Druskininkai Municipality
Druskininkai
small marshy forest lake with a partisan memorial
Druskininkai town forest, southwest of Vijūnėlė Park
54.01050, 23.97060
20-40 min.
spring-autumn
Mergelių akys, Mergelės akys
Mergelių Akys Lake: two forest eyes
Mergelių Akys Lake is a small marshy lake in a hollow surrounded by pine forest, about 1.5-2 km south-west of the Druskininkai centre and a little south of Vijūnėlė Park. The water is dark and marshy, and the banks are covered with aquatic vegetation.
The shape explains the name. The lake consists of two oval basins joined by a narrow channel, and from a distance they look like a pair of eyes. The lake is small, only about 0.9 ha, so it impresses not by its size but by its name, setting, and history. A stream flows north from it and feeds Vijūnėlė Pond.
The legend of the maiden's eyes
A resort legend explains the romantic name. It tells of a beautiful and clever young woman in the resort, whose clear eyes every young man wanted to look into. On the last day of summer she invited her admirers to meet, but then disappeared and was never seen again. The tears of the grieving men flowed as little streams into the hollow and flooded two basins - the maiden's eyes.
This is a newer, resort-period legend, so it should be treated as an attractive story rather than historical fact. The simpler explanation is descriptive: two round neighbouring basins look like eyes, and the word akys, eyes, appears in Lithuanian lake names more than once.
Partisan memorial
The real, documented meaning of the place is tragic. Beside the lake stands a memorial to partisans of the Dainava District, Merkys Group and later Kazimieraitis Group. According to Druskininkai Municipality, their bodies were thrown into Mergelių Akys Lake in 1944-1953.
The memorial was consecrated on July 17, 1994, and it names eleven partisans. This is therefore not only a pretty natural corner but also a place of remembrance, where visitors should behave respectfully.
Visiting
A walking path leads to the lake, and a small pier on the eastern shore gives an easy view over the water and forest. The site is easiest to reach on foot or by bicycle, about a kilometre south through the forest from Vijūnėlė Park.
This is a free nature and memory site open year-round; no ticket or registration is needed. A visit takes 20-40 minutes, and it is easy to include in a longer walk through Vijūnėlė Park or the Druskininkai forest. The lake is not a protected area.
