The symbol of the resort - the whale sculpture - returned to Birštonas after the "SPA procedures".

In November of last year, she was taken out for renovation work, after which the whale returned not only beautified, but also adorned with the symbol of the royal resort - a crown. The granite work weighing almost four tons stands in a new place, near the "Tulip" sanatorium.

in 2014 in December, the reconstructed "Nemunas whale" by sculptor Zigmos Buterlevičius "swam" to the reconstructed old channel of the Druskupis stream, which not only delighted the residents and guests of Birštonas, but also became the most recognizable symbol of the resort. However, over the years, the salty water of the stream damaged the sculpture - it became covered with scales, lost its original color and aesthetic appearance.

In November of last year, the Birštonas city management service lifted the whale weighing almost five tons and took it to the workshop of sculptor Z. Buterlevičius for renovation work. Here, the sculpture was cleaned, its color was updated, and the individual parts were joined. Returning to the resort, the sculpture stands in a new place - on land, on a specially poured foundation, near the "Tulpė" sanatorium.

"I am very happy with the new location. The sculpture is now adapted to "live" on the ground so that visitors to the resort can better see it, photograph it, and touch it. Banginuk has become more graceful, funnier and adorned with a new crown, symbolizing the traditions of our royal resort. I wish that if you touch the crown and come up with a royal wish, it will definitely come true for the guests of Birštonas", says sculptor Z. Buterlevičius about the work.

The first concrete sculpture of a whale, from whose mouth mineral water flowed, before the construction of the Kaunas hydroelectric power plant in 1959. marked the spring of the spring "Vytautas". However, when the Nemunas water level rose, the sculpture ended up under water. Until 1959 it was the most photographed sculpture at the resort, and the legendary fish was reborn in 1995. in the created and approved coat of arms of Birštonas.