Plungė is a town in the Samogitia region of Lithuania, with a population of 17,000 in 2022. The main reason to come this way is for Samogitia National Park.
Understand
[edit]Plungė is perhaps named for the Paplunga river. It was a quiet farming and textile town that endured the same list of horrors as elsewhere in the Baltic, but was of no great strategic value. Perhaps seeking a quiet life, the Ogiński noble family built a grand neo-classical mansion here, which is now an art museum.
Visitor information is at Dariaus ir Girėno g 27, midway between station and Oginski Hotel. It's open M-Th 08:00-17:00, F 08:00-15:45.
Get in
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By road from Kaunas take A1 northwest towards Klaipėda and turn onto Hwy 164. From Klaipėda start out on A1 east and at Vėžaičiai turn onto Hwy 166.
A11 is the highway from Palanga and Kretinga, continuing east from Plungė to Telšiai and Šiauliai.
Buses from Klaipėda run every two hours and take 90 min either via Gargždai and Perkūnai, or via Palanga and Kretinga, and continue to Telšiai or Mažeikiai.
From Vilnius two buses a day are direct, taking four hours via Kaunas, otherwise you have to double back via Klaipėda.
The bus station is next to the railway station. For timetables and tickets see Autobus Bilietai.
Two trains a day run from Vilnius, taking 3 hr 30 min via Kaišiadorys, Jonava, Kėdainiai, Radviliškis and Šiauliai. They continue via Kretinga to Klaipėda, another 50 min. For timetables and tickets see LTG Link.
1 Plungė railway station is north side of town on Stoties gatvė, which means "station road". No facilities here.
Get around
[edit]The town is walkable; local buses circulate through town. You need wheels to explore Žemaitijos National Park and the Cold War Museum to the north.
See
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- 1 Samogitian Art Museum (Žemaičių dailės muziejus), Parko g 3A, ☏ +370 448 52492. Tu-Sa 10:00-17:00. This is in a mansion built in the 1880s for the nobleman Michał Mikołaj Ogiński (1849-1902), who amassed a huge art collection. It became a museum in 1994. The interior is all repro as Soviet troops destroyed or looted the original features. Adult €5, child €3.
- Plungė Park surrounds the mansion.
- 2 Church of St John the Baptist (Šv Jono Krikštytojo bažnyčia) was built in red brick in 1903-33, with a grand free-standing bell tower. It's at Vytauto g 28-32 and accessible 24 hours.
- 3 Cold War Museum (Šaltojo karo muziejus), Šilinės g 4, Plokščių (23 km north of town), ☏ +370 677 86574. Daily 10:00-17:00. Missile silos that in Soviet times housed four SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles, packing 2 megaton apiece. Adult €10, child €5.
Do
[edit]- Football: FK Babrungas play soccer in I Lyga, the second tier. Their tiny stadium (capacity 500) is 100 m south of the railway and bus stations. The playing season is March-Nov.
- Ski at Mortos Kalnas, a little hill at Kalniškės 5 km south of Plungė. There are lifts and you can hire kit.
- Samogitia National Park is 10 km north of town, centred on Lake Plateliai. So there's water activities, camping and other accommodation.
Buy
[edit]- Iki supermarket is in town centre at Senamiesčio a 1, open M-Sa 08:00-21:00, Su 09:00-19:00.
- Maxima is 1 km south at J Tumo-Vaižganto g 81, open daily 07:00-22:00.
Eat
[edit]- Crab sticks: there's a large processing plant for sticks and other fish products west side of town.
- Downtown places include Kebabinė, Skalvija and Meistru Pizza. Flow Restaurant is within Oginski Hotel.
- Lidijos virtuve is a takeaway next to the bus and railway stations, open M-F 10:00-18:00.
Drink
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Cafes serve alcohol. The few free-standing bars have folded.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Oginski Hotel, Dariaus ir Girėno 10, ☏ +370 647 99991. Clean modern place east edge of the royal park. B&B double €85.
Connect
[edit]As of Feb 2025, Plungė has 4G from Bite and 5G from Tele2 and Telia. There's a good signal on the approach highways but it's patchy to the north in the national park.
Go next
[edit]- Žemaičių Kalvarija village 15 km north is a pilgrimage site.
- Palanga has the best beaches on Lithuania's coast.
- Klaipėda, the country's third city, has many 18th century wooden buildings.