Weather vane museum, Juodkrantė

A cute little museum located in a fisherman’s cottage in Juodkrantė might hold a dark secret. Camouflaged as a museum dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Curonian weather vanes, this place is in fact more of a distribution point for replicas of weather vanes...

 

One of the more elaborate weathercocks in Juodkrante

…and the prices are CRAZY by Lithuanian standards, which probably is the reason why I have never seen any such devices adorning houses anywhere else in the country. In the Neringa villages however, they are everywhere. I even suspect that the weather vane suppliers are giving them away, or even forcing people to put them on their houses.

 

An abundance of weather vanes in Nida - representing a small fortune

They consist of rather simple parts and assembly should be quite easy. Why is the price so high? Why does not some enterprising young man out to make quick money start selling home made copies? Why does not some ruthless “spekulant” flood the market with inexpensive copies from China? The answer must be that they are afraid of the consequences. For once, I think I have uncovered a real conspiracy in Lithuania – The Weather Vane Network. A group of very powerful and merciless weather vane profiteers that are hell bent on keeping the prices high.

 

Another unnecesserily high concentration of weather vanes

Beeing a visitor from a northern country, I was of course interested in whether or not I could leave my weather vane (or cock, as the shop assistant insisted on calling it) outside all year around. After hard interrogations, she finally admitted that it probably would be best to keep the weather vane indoors during winter. So, at that price the weather vane can not even be installed permanently? Who mounts the roof twice a year to tend to the weather vane anyway? Visitors should notice how only western tourists buy these items.

Rated: Mostly for enthusiasts