Eglė, Queen of Serpents is one of the best-known Lithuanian fairy tales, with many references to the Baltic mythology. Many visitors have seen the statue of Eglė in the botanical gardens of the popular seaside town of Palanga. A new sculpture of the other famous character in the story, Žaltys-Žilvinas (the Serpent Prince), has now replaced the one that stood in the same place for forty years. The sculpture is situated on the shore of Lake Glėbas, near Varėna in the Alytus district of Southern Lithuania.
In 1975-76, the sculpture was first erected as part of the Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Cultural Road, created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lithuania’s premier artist and composer.
Forty-five years ago, an ensemble of 25 works in wood were installed at 14 points along the road between Čiurlionis‘ birthplace in Old Varėna to Druskininkai, where he grew up. These are memorial plaques, wayside crosses, sculptures, installations and benches placed individually or in groupings every few kilometres. In 2018 they were added to the list of cultural heritage, and in 2019 a website about the project was established at www.ciurlioniokelias.lt.
Due to its deterioration, the old sculpture of Žaltys Žilvinas was transferred indoors for restoration. Its replacement was carved out of oak by folk artist Mindaugas Vyšniauskas, and the crown was made by metalsmith Stasys Truncė. Algis Kašeta, the mayor of Varėna, intends to have all the sculptures restored once funding is allocated.
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