Valley of Love

On the twelfth kilometer from Smiltynė, on the west side of the road, in a small forest clearing has one still may spot grass overgrown building foundations. In the late nineteenth century barracks were built here. Curonian Spit plan of 1918-1922 identifies this place as the “Liebestal” (Valley of Love (lit. Meilės slėnis). After the Prussian – French War (1870-1872) French prisoners were settled here and used for surrounding dune fixing and afforestation works. Later forest plantation hired workers lived in those barracks – mostly women arriving from elsewhere. Maybe because of that this sand valley was called the “Valley of Love”. At the bay near the barracks there is a small jetty. Now, only after a careful search one may spot barracks and pier construction sites.

Source: J. Bučas Curonian Spit National Park. Vilnius, 2001