Description
The suspension footbridge over the Šventoji in Antalieptė was built in 1986 on the site of an earlier bridge. The bridge hangs on steel cables and is held by two pairs of concrete pylons with supports and guy ropes. Locals and tourists quickly grew fond of it and nicknamed it the “monkey bridge”. In 2022 the bridge was reconstructed and the infrastructure on the Šventoji riverbank was improved. Next to it there is a launch site for boats and kayaks, a stretch of riverbank adapted for recreation and fishing, and stone steps leading down to the water. Interestingly, the bridge that has stood here since ancient times is closely linked to the history of Antalieptė. The town's name is made up of the prefix anta-, typical of north-eastern Lithuanian dialects, and the root liept- (“footbridge”), which suggests that the village that existed here in the first half of the 16th century grew up by a footbridge over the Duseta (now Šventoji) River, and that an even earlier settlement may have been called Lieptinė. Photos by Marius Semaška
