Latežeris Lake

Lake Latežeris is located just seven kilometres outside Druskininkai on the edge of the spectacular Dainava Forest, the largest forest in Lithuania. During the summer, tourists visit the lake to camp, fish and enjoy the real Lithuanian landscape. The street-type village of Latežeris is located on the lake’s northern shore, and is important as it hides a bunker from the period of armed Lithuanian resistance against the post-war Soviet occupation. In 1947, the bunker was built by Lithuanian partisans who fought against the Soviet government. Four men are said to have dug a huge pit in just one night, which later became the bunker. 

The partisans classified bunkers into lucky and unlucky ones, with the latter ones acquiring their name when the enemy would find them and the partisans stationed inside were subsequently killed. This particular refuge for freedom fighters was considered a lucky one. The bunker was rebuilt and restored in 1997, and again in 2004.