Šventoji is a small resort town on the coast of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. Administratively it is part of Palanga

Palanga

Palanga and beautiful sand dunes. Officially Palanga has the status of a city municipality and includes Šventoji, Nemirseta, Būtingė and other settlements, which are considered as part of the city of Palanga.-Legend:...

 city. The town is located about 10 km north of Palanga and close to the border with Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. Further north of the town is Būtingė

Butinge

Būtingė is a small village at the coast of the Baltic Sea in the north of Lithuania, at the border to Latvia. It belongs to the municipality of Palanga, and is situated 17 km north of the town Palanga...

 and its oil terminal. Šventoji River

Šventoji River (Baltic)

The Šventoji or Latvian Sventāja River is a river in the northwest of Lithuania and southwest of Latvia. It begins in Skuodas district and for 30 km flows on the international border between Latvia and Lithuania. Šventoji River flows into the Baltic Sea near Šventoji settlement north of Palanga....

 flows in to the sea at the town.

Šventoji is an important archaeological site as the first artifacts are dated about 3000 BC. A famous cane shaped as moose head was also found in the town. It is a former fishermen village now turned into a tourist town. The town always struggled to develop a port, which had to compete with nearby Klaipėda

Klaipeda

Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....

 and Liepāja

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

. Larger port was constructed in the second half of the 17th century, especially when in 1679 it was leased to English merchants. It was destroyed in 1701 during the Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

. During the times of the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

(1795–1915) the port was moribund and began developing again only when it became part of Lithuania in 1921. Two piers were constructed, but they were frequently covered in sand. Thus it never grew into a bigger port.