Traveling on bicycle paths from the “Beauty Source” on the bank of the Nemunas river, you will soon see an impressive panorama of the Island of Love.
Here, on both sides of the banks of the Nemunas, during old times, bonfires were burning during Jonines (St. John’s Eve) during which girls and boys were weaving wreaths and singing near the bonfires. When the Nemunas river was surrounded by twilight, the young people would put the wreaths with a candle and their name into the water. According to legend, if the whirlpools of the Nemunas connected the wreaths of a girl and a boy near the Island of Love, they were destined to be together.
Legend has it that once the wreaths of young people merged near the island, near the village of Mizarai. The young people got into a canoe and rowed to the wreaths, but as they tried to take them, the canoe capsized. The waves carried both bodies. The girl was holding a wreath, and he was holding her. Since then, the Nemunas Island near Druskininkai has been called the Island of Love, and an altar dedicated to the goddess of love Milda started being lit in there.
It is obvious that Druskininkai originated from love, and the history of the resort is a constantly evolving story of eternal love inspired by legends associated with nature.
These days the Island of love is a botanical reserve. Don‘t miss the chance to feast your eyes on this beautiful island created by nature. Who knows, maybe while visiting the island, you will find your true love?
