his story has been passed down to our times. In ancient times, on June 24, girls would float wreaths down the river and make wishes. One beautiful young girl wove a wreath and floated it downstream. After some time had passed, everyone forgot about the wreaths. One day, the girl, rowing a boat with her beloved, saw her wreath on a shoal near an island. She was surprised and delighted to see that the wreath had grown into the sand and blossomed with fresh flowers. This showed her that her beloved’s feelings for her were constant. Overjoyed, she threw herself into his arms and held him tightly. The boat lost its balance and capsized, and the young man and the girl disappeared into the depths of the Nemunas. Since then, people have called this place the Island of Love.

… The city of Raigard was ruled by a wicked duke who reveled with his courtiers so much that even the devils of hell were outraged and sent one of their own with a huge stone to kill the duke and his henchmen and destroy the city. However, it was difficult for the devil to fly with the stone in his claws, and when the first roosters crowed, he dropped the stone before reaching Raigard… That is why some people still call it the “devil’s stone.” People also created a story that there is a cave under that stone leading to the sunken city of Raigard.

Not far from the Švendubrė stone, on the other side of the Nemunas River, lies the village of Lipliūnai. A very strong but poor man once lived there. One day, he met someone just as poor as himself, and they decided to go in search of gold. They had heard from people that a lot of it was hidden under the Švendubrė stone. One dark night, when no one could see them, they went to dig for gold. They dug for a long time and came across a cave, which led to a wide field with a large city standing in it. They realized that it was Raigardas. They encouraged each other and went into the city. The inhabitants welcomed them warmly: they gave them food and drink, and after three days, they rewarded them generously with gold and ordered them not to tell anyone about the city, then sent them home. However, the returnees could not resist and told their wives everything. As soon as they finished their story, someone took away their speech and that of their wives. All four remained mute and could no longer tell anyone about it…

Once upon a time, long ago, there was a city on a high and beautiful mountain in the Raigard Valley. It was no different from other cities, but when its inhabitants became rich from wars and plundering, they began to revel, gamble, and live dissolutely without restraint. They angered everyone with their behavior for a long time, until finally, on a stormy and terrible night, Perkūnas destroyed the city’s tall palaces, burned down the houses, and all the inhabitants sank into the ground with the ruins of the city. They would very much like to return to the surface, but above them lies a swampy marsh and dense bushes. Therefore, every evening they ring the remaining church bells underground, crying out for mercy. Even now, there are still a few people in the village who claim to have heard bells ringing from underground… The salty water of Druskininkai is the tears of the underground inhabitants…

According to the publication B. Kondratenka, J. Jančiauskas, Po Druskininkus ir apylinkes (Around Druskininkai and its surroundings), Vilnius: Mintis, 1968.

According to legend, a young woman once captivated all the men in the resort with her beauty and ingenuity. Their dream was to meet her, talk to her, and admire the clarity of her blue eyes. On the last day of summer, the girl arranged a meeting with all her admirers at Lake Druskonis. Everyone looked around and waited for the fair-faced blue-eyed girl, but she did not appear. The men, learning that she had disappeared before dawn, became alarmed, began to grieve and weep. Tears flowed from the hills and their foothills in streams. This is how two bodies of water were formed – the Maiden’s Eyes.