in the framework of the Comenius Multilateral Partnership Project“Europe in a …museum”

Gargždų “Minijos” progimnazijaLithuania

2015

PALANGA AMBER MUSEUM

Small but lovely is my native country,

Like a bead of amber glowing bright.

Her old melodies arouse my wonder

And her patterned weave is my delight.

For a keepsake take this bead of amber

Cast by waves upon the baltic strand.

Lithuania’s name in all its splendour

Like the sun will sparkle in your hand.

Lithuanian poetess SALOMĖJA NĖRIS,1940

Found in many parts of the world, amber is nowhere else sodeeply rooted into everyday life, folklore and art as in Lithuania .

One of the finestlegends, a poetic love storyabout the sea –goddess Jurate and a fisherman Kastytisoriginates in the land of theBaltic tribes. This is anattempt by our ancestors to

explain the origin of amber. According to the legend amberpieces are Jurate’s tears and

fragments of goddess Jurate’s underwater castle struck by Perkunas, the Thunder god, that still washes up on the beaches nearby Palanga.

The Palanga amber museum was established on August 3, 1963.

It is housed on the estate of Count Feliksas Tiskevicius (1865-1932). The estate, designed by German architect Franc Schwechten (1841-1924), was built in 1897.

The Palanga Botanical Gardens, designed by the landscape architect Eduard Francois Andre (1840-1911), surround the Estate.

The first floor is dedicated to displays that illustrate the formationand composition of amber

Amber in the area aroseabout 40 to 45 million years

ago. The processes via which resin is changed intoamber by microorganisms,oxidation,and polymerizationare illustrated. Climate warming stimulatedthe resin leak of amber trees

Pinus succinifera. Composition of amber: 80%of carbon, 10% of oxygen, 10%

of hydrogen.

Nowadays the Palanga amber museum’s exposition takes up 15 rooms. About 4,500 exhibit pieces are found here.

Visitors are acquainted with the formation, processing, practical application, and morphological variations of amber.

The museum is thematically divided into the scientific and cultural/artistic aspects of amber.

The visitors can see one of the largest amber pieces in Europe, the Amber Sun or Sun Stone.

It’s Europe’s thirdlargest amber specimen of

size 210x190x150 mm andweighing 3,526 grams.

Baltic amber weightranges from 10,5 to 1,096grams.

The Palanga amber museum has the collection of 15000 inclusions.

Inclusions are amber piecewith trapped insects or plants

(centipedes, arachnida, ephemera,termites ants, parts of the trees,leaves and pine needles). They are being used as a studymaterial for the investigation ofthe history of amber and million-

year-old flora and fauna.

Cultural and artistic exhibits

Exhibits include:

a 15th-century ring, a 16th-century cross, amber jewelry fromthe past four centuries, a number of rosaries, cigarette holders, decorative boxes, round beads, various brooches

Selections of modern amber work are a part of the collection. The collection includes pieces by

the Lithuanian artists Horstas Taleikis, Dionyzas Varkalis and Jonas Urbonas.

Amber gem stone is not strictly speaking a stone at all, but beautiful jewelry made from it resembles gemstones, so it issold as a gem stone.

Amber was used in many spheres of human activity, mainly in medicine

Amber is a powerful healer Powder of amber mixed with honey cures throat, ear and eye disease. It also treats stomach if taken with water. People still burn pieces of amber in rooms where patients stay. In this way the

air is disinfected, possibility of infection to others is reduced as well asrecovery of the patient is accelerated.People believe that amber

balances the emotions, clears the mind, releases negative energy, eases stress by clearing fobias. Amber is a lovely warm stone to wear since it absorbs pain and negative

energy. Amber clears depression, stimulates the intellect and promotes self-confidence

and creative self-expression. Amber encourages decision-making, spontaneity and brings wisdom, balance

and patience.

If you want, you can try amber therapeutic yourself:

If you have a headache, massage temples with a small piece of amber rather thantaking pills.

If you put amber under your mattress, you will slep well.

If the eyes are tired, keep a look at the amber. It also serves as a good meditationmaking thinking easier.

If you feel constant tiredness, hold a piece of amber in your hand. It helps to restorestrength.

If you have a sore throat, you need to put amber on the place were you have pain andwrap up the neck with a handkerchief.

If you do not trust yourself, wear amber jewellery. Amber dispels doubts, suspicions, promotes mental and spiritual activities.

If your gums are bleeding, you need to put amber powder on toothpaste.

Your hair strengthen and grow faster if you use amber powder when washing yourhair.

These days Palanga amber museum is becoming famous for itscultural events.

Visitors enjoy the Night Serenade

concerts in summer on the terrace

of the estate also meetings with

artists in the Fireplace Hall.

Don’t miss the chance to visit Palanga in summer!