Panemunė – Lithuania's smallest town reshaped by the border with Russia
Since 2022, when Russia halted vehicle traffic at the Panemunė–Sovetsk border crossing, the Lithuanian town of Panemunė can only be reached from Russia on foot. Delfi visited the small border settlement to see how it copes amid tense geopolitical circumstances.
Since April 2022, it has no longer been possible to cross the border by vehicle at the Panemunė–Sovetsk checkpoint, after Russia suspended car traffic there. As a result, the only way to travel from the Lithuanian side into the Russian town of Sovetsk is on foot, with luggage carried by hand or on one's shoulders.
The road to the border town
A Delfi journalist traveled to Panemunė to see daily life in this border area. The trip from Vilnius began in the rain, but as the route approached Vilkyškiai, the weather shifted, revealing autumn scenery — harvested stubble fields, straw bales, and storks circling overhead as they gather in flocks ahead of migration. Farm machinery was encountered several times along the way.
In Vilkyškiai, the journalist stopped at the Pagėgiai municipality's tourist information center, hoping to learn whether Panemunė attracts visitors from Lithuania and abroad. Despite the posted opening hours, the center's doors were locked.
Panemunė – the country's smallest town
Crossing the Užlenkis bridge led into Panemunė, a town with just 210 residents according to 2026 data. Panemunė belongs to the Pagėgiai municipality and is the only town in Lithuania without its own administrative unit.
Upon entering the town, a parking lot immediately stood out, filled with cars from various countries — including Latvia, Finland, Estonia, and several from Germany — suggesting the location still draws foreign visitors despite the restrictions on crossing the border.
