The Soundcatcher

In the old-growth forest of Juodkrantė, on the Dendrological Trail, there is an impressive sound catcher that looks like a megaphone. This wooden sound catcher, three metres high and just as long, has a narrow and a wide opening. Put your ear to the narrow opening or step into the wide one and you can listen to the forest sounds it has “caught” and enjoy your surroundings. Five minutes is not enough, though: once you step into the wide opening, you should stay for about half an hour, and then you will hear many forest sounds that the naked ear cannot pick up. This wooden device “catches” them and amplifies them inside, so you can enjoy the forest symphony more than you would simply walking through the woods. That is exactly why the sound catcher was built – to give visitors new experiences, sharpen their senses and help them feel their surroundings. You will find the sound catcher a few hundred metres from the start of the Dendrological Trail: where the path forks, turn left. The device stands right there, in a forest clearing. Incidentally, you will be walking along a forest path that the Germans once called the Blocksberg Promenade. Follow the arrows – miniature copies of the sound catcher. Next to it is an information board with QR codes that you can scan with a smartphone to listen to birdsong. The sound catcher and the signs were designed and built by staff of the Curonian Spit National Park Directorate.