On June 20, 1794, by decree of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Stanisław August Poniatowski, Druskininkai gained the status of a healing town.
Józef Piłsudski w towarzystwie płk. Marcina Woyczyńskiego przy mostku na Rotniczance w drodze do willi „na Pogance” w 1929, fot: Wikipedia
Pierwsze pisemne wzmianki o Druskienikach pochodzą z 1636, choć najprawdopodobniej już w XIII wieku było tu grodzisko, które w 1308 spłonęło, po czym okolica się wyludniła. W XVIII wieku miejscowy znachor Pranas Surutis (Słony), jako pierwszy zastosował wodę ze źródeł solankowych do leczenia.
Marshal Józef Piłsudski rested in Druskininkai
Józef Piłsudski spent his vacation in the spa for the first time in June 1924. He then came to Druskieniki with his family and settled in the wooden house of Mrs. Balcewiczowa at ul. Jasna 8, where he finished his book 1920. The house was very modest, without electricity, and Piłsudski worked with a kerosene lamp. Then Piłsudski moved to the "Na Pogance" house on the Niemen River, in a rented small, very primitive house with minimal furniture. He didn't care about comfort at all. He rested very well here, going for walks along the Neman or looking at the river from a park bench. He always brought many books with him and read a lot. During his stay in Druskininkai in 1924, Piłsudski fell ill, so his doctor became 28-year-old Dr. Eugenia Lewicka, with whom he remained very close in the following years (a long-term affair was suspected). Piłsudski's numerous annual stays at the spa popularized the town among visitors. The Marshal was received there by a pediatrician and health resort popularizer, Prof. Wacław Jasiński. In February 1928, the Druskininkai City Council granted Józef Piłsudski honorary citizenship of the city. The "Na Pogance" house was demolished in 1964.
source - Wikipedia
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