Palanga (a popular seaside township) on the northern border of Lithuania. The museum is located in a former palace surrounded by the Palanga Botancial Gardens. The museum holds nearly 30,000 pieces of amber of which about 15,000 pieces contain specimens of insects, spiders and plants. During the soviet era Palanga produced thousands of KG of amber each year. Most of the Lithuania's best amber of course went to Moscow and never returned.
Amber is either "tree" or "drop" amber. Tree amber comes from tree resin secreted, heated by the sun and which hardens as it runs down the trunk. This explains why there are many different shades of tree amber. Drop amber is formed by resin running down icicles. Drop amber can be either rounded, deformed or flattened.
The type of pine tree that secreted the resin grew only in the Baltic area. The resin loss from these types of trees was abnormally high and eventually led to the trees extinction.
Amber is either "tree" or "drop" amber. Tree amber comes from tree resin secreted, heated by the sun and which hardens as it runs down the trunk. This explains why there are many different shades of tree amber. Drop amber is formed by resin running down icicles. Drop amber can be either rounded, deformed or flattened.
The type of pine tree that secreted the resin grew only in the Baltic area. The resin loss from these types of trees was abnormally high and eventually led to the trees extinction.
