Palanga: apie "civilizacines ribas" ir kurortą prie Baltijos

LTŠiame straipsnyje, remiantis istoriografiniais, kartografiniais ir egodokumentinių šaltinių duomenimis, nagrinėjama Palangos geopolitinė ir ekonominė padėtis Rytų Baltijos kontekste. Bandoma atsakyti į klausimą: ar galime kalbėti apie Palangos „civilizacines“ ribas, kaip skiriančias Europą nuo Azijos, ir kokie būtų šių ribų skiriamieji bruožai. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Palanga, Europa, Azija, civilizacinės ribos, kurortas. [Iš leidinio]

ENPalanga, celebrating the 100th anniversary of its accession to the Lithuanian state in 2021, which is constantly reviving in the summer and buzzing in other seasons, is the main Lithuanian resort at the Baltic Sea. In the 20th century, the city of Palanga underwent radical transformations - from changes in territorial and political dependence (it belonged to the Tsarist Russian Empire, the Republic of Latvia, the Lithuanian state in the inter-war years, the Lithuanian SSR) to the rapid growth of the resort and mass tourism attraction during the Soviet era. At the beginning of the 21st century, radical socio-economic transformations took place, from the rapid privatisation and pseudo-restitution of resort entities to the planned creation of a resort landscape. After the restoration of independence, Palanga has changed significantly - it has become a modern Lithuanian resort, which annually receives an increasing number of holidaymakers. The article examines the geopolitical and economic situation of Palanga in the context of the East Baltic. From the second half of the 17th century, merchants of European countries became interested in the Lithuanian Baltic coast, when English merchants unsuccessfully tried to establish the port of Šventoji and start trade operations.There is information about the recording of Palanga and its accompanying human settlements (Šventoji, Nemirseta) in European cartography (maps of Gerardus Mercator (1595), Wacław Gródecki (1601), Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł (1635), Franz Reilly (1792), and maps of the Kaunas governorate of the Russian Empire (1843). The businesses of the residents of Palanga - Šventoji region (fishing, amber processing, smuggling) and the transformation of Palanga into a resort in the 19th century are discussed. The article analyses the question: can we talk about the boundaries of Palanga>s ‘civilisation’ as separating ‘Europe’ from ‘Asia’, and what would be the distinguishing features of these boundaries. Key words: Palanga, Europe, Asia, boundaries of civilisation, resort. [From the publication]