Kretinga

The name of the town may drive from "kret-", shaking or boggy ground, but there are several other explanations and only one man ever knew its origin for sure. In 1609 Žemaitija Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius named the place Karolstadt after himself, but no-one else called it that, so Kretinga (in various spellings) it remained. It gradually industrialised, between the horrors of war and Nazi and Soviet occupations, based mostly on agriculture such as knitware and woodwork. A large employer today is local government, as the Klaipėda County admin is based here not in Klaipėda city.

Tourist Information Centre is just south of the monastery church at Vilniaus g 2B, open M-Th 08:00-17:00, F 08:00-16:00.

Kretinga is in the west of the country, 26 km north of Klaipėda and 13 km east of Palanga (the nearest airport). Driving from Vilnius or Kaunas, follow A1 northwest towards Klaipėda then branch north on Highway 216.

Two trains a day from Vilnius take four hours via Kaišiadorys, Jonava, Kėdainiai, Radviliškis, Šiauliai, Telšiai and Plungė, and continue to Klaipėda, another 20 min. Other trains from Vilnius don't stop here. For timetables and fares see LTG Link.

1 Kretinga railway station is 1 km west of town centre.

Bus 50 runs hourly from Klaipėda, and bus 61 runs hourly from Palanga. Maršrutai minibuses ply from the small towns of Baubliai, Budriai, Darbėnai, Grūšlaukė, Jokūbavas, Juodupėnai, Kalniškiai, Kūlupėnai, Laukžemė, Salantai and Vaiteliai. For timetables and fares see Autobusubilieta.

The bus terminus is the square in front of the railway station.