The Curonian Spit, sometimes called Courish Split (Lithuanian: Kuršių nerija; Russian: Ку́ршская коса́ / Kurshskaya kosa, German: Kurische Nehrung), is a 98-kilometre (61 mi) long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, and its northern within southwestern Klaipėda County of Lithuania.
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👉 Curonian Spit in the context of Prussia (region)
Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea that ranges from the Vistula delta in the west to the end of the Curonian Spit in the east and extends inland as far as Masuria, divided between Poland (Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship), Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) and Lithuania (Lithuania Minor). This region is often also referred to as Old Prussia.
Tacitus's Germania (98 AD) is the oldest known record of an eyewitness account on the territory and its inhabitants. Suiones, Sitones, Goths and other Germanic people had temporarily settled to the east and west of the Vistula River during the Migration Period, adjacent to the Aesti, who lived further to the east.
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Curonian Spit in the context of Spit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs because waves meet the beach at an oblique angle, moving sediment down the beach in a zigzag pattern. This is complemented by longshore currents, which further transport sediment through the water alongside the beach. These currents are caused by the same waves that cause the drift.
Curonian Spit in the context of Curonian Lagoon
The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Lithuanian: Kuršių marios, Prussian: Kursjanmari, Russian: Куршский залив) is a freshwater lagoon separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surface area is 1,619 square kilometers (625 sq mi). The Neman River (Lithuanian: Nemunas) supplies about 90% of its inflows; its watershed consists of about 100,450 square kilometres in Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast.
Curonian Spit in the context of Kursenieki language
The Kursenieki language (Kursenieki: kursineeki wahloda; Latvian: kursenieku valoda; German: Nehrungskurisch; Lithuanian: kuršininkų kalba) or Curonian language of the Curonian isthmus (German: kurische Sprache der Kurischen Nehrung) is a dialect of the Latvian language spoken by the Kursenieki of the Curonian Spit, a thin strip of land stretching between southwestern Lithuania and the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia.
In the process of various migrations of the 14th–17th centuries, partially assimilated Curonians who were already speaking a Latvian dialect settled along the Curonian Spit in East Prussia and gradually developed a distinct identity becoming known as Kursenieki.
Curonian Spit in the context of Lithuania–Russia border
The Lithuania–Russia border is an international border between the Republic of Lithuania (EU member) and Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of the Russian Federation (CIS member). It is an external border of the European Union. The 274.9 km (170.8 mi) long border passes (from west to south-east clockwise) through the Curonian Spit and Curonian Lagoon, and then follows along the Neman River, Šešupė, Širvinta, Liepona, and Lake Vištytis. The sea border is another 22.2 km (13.8 mi). There is a tripoint between Lithuania, Russia, and Poland with a stone monument at 54°21′48″N 22°47′31″E / 54.36333°N 22.79194°E.
Most of the border follows rivers or lakes. On land, border stations are equipped with engineering and technical facilities (wired fences and the exclusion zone). Most other land areas have no fence, but some places near roads or villages have fences (e.g. at 54°27′11″N 22°42′08″E / 54.45306°N 22.70222°E with Street View coverage). Russians need a Schengen visa to cross the border into Lithuania, and Lithuanians need a Russian visa to go to Russia.