Books
describing Lithuania emphasise the fact that Lithuanians are
hard-working, economical, persistent and pious people attached
to their native land. The whole world for a Lithuanian is his
home with fields, meadows, rivers and forests which surround
it. These people are known to be very hospitable.  All
these features are also very characteristic of Lithuanians living
in Poland. There are about 25 000 of them in Poland, half of
them living in Suwałki Region which has been their ethnic country
and their patrimony for four centuries. They are centered mostly
in Sejny Region where there is their informal capital - Puńsk
- which used to be a little town and now is a big, affluent
commune village. Many of them have farms in neighbouring villages.
The names of these villages sound very exotic which proves that
they were founded by Lithuanian settlers from behind the Neman:
Burbiszki, Trakiszki, Zaboryszki, Radziuszki, Szołtany, Szlinokiemie,
Wiłkopedzie, Żwikiele, Klejwy and Żegary. A lot of Lithuanians
live in Sejny (40% of the town's population), Szypliszki and
Suwałki.  The
rest have spread all over the country. The Sejny land has not
yet been fully discovered by tourists, although it is so worth
being explored. There are numerous lakes, forests, idyllic fields
stretching among the hills, and meadows hidden in river and
stream valleys here. This is a serene landscape, so joyful for
your eyes and calming for your body. An integral element of
this landscape is villages and single households standing on
hills, all hospitable and well-looked after. Crosses and wayside
shrines decorate the country roads. Many families uphold traditional
skills of tablecloth embroidering, wool spinning, straw work,
paper cut-outs, painting Easter eggs, or weaving. Lithuanian
cuisine is famous for delicious dishes, which you can taste
and check for yourself in "Sodas", a restaurant in Puńsk. Here
one can also hire a carriage and admire beauty of this Lithuanian
landscape from it.
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Lithuanian
culture
- info
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A
good network of asphalt roads makes it easy to visit Sejny Region
by car. It is best to start your "Lithuanian trail" in Suwałki,
Stary Folwark, Sejny, Giby, Puńsk, Rutka Tartak, which offer good
accommodation and catering facilities.
Three marked trails run across Sejny Region. They make it easier
to explore the most interesting and beautiful corners of this area.
For those who would like to spend holidays in Sejny Region we can
suggest holiday houses in Giby, Posejnele, Kukle and Becejły on
Like Szelment Wielki.
Important
addresses and telephone numbers
GIBY
Bank Spółdzielczy (a branch) 516 50 19
Post office 516 50 30 Police station 516 50 07
Commune Council 516 50 37
KRASNOPOL
Pharmacy 516 40 11
Bank Spółdzielczy (a branch) 516 40 18
Post office 516 40 60
Police station 516 40 07
Commune Council 516 40 10
PUŃSK
Pharmacy, Szkolna 26, 516 11 04
Bank Spółdzielczy, A. Mickiewicza 28, 516 10 26
The House of Lithuanian Culture, A. Mickiewicza 5, tel./fax 516
10 32
Railway border crossing to Lithuania, Trakiszki, 516 14 75
Post office, Szkolna 3, 516 10 29
Police station, A. Mickiewicza 41, 516 10 07
Customs Office, Trakiszki, 516 14 74
Commune Council, A. Mickiewicza 23, 516 10 48
SEJNY
Pharmacy, A. Zawadzkiego 19, 516 23 15
Bank Spółdzielczy, J. Piłsudskiego 20, 516 21 83
Money exchange, J. Piłsudskiego 21, 516 26 78
The Lithuanian House, 22 Lipca 9, tel./fax 516 29 08
Post office, J. Piłsudskiego 24, 516 20 24
Ambulance service, E. Rittera 1, 999
Border Guard, A. Zawadzkiego 3, 516 21 53
The Society For Sejny and Sejny Region Development, J. Piłsudskiego
28, 516 34 00
Customs Office, Ogrodniki 516, 21 78
Town Council, J. Piłsudskiego 25, 516 20 73
Accommodation
and recreation facilities
Camping
"Tau", Giby 8 516 50 97
Hotel "Skarpa" (with a restaurant), Sejny, J. Piłsudskiego 13, 516
20 65
Hotel in Dom Litewski (The Lithuanian House), Sejny, 22 Lipca 9,
516 22 73
Holiday Center "Market", Posejnele, 516 50 16
Recreation Center "Gieret", Giby 111, 516 57 02
Recreation
Center of the Book, Radio and Television, Posejnele, 516 50 02
Recreation Center "Prima", Kukle, 516 50 58
Recreation Center "Politechnika", Hołny Mejera, 516 22 04
Recreation Center "Nexus", Giby, 516 50 43
Recreation Center "Zelwa", Zelwa, 516 50 35
Youth Hostel, Primary School no 2, Sejny, Wojska Polskiego 64, 516
22 64
Inn "Drewutnia", Hołny Mejera, 517 20 86
Inn "Gospoda", Dusznica (the border crossing), 517 20 65
Attention:
accommodation facilities are completed with campsites in Giby, Kukle,
Posejnele, Zelwa, Sejwy and Becejły.
Agrotourist
services
Reservation
of agrotourist rooms, organizing trips and canoe trips, tourist
information - with The Society For Sejny and Sejny Region Development,
Sejny, J. Piłsudskiego 28, tel./fax (087) 516 34 00; SIRT, Suwałki,
T. Kościuszki 45, tel./fax (087) 566 54 94
Driving
tourist trails
1.
Suwałki - Krasnopol - Sejny - Smolany - Puńsk - Szypliszki - Becejły
- Jeleniewo - Suwałki (95 km).
2. Sejny - Giby - Posejnele - Berżniki - Ogrodniki - Sejny (42 km).
Hiking and biking trails
Red
trail: Giby - Zelwa - Berżniki - Sejny - Klejwy - Smolany - Puńsk
- Fornetka - Becejły - Rutka-Tartak (82 km).
Blue trail: Sejny - Giby - Jeziorki - Maćkowa Ruda - Węgzał
(Mi-kołajewo on Lake Wigry) (35 km).
Black trail (connecting): Ogrodniki - Krasnogruda - Sztabinki
- road no 16 near Dworczysko village (9,4 km).
Lithuanian
cultural societies
The
Lithuanian Society And Culture Association, Sejny, 22 Lipca 9, 516
21 25
The Lithuanian Society of St. Kazimierz, Sejny, 22 Lipca 9, 516
29 08
The Lithuanian Ethnic Culture Society in Poland, Puńsk, Szkolna
6/10, 516 14 06
The Society of Lithuanians in Poland, Sejny, 22 Lipca 9, 516 21
25
The Society of Lithuanian Youth in Poland, Puńsk, A. Mickiewicza
23, 516 14 16
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