Plungé

Plungė district is a rural area of the western part of Lithuania with various attractive tourism sites nearby including no fewer than 37 lakes—the majority of them in Žemaitija National Park. Located at a convenient crossing of roads and a railway, astride the Babrungas River, Plungė lies 60km from the Baltic Sea. In terms of the local economy, the largest businesses are involved in food processing, fish products, construction, road building and maintenance, and metallurgy. Despite a reputation for industry stretching back centuries, the impact of globalisation and the worldwide economic crisis on Plungė has been significant. Many industries, including wood processing and textiles, have suffered as a result—creating new social and healthcare challenges.

With a population of 41,000, the district’s unemployment rate has now reached 11.7% and there are further challenges ahead in terms of the area’s economic development. Highly-skilled sections of the local labour force are now leaving to work abroad and the districts lacks a university and R&D resources with which to promote innovation and growth.

However, there is potential in tourism for an area that is close to numerous parks. Lake Plateliai, one of the most attractive and important lakes in Lithuania, is a popular tourist destination offering campsites, hotels and cottages. The town of Plungė itself is meanwhile home to a spectacular neo-Gothic mansion built by the Ogiński family in 1879 and set in its own parkland.