The first thing to greet you when arriving in Dreverna is the Bangpūtys sculpture (creator: Darius Vilius) erected in 2023 thanks to the Dreverna community project ‘Adaptation of small infrastructure and public spaces to the needs of fishermen and tourists in Dreverna’.
Bangpūtys is the sea god of western Lithuanians and old Prussians. The fishermen there used to bathe at certain times in honour of Bangpūtys and cook the first pike caught in the lagoon in the spring in its honour. There also used to be several ‘vaidilučiai’ (votaries), whom they called ‘naručiai’ (divers) and who dived into the lagoon and communicated with the waters. Even today, residents of Dreverna and visitors can see Bangpūtys arriving across the Curonian Lagoon on the Dreverna ancient sailing ship during the ‘On the Side of Lagoon’ (Lith. Ant marių kraštelio) fishermen’s festival held in the town.
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