Windvane Square
The Windvane Square in Dreverna is a quiet and evocative place, where a stylised open-air exhibition introduces one of the most distinctive traditions of the Curonian Lagoon fishermen. To understand these colourful emblems, we must travel back to the nineteenth century.
The official history of the windvanes begins on the 26th of June 1844, when the Fishing Inspectorate of the Kingdom of Prussia approved their use. The intention was practical: to control fishing activities, mark the areas where each community was allowed to work, and help inspectors combat poaching. The idea came from the royal Curonian Lagoon fishing inspector — the fishmaster Ernst Wilhelm Beerbohm, who lived in Muižė Manor near Ventė Horn.
At first, fishermen were far from pleased with this new form of regulation. Yet over time, these signs of control were transformed into powerful symbols of identity and belonging.
Mounted on the masts of sailing boats, the windvanes were made of painted wood or tin. From the middle of the nineteenth century onwards, their colours and shapes revealed a fisherman’s home village and the waters in which he had the right to fish – almost like a floating coat of arms. The villages of the Curonian Spit used black and white; the eastern shore combined white and red; the southern coast – now part of the Kaliningrad region – displayed yellow and blue.
But these were more than simple markers. Fishermen decorated them with motifs inspired by their surroundings and their lives: the silhouettes of churches and houses, boats and animals, geometric ornaments and delicate carvings. Each vane told a story — of family, of success, of hope for favourable winds and safe waters.
Although their practical function has long since disappeared, windvanes remain one of the most recognisable symbols of lagoon culture and of Lithuania Minor. Until the end of the Second World War, they crossed the waters on the masts of fishermen’s boats; today, they continue to speak of a deep and enduring relationship between people and nature.
Created on the initiative of the local community, the Windvane Square invites visitors to pause, to reflect, and to discover this unique cultural heritage. Perhaps, as you walk among these signs and colours, you will learn to read their hidden messages – or at least catch the direction of the wind.