The making of Curonian Lagoon boats’ weathervanes

Curonian weathervane is an authentic phenomenon crafted by Curonian fishermen, which is distinctive for its unique decoration. Not only the weathervanes have aesthetic and practical function as indication of the direction of wind, but they were also used for the identification. In 1844 the Fishery Inspection of the Kingdom of Prussia had introduced means to regulate fishery and the Curonian sailing-boats (kurėnai) had to be marked with weathervanes to ensure that fishermen stay within their territories and to fight with poachers. Ernst Wilhelm Beerbohm (1786–1865), the chief royal fishing inspector of the Curonian Lagoon, who lived in Muižė manor near the Ventė Cape, is considered to be the pioneer of weathervanes.

The first weathervanes installed were tin or wooden boards with a geometric sign attributed to a particular village, painted in special contrasting colours: signs of Curonian spit villages – black and white, Eastern coast – red and white, Southern coast – yellow and blue. At the end of a weathervane a red and white coloured flag was attached. Around 1890 fishermen started decorating the coloured boards – the wind indicating part and the upper part were adorned with ornate woodcuts, fusing the elements of the surroundings, allegoric religious, love and hope symbols, such as lighthouses, fishermen’s houses, ships, human and animal figures, churches, crosses, hearts, anchors, rising sun.

The size of a weathervane had barely changed: it was 114– 116 cm long without a flag and 40–45 cm high, wooden: oak or ash-tree had been used for the frame, linden or willow for open-cut carvings. After the First World War the identification function of the boat signs had diminished, however the commercial impulse to create and carve weathervanes emerged because of tourists willing to purchase them.


For the coastal communities, the weathervanes signify their identities; it is often named a visiting card or a wooden passport. Nowadays the weathervane production as a craft is developed for educational purpose; it is an attractive, memorable mark and a souvenir, representing the region and used for tourism. The weathervanes linking both the past and the future and the important symbols for the Curonians are often used to decorate the local people houses. The signs from the Northern part of the Curonian Spit are used in the coat of arms of Neringa.

Submitter – Administration of Neringa Municipality, 2019

Custodian – the families of the weathervane makers, communities, cultural, education and business institutions settled in the Curonian Lagoon surroundings