LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Paveldas; Mitologija; Kultūra; Meninė kūryba; Heritage; Mythology; Culture; Art creation.
ENThe study shows the links between geoheritage and culture that developed over thousands of years and demonstrates nature as the source and “carrier” of culture. The work is based on dates of geological and geomorphological investigations in three localities and on published selections of folklore and creative arts. The importance of folklore (legends, etiological stories, etc.), creative arts (poetry, fine arts, etc.), and scientific knowledge for the promotion of natural values and educational work is analysed. The versions of the origin stories of three objects of geoheritage are examined in more detail: Puntukas Stone, Devil’s Hole, and Raigardas Valley, according to legends and scientific research data. Puntukas Stone is the second-largest erratic boulder in Lithuania. The Devil’s Hole is one of the most interesting natural monuments formed by the glaciocarst process. The tectonic Raigardas Valley has the shape of a horseshoe and is part of the Nemunas River valley. Geoheritage objects associated with mythological images, art creativity, and scientific research data are always more appealing and informative for geotourism, as well as more suggestively convey the studied environmental cognition problems for educational and training processes. [From the publication]