Palanga, located in Samogitia, is mentioned in the text. The history of the place is briefly presented, as well as its current status as a health resort and seaside bathing place. Also mentioned is the current owner of Palanga, Count Feliks Tyszkiewicz, who, together with physician Ignacy Swietochowski, set himself the goal of 'making Palanga an attractive place for the Polish public' (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1901, Semester I, pp. 373-374, after: Digital Library of the University of Lodz).

A modernised reading of the text

Palanga

Żmudź is a beautiful, though sad and longing - country, which makes it all the more charming. Travelling on horseback along the roads and trails of Żmudź makes one feel the charm and poetry of this region. Samogitia, as well as Lithuania in general, attracts with its gentle and undulating landscape, with a changing and distant perspective. The path runs amidst the panorama. The undulations cause a constant change of views, every now and then a new perspective opens up on hills, meadows and forests, some longing melancholy casts its spell on villages and churches, on earth and sky, the mysterious autumnal mood of the whole nature merges with the gentle rays of the sun. One has to fight the pull of the desire to stop the carriage and absorb the spells scattered here with a generous hand. This is by no means an exaggeration.

I compared my impressions with those of seasoned tourists, who consider some parts of Samogitia to be among the most beautiful areas in Europe. Religious fervour evident here at every turn. The countryside is dotted with churches and chapels, statues of saints and crosses. Palanga has played a rather important role in the history of Samogitia in terms of legends, also trade and finally as a medicinal bathing place. It is, together with the adjacent Mount Birutė, one of the oldest historical towns in Lithuania and Samogitia (in Samogitian it is called Palanga). The old Wajdelot from "Conrad Wallenrod" mentions Palanga in his story; Palanga was the site of bloody battles with the Teutonic Knights in the 13th and 14th centuries, and in 1413 peace was made between them and Samogitia.

For centuries, Palanga was the only port that Lithuania and Samogitia had for the sale of their raw products: wood, grain, flax, hemp, honey and so on. The port was finally demolished in 1701 by the order of Charles XII, at the request of the merchants from Riga, Palanga's rivals in sea trade, and was never rebuilt. In our century, there was a steamboat harbour here for some time. Nowadays, there are no ruins, rubble or reminders of the past, and not everyone knows where the port used to be. Let us add that two miles away lies Kretynga, with a large church and monastery, founded by the Chodkiewicz family, with a portrait of Karol the hetman and his wife, and their graves. Both Kretynga and Palanga are now in the possession of the Tiškevičius family.

Palanga is not a summer water town, sparkling with numerous and colourful crowds, with a fast pace of fun and life. Quiet and secluded, with a special charm, it has the character of a village, and this, undoubtedly, is its main advantage, decoration and attraction. Away from towns and railways, right on the Prussian border, it welcomes into its embrace "bathers", as they call summer visitors here, and gives them a holiday and a rest. The greatest phenomenon here is the sea, with its rhythmic and regular work, sad, serious and puzzling, like the character of Żmdzin, who lives a pious, persevering and fierce life on its shores. Rest, too, is complete here, undisturbed and uninterrupted, except by the cool and penetrating winds blowing off the Baltic during the harshest summer.

Those who do not want their summer relaxation and contact with nature to be disturbed by the various tyrannies of fashionable and hectic city life, such as dressed-up and vain women, elegant dandies and goggles, will not see here the excess of fashionable women's dresses, men's jackets, fans and monocles, shop windows and painted faces, all that glamour and chic with which the city dazzles our eyes. In Palanga, during the hot months, it could be good for people who want to strengthen their nerves and focus their sensitivity disrupted by the city pavement, to immerse in the silence of nature and the solemnity of the North Sea, to commune with thoughts and solitude. Nature here may not be rich or magnificent, the sea has no picturesque shores, but the landscape has its own unmistakable charm.

In Palanga you will find great tranquillity, freedom, the air here is clean and healthy, the sea is open and wide. The local baths have beneficial effects, which is known not only to doctors, but also to those who have used them. Weak and anaemic children in particular recover quickly and regain their strength and cheerfulness. I have heard parents saying that they owe the salvation and life of their children to Palanga alone. Palanga's originality and decoration is the bridge, almost a mile out to sea, and Biruta Mountain, already mentioned. A walk across the bridge and the view of the waves crashing against its pillars, provide a strong impression, especially when the wind is strong and the waves rise, during a storm. From Biruta, an expansive perspective of the sea opens up again; passing steamers can be seen. The considerable distance of Palanga from the railway discourages some visitors from going here.

Indeed, the lack of transport is Palanga's greatest disadvantage; the journey from Warsaw to Libava takes almost five days, of which about 10 hours are by horse. The lack of transport is Palanga's biggest drawback; Warsaw takes almost five days to travel to Libava, with a journey of about 10 hours by horse-drawn carriage. This year, however, the transport system is to be reformed, with omnibuses and comfortable vehicles running between Prekuln bon and the station of the Libava-Romagna railway and Palanga, so that there is no need to wait longer to get to Libava. In any case, those who like nature and views should not be discouraged by a 10-hour drive on a flat and comfortable route. It is also much shorter to travel by rail through Prussia to Klaipėda (Memel), from where it is less than three miles to Palanga.

Then it takes twelve hours to get there from Warsaw. Palanga is a health resort (besides sea bathing, natural and warm, there is also a climate station), healthy, warm and cheap, its food is of good quality; prices of flats are low, 3 rooms with a kitchen can be obtained for 50-60 rub., even lower. Of course, there are also higher prices. There is also a house with flats and a boarding house. It is also today the only seaside bathing place, remaining in Polish hands. It has an excellent sea and climate, and should compete victoriously with Prussian bathing resorts on the Baltic, with Gdañsk, Sobotka, Ko³obrzeg, to which, in view of the increasingly worse relations with the Prussians, we cannot go.

The present owner of Palanga, Count Felix Tyszkiewicz, wants to raise the town by gradual development. He found a zealous and skilful co-worker in a young doctor from Warsaw, Dr. Ignacy Swietochowski, whose ambition was to make Palanga an attractive place for the Polish public seeking baths in the Baltic Sea. For both the sick and those seeking rest as well as for tourists, Żmudź is a land rich in charm, poetry and longing, worthy of all attention.