 meters, and its height is 22 meters. The cliff takes your breath away in every season. For those who understand geology, the cliff speaks an even more fascinating language. The Dauginčiai Cliff is one of the sights that can be found while walking along the Šilpelkė Forest educational trail. The trail is 1.5 kilometers long and winds through the naturally formed Šilpelkė Forest.
