Ignalina District Municipality
Aukštaitija National Park
ethnographic street village in Aukštaitija with an educational trail
Meironys, Ignalina elderate, Ignalina District, Aukštaitija National Park
55.33810, 26.07810
half a day with the educational trail and Palūšė
Pentecost for the cattle swimming tradition; summer for village and trail walks
Meironys, Antadringė, Atadringė
Meironys Ethnographic Village between three lakes
Meironys Ethnographic Village is a living old Aukštaitija village inside Aukštaitija National Park, set between Lakes Lūšiai, Asalnai, and Dringykštis, only about 2 km from Palūšė. It is a street village: homesteads line one road, and the national park protects the setting around them.
The village is famous not for a museum exhibition but for a living tradition and a place. Old wooden homesteads, the surrounding lakes, and the nearby educational trail make Meironys one of the park's warmest village landscapes.
A street village of Aukštaitija
Meironys was first mentioned in 1554 in the inventory of Linkmenys Manor under the older name Antadringė, meaning "on Lake Dringis". The name Meironys appeared later. It is a one-street, formerly strip-field village, a characteristic example of older Aukštaitija village planning.
It is worth knowing that Meironys has not been separately declared an ethnographic or urban reserve; its traditional structure is protected because the village lies inside the national park. By Lake Lūšiai stands a small path of wooden sculptures created from local legends during a creative camp in 1977.
Pentecost: swimming the cattle across the lake
The village's best-known feature is a tradition that has lived for about a century and that the national park calls unique in Lithuania. At Pentecost, cattle decorated with flower garlands are swum across the lake from shore homesteads to summer pasture on a peninsula, and in autumn they are swum back.
The cows are not carried by raft. They swim about 50 m behind a boat across Lake Asalnai and graze freely on the peninsula through the warm season. Pentecost is celebrated outdoors with services, music, and dancing.
Meironys educational trail
Right beside the village, along Lake Lūšiai between Palūšė and Meironys, winds the Meironys educational trail, one of the park's best-known trails, renewed and reorganized in 2021. It crosses hilly terrain that in places feels like a small roller-coaster route.
The trail consists of three colour-marked loops, about 3.7 km, 5 km, and 5.5 km long, so you can choose a route according to your energy. Many information panels are installed along the trail.
How to visit
The village itself is an open, inhabited place. You can walk or pass through, but private homesteads must be respected. The educational trail is free and can be walked independently year-round.
To see the cattle swimming, come at Pentecost in spring, and check the exact programme with the park directorate. The visit combines easily with Palūšė, its church and visitor centre, and other places in the park.
