Sūručio skulptūra

DRUSKININKAI

On 20 June 1794, Stanislaus II Augustus, grand duke of Lithuania and king of Poland, issued a decree to raise Druskininkai to the status of a resort town, thereby establishing the first resort in Lithuania.

People who were living within the vicinity of Druskininkai learned by chance that the local water possessed miraculous healing powers. The folk healer, Sūrutis, led his sick and limping horse to graze along the banks of the River Nemunas, near the salty springs. The horse waded through the salty marshes, drawing strength from them and regaining its health. A few months later, Sūrutis noticed that his beloved horse had completely recovered and it was then he realised that this was due to the healing powers of the salty springs. Since then Druskininkai’s inhabitants have been using the salty springs and their magical healing powers. In the eighteenth century, the recognised power of the Druskininkai springs became the resort’s main feature, and its most distinctive feature. To this day, Druskininkai’s inhabitants are proud to have preserved this centuries-old traditions of being able to providing treatment and good health.