Ventė Cape (, ), sometimes referred to as Ventė Horn or Ventė Peninsula, is a peninsula in the Nemunas Delta, in Šilutė district,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It is known as a resting place for birds during their

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, particularly in autumn. Ventė Cape Ornithological Station – one of the first

bird ringing Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...

stations in Europe still in operation – was opened here by Tadas Ivanauskas in 1929. Cape Ventė was formed 4,500-5,000 years ago when the

Curonian Lagoon The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Prussian: ''Kursjanmari'', , ) is a freshwater lagoon separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surface area is . The Neman River () supplies about 90% of its inflows; its watershed consists of ...

flooded a ridge of coastal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

formations during the last stage of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s, the tip of Cape Vente was reinforced, the banks were raised and paved with stones. A 250 meters long

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * ...

has been built, which also acts as an icebreaker at the end of winter, breaking up large blocks of ice. This process helped to halt the deterioration of the Cape Ventė Peninsula. Cape Ventė has a red brick lighthouse standing at 11 m high, built in 1863, with a observation deck on top. The Ventė Cape Lighthouse is one of the few

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

in Lithuania where visitors are permitted to climb up to the observation deck. The main

bird migration Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and ...

route in Lithuania (part of one of the most important bird migration routes in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

across the

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and Baltic Seas) passes through Cape Ventė. The Cape, being in the former

Memel Territory Memel, a name derived from the Couronian-Latvian ''memelis, mimelis, mēms'' for "mute, silent", may refer to: *Memel, East Prussia, Germany, now , Lithuania **, (Klaipėda Castle Klaipėda Castle (), also known as Memelburg or Memel Castle, is ...

, was part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

until 1919. The

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

erected a castle here, called Windenburg, but it no longer exists.

References

External links

Headlands of Lithuania Birdwatching sites {{KlaipėdaCounty-geo-stub