Šventoji is a small resort town on the coast of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. Administratively it is part of

Palanga City Municipality Palanga City Municipality is a city municipality of Lithuania, located in the west of the country, near the Baltic sea. It includes Šventoji, Nemirseta, Būtingė and other settlements. It is located in Klaipėda County, which is no longer an a ...

. The total population of Šventoji as of 2012 was 2631. The town is located about 12 km north of Palanga center and close to the border with

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Further north of the town is

Būtingė Būtingė (German: ''Butendiekshof'' or ''Budendiekshof'') is a small village at the coast of the Baltic Sea in the north of Lithuania, at the border to Latvia. It belongs to Palanga City Municipality, and is situated north of the town Palanga. ...

and its oil terminal.

Šventoji River Šventoji (literally: feminine gender of ''the holy'') can refer to these objects in Lithuania: * Šventoji River, 246-kilometer long tributary of Neris *Šventoji River (Baltic), 73-kilometer long tributary of the Baltic Sea *Šventoji, Lithuania ...

flows into the Baltic sea at the town. The town also has a famous lighthouse, which is located 780 meters from the sea. Its height is 39 meters. The town is a popular summer resort for families, during summer it has many cafes, restaurants and various attractions for the visitors. Šventoji is an important archaeological site as the first artefacts are dated about 3000 BC. A famous cane shaped as moose head was also found in the town. It is a former fishing village now turned into a tourist town. The town always struggled to develop a port, which had to compete with nearby

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...

and

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

. A larger port was constructed in the second half of the 17th century, especially since 1679, when it was leased to English merchants. It was destroyed in 1701 during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. During the times of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(1795–1915) the port was moribund. In 1919, after the breakup of the Russian Empire, Šventoji became a part of

, like the rest of the

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

. In 1921 the town was peacefully transferred to

following a Lithuanian-Latvian treaty.Latvijas iegūtās un zaudētās teritorijas
NeoGeolv, November 10, 2011] After the territorial transfer, the town became crucially important for Lithuania as one of its few points of access to the sea. The sea port began developing again: two piers were constructed, but they were frequently covered in sand. Thus, it never grew into a bigger port, although Šventoji briefly became vital to Lithuania in the brief period between the 1939_German_ultimatum_to_Lithuania, German occupation of Klaipėda (March 1939) and Lithuania's incorporation into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(June 1940).

Notable people from Šventoji

Evaldas Kairys Evaldas Kairys (born October 11, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He plays in the center position. Professional career Kairys been a part of Lietuvos rytas Vilnius you ...

(born 1990), professional basketball player

References

* Seaside resorts in Lithuania Palanga City Municipality Courland Governorate Geographic history of Latvia Territorial disputes of Lithuania {{KlaipėdaCounty-geo-stub