Weathervane Exhibition on the Lagoon Embankment in Nida

As early as the 15th century, Curonian Lagoon fishermen had sailing boats found only in this region. The large ones were called kurėnai (kurenas), and the smaller ones kiudelvaltės, bradinės or venterinės. The boats were flat-bottomed with a shallow draught and had steep sides made of oak planks. Later the tops of their masts were decorated with weathervanes. These are unique distinguishing symbols of the fishing villages of the Curonian Lagoon. The first open-air exhibition of old weathervanes in Neringa was started in 2003, and today you can see as many as 82 different weathervanes on the Nida lagoon embankment. Weathervanes appeared on fishing boats as a result of the fisheries supervision and control introduced in the Kingdom of Prussia in the 19th century. An order required every sailing boat owner to fly a flag 2 feet long and 1 foot wide on the mast. The inspector of the time, Ernst Wilhelm Beerbohm, designed simple rectangular signs with a two-colour geometric pattern, each assigned to a particular settlement. The colours were chosen to contrast so that a village's sign could be seen from afar. Black and white were used for the western shore, the southern coast was recognised by yellow and blue, and the eastern mainland shore by red and white. The first weathervanes were made of sturdy canvas or tin, with a fabric pennant attached at the end. Over time, fishermen who spent a lot of time on the lagoon began to decorate their weathervanes with wooden carvings and paint them in various colours. They carved stylised geometric and plant ornaments, maritime motifs, signs of faith and love or symbols of statehood. The classic ornate Great weathervane was divided into several parts. Its front, windward part often showed symbols of the elements: the moon, the sun (circles, stars), arrows and feathers (symbols of wind and air). At the top of the windward part a house was often depicted, and the initials of the boat owner served as a symbol of cosiness, fulfilment, wealth and ownership. The highest part of the weathervane usually carried religious symbols that were believed to protect the fisherman and his family from misfortune on the lagoon and on land. The top was often crowned by a cross – a symbol of the Christian faith and of a man – or a circle, the sign of a woman and wife. Animals and plants symbolising happiness and good luck were also depicted. The leeward part of the weathervane was divided into three, four or more sections, depending on how much the fisherman wanted to tell about himself. This part was especially ornate and richly carved. It could show all kinds of symbols (houses, churches, people, animals, tools and objects, even inscriptions, architectural elements, an elk as a symbol of forests and majesty, and so on) – everything the fisherman had left on shore and dreamed about. The symbols behind the weathervane's axis told of the fisherman's family. A cross within a circle meant the fisherman was married, and various strokes and lines indicated the number of children. As time went by, fishing traditions changed, the old fishing boats disappeared, and the weathervanes disappeared with them. Many years passed before artists and architects living on the coast brought them back to life, so visitors interested in the region's history can admire the weathervanes of the Curonian Spit villages raised on life-size masts and travel in their thoughts back to the days when kurėnai sailed the lagoon.