Viktoras Miliūnas House in Nida

Coordinates: 55.307901 21.006483

Object address: G. D. Kuverto Street 6, Nida, Lithuania

Municipality: Neringa

In 1961, Viktoras Miliūnas (1916-1986) had purchased a part of a fisherman’s house in Nida. He used to spend all his summers there working and writing since then until 1986.
The writer (playwright, prosaist), translator and chronicler of Nida was born on 16 February 1916 in Blantyre (Scotland). The Curonian Lagoon, the sea, the lives of Nida’s people, their dreams and misfortunes, as well as dramatic fates and everyday life – these were the main topics that the writer remained faithful for a quarter of a century, until the sunset of his life. Taken by inspiration, he used to sit down at his desk in a small working room and pour his thoughts and notes on paper. V. Miliūnas’ works mirrored the life of Neringa. He died on 9 November 1986 in Vilnius.
Sharing thoughts about his father, the writer’s son Kęstutis Miliūnas remembers him as a really interesting storyteller, a true psychologist of Nida, who had earned great trust of the local residents – people used to come to him to share their troubles, ask for advice or help, or just sit and have a conversation. Although, Kęstutis says that the writer was very hesitant to purchase that part of the house in Nida, at first. However, the final decision was made by his wife and, when the family purchased an apartment, Kęstutis used to accompany his father at the seaside as soon as his school year was over. “My mother used to come for a month for her holiday, while my father and I used to spend here the entire summer. Father was an excellent storyteller, we used to walk through the forests and he used to tell all kinds of stories, and I, as a child, used to listen to him with awe,” K. Miliūnas remembers.
According to the writer’s son, V. Miliūnas loved having guests over and their apartment in Nida used to be full of them. Back in the day, the home was referred to as the ‘writer’s home’ and was often visited by Kazys Saja, Albinas Žukauskas, Algimantas Baltakis, Juozas Miltinis and other Lithuanian intellectuals. That home always radiated special warmth. Nida’s fishermen liked visiting the hospitable writer’s home as well. Namely during those visits, the locals used to share their stories.
The novel collections Pirmoji meilė arba nusikaltimas [The First Love or the Crime] (1968), Juoda upė [The Black River] (1970), Vestuvės Paryžiuje [The Wedding in Paris] (1973), Meilė ir neapykanta [Love and Hate] (1976), Žaidimas be taisyklių [The Game With No Rules] (1981), Piknikas Grabšto rage [A Picnic on Grabštas Horn] (1985) and Koncertas muziejuje [A Concert at the Museum] (1985) features colourful images of the lives of Neringa’s fishermen, simple, yet dramatic stories, and the exploration of the essence of human relations.
In August 1990, near the house of Viktoras Miliūnas at G. D. Kuverto Street 6, the town has opened an oak memorial board For the Chronicler of Nida, designed by the artist Eduardas Jonušas from Nida.

Compiled in 2018

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