Just a few hundred meters away from the Smiltynė Ferry, stands a dune that is not only the highest one near Klaipėda but is also a silent sign of gratitude to the man who bridled the fury of the wind. The 36.5-meter-high Hagen Dune is named in memory of Ludwig Hagen, Prussian physicist and engineer, who, in the 19th century, perfected the methods of dune reinforcement by vegetation, thanks to which the shifting of the dunes of the Curonian Spit was stopped.
In 1936, a modest stone obelisk with inscriptions in German and Lithuanian was erected on the dune – a gift from grateful residents to the man whose ideas materialised in a green shield against sandstorms. Hagen was also an honorary citizen of the city of Pilau (now Baltiysk), where he built ports, canals, strengthened the shore and headed the Prussian Construction Directorate since 1869.
The dune is important not only from a historical but also aesthetic point of view, offering magnificent views of Smiltynė and a cycling route winding alongside it. At the foot of the dune, traces of World War II fortifications can still be seen. It is a spot worth stopping – a silent testimony of the fact that even the elements of nature can obey the human mind. The wind is no longer an enemy here but rather a quietly whispering narrator, testifying that even the wild elements can be bridled to slow down their pace.