The history of one of the oldest balneology resorts in Lithuania – Birštonas has been written from the Middle Ages. Prussian chronicler Vygandas Marburgietis  in “Naujojoje Prūsijos kronikoje“ (“New Chronicle of Prussia”) mentioned that marshal Kuhn von Hottenstein during the march to Lithuania divided the army into three parts in order to assault Punia, Alytus and Birštonas. At the beginning of the XIX c. the researcher of history Theodore Narbutas in Königsberg archives  found almost 20 references of Birštonas during 1384-1402 reconnoitrers to Lithuania  in which the “homestead” beside the salty water is called Birsten, Birstan as well as a well fortified wooden castle on the sheer scar of  the Nemunas.



After the battle of Žalgiris (Battle of Grunwald) when the crusaders’ incursions were over Birštonas was mentioned as a hunting manor of the great dukes of Lithuania.  The manor was freequently visited by Vytautas the Great, Kazimieras Jogailatis with his sons and duchess Ellen. After the ruling of Jogailaičiai dynasty Birštonas conceded its leader positions to Pienai. Only in the middle of the XIX c. when the mineral waters were started to be used for healing purposes the revival of Birštonas began.

The beginning of the establishment of Birštonas resort is interrelated to 1846 when doctor Benediktas Balinskis from Stakliškėa resort being interested in Birštonas springs sent a patient for whom the healing sources of Stakliškės did not help. The patient recovered only in Birštonas. At the end of 1854 after long investigations and bureaucratic procedures Russian Minister of the Interior Affairs signed a permission to establish Birštonas resort. Next year the first healing site was built and in the sixth decade of  XIX century Birštonas was already  well known balneological resortin all over Russian Empirea. Before the I World War there were 72 baths in the healing sites and 3 hotels  containing 200 rooms were built .

During the I World War Birštonas suffered a lot and the remaining buildings were sold. The young state was short of money for renovating and restoring the resort. The only resort of Independent Lithuania (Druskininkai was occupied by Polish) was The complete decay menaced to) was doomed to vanish but at that moment Lithuanian Red Cross became interested in Birštonas and in 1924 signed a contract with the Department of Health pledging to modernize the resort, build up the baths of mud, install water-supply, sewerage, and electric illumination. The Board of the Red Cross promised to allocate all the profit to the development and refinement of the resort.

The most significant event in the history of the science of resorts was the initiation of mud application for healing purposes in Birštonas. The peat for the healing mud was brought from Velniabliūdis peatbog and the mud treatment centre decorated with the emblem of the Red Cross was built in 1927. This building has remained till the present days and has become the most important building in Birštonas.

It was the board of the Red Cross who got the park in trim, installed the fountain and the reservoirs for the fresh and mineral water on Vytautas hill. Water-supply, sewerage and electricity was installed in all the hotels of the resort. The regular connection by buses was arranged with Kaunas and Alytus. Not only sanatoriums and villas  were built in Birštonas. The town expanded itself and became more beautiful. The central square of the town was formed in which the monument to J.Basanavičius was unveiled in 1939. The memory of the patriarch was eternelized from the fund of resort's tax.

During the II World War Birštonas vegetated, however it avoided bigger disasters. Only the Kurhauzas had losses where the panels painted by the famous painter Kazys Simonis were lost during the fire. Right after the war the resort started functioning. In 1945 the writer Balys Sruoga who returned from Stutthof concentration camp was cured  in the “White” villa. Here he wrote the memoirs “Dievų miškas” (The Forest of Gods). In the sixth decade the construction of new sanatorium complexes began. Sanatoriums “Tulpė”, “Spalis” and “Versmė” welcomed their visitors.



Vytautas Birutė The oldest Lithuanian bottling mineral water  company is still functioning in Birštonas. It started its activity in 1924 when it was very popular to sip mineral water “Vytautas” or “Birutė”. The first bottles of mineral water were poured in Kaunas but in the seventh decade this activity was relocated in Birštonas. However, it is not necessary to buy mineral water in the resort. One can taste the real non-carbonated mineral water “Vytautas” in the pump-rooms of the sanatoriums “Tulpės” and “Versmė”.

Not only the unique natural recourses but also the exclusive landscape of this terrain attract the holidaymakers to visit Birštonas and its surroundings. The forests in the loops of the Nemunas recall the times of royal huntings when the bugle of Vytautas the Great echoed in Žverinčius forest and invited to recreate the members of those days European royal families. The beauty of the loops of the Nemunas was described by the writer V.Sirokomlė who traveled along the river, the poet J.Marcinkevičius, whereas the painter N.Silvanavičius memorialized everything in his canvases.

Justinas Marcinkevičius wrote about this country: “Blessed places, rare picturesqueness of the surroundings. It seems that even the old Nemunas which toiled over creating them remained fascinated by their beauty and started rushing from one side to the other… Thus, its head turned round and it did not understand where it was floating the waters. Thank's to his giddiness that created the most unique natural monument – the Great Loops of the Nemunas of 60 km in length. No other European river has ever worked in such a way”.



The Great Loops of the Nemunas were hardly understandable for the old times rafters. Cartographers did not manage to depict them even in 1613 in the precise map of the Great Duchy of Lithuania  “Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae”. Only in 1852 Abichtas, the professor of Vilnius University, indicated the Great Loops of the Nemunas correctly.

The real reason why the river makes those loops is still unknown. Some geologists state that the origin of the loops is determined by the rising derivatives of  the earth's entrails between Birštonas and Punia. That caused the Nemunas to toss about and curve the loops of Punia, Balbieriškis, Prienai and Birštonas. In a stretch of 65 km the Nemunas flows to the direction of all the points of the compass - recently from the spur of Birštonas one could see that the river was flowing to the West on one side  and to the East on the other, however nowadays this scenery is hidden by the forests. The average depth of the valley is 40 m.

In 1992 the Regional Park of the Great Nemunas Loops was established. It is one of the largest regional parks in the country covering the area of over 25 thousand hectares. The aim of the establishment of the park was to preserve the unique landscape formed by the Nemunas.

82 % of Birštonas Municipality is in the territory of the Regional Park of the Great Nemunas Loops. General area of the municipality is 124 sq. m. The area of Birštonas town is 13 sq. m. The municipality consists of Birštonas town and Birštonas elderate. Over 5300 inhabitants live in Birštonas Municipality. The major part of the inhabitants, i.e. 3200 live in the town, whereas the rest in 46 villages of Birštonas elderate.