Kretingalė

History

The town is located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor. Since the Treaty of Melno in 1422, the town was located on the border between the State of the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and their respective successors. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the Prussian Confederation – a league formed in opposition to the Teutonic Order. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) the Teutonic Order regained authority over the settlement as a fief of the Polish Crown. From the 18th century, it was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany, located on its border with Russia following the Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the late 19th century, the village had a solely Lithuanian population of population of 170. Three annual fairs were held in the village in the late 19th century. After World War I according to the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, it was ceded by Germany as part of the Memelland (Klaipėda Region) and in 1923, it was annexed by Lithuania, to which it has belonged since, except for 1939–1945 when it was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  603
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  548
• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  524
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  439
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  314
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  299
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  284
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  276