Neringa completes Agila cultural centre reconstruction

Neringa has completed the reconstruction of the Agila Culture and Tourism Information Centre in Nida, creating a multi-purpose venue for year-round resort life, LRT reported, citing a municipal announcement.

Mayor Darius Jasaitis said Agila had long been more than a building for Neringa residents, hosting events, festivals, meetings and traditions. He said the centre’s reopening marks the return of an important space for the town’s cultural life.

To mark the occasion on Saturday, Leonidas Sinkarenka’s palm print will be commemorated on the Walk of Fame at Nida port. A photography exhibition, “The Other Shore,” featuring laureates of the Neringa mayor’s award, will open in the centre’s exhibition hall. In the evening, Lina Rastokaitė, Jokūbas Bareikis and a band of professional musicians will perform “Kernaginės.” On Sunday, the centre will screen Giedrė Genevičiūtė’s documentary “Our Friend Kernagis.”

The building, which has been used for cultural purposes in central Nida since 1969, began undergoing reconstruction in 2019. The work was initially scheduled to finish in 2021, but the deadline was repeatedly postponed and contractors had to be replaced.

The renovated main hall has around 500 seats, a telescopic seating stand, a transformable stage with an orchestra platform, modern stage machinery, sound and lighting systems, and cinema equipment. With the seats removed and the hall reconfigured, it can accommodate up to 3,000 standing spectators. The building also houses the Nida Tourism Information Centre, an exhibition hall of more than 200 square metres, conference spaces and a recording studio. A rooftop amphitheatre with more than 200 seats is among the additions.

The municipality said the design followed the principle of the “spirit of place,” seeking to maintain a connection with Nida’s urban structure and the UNESCO-protected Curonian Spit landscape. A work by artist Rimantas Didžpetris, created in 1972 and titled “In Nida,” was preserved as a link between the old and new Agila. It was restored from nearly 100 separate pieces.