Today, wintery Birštonas celebrates its 643rd birthday!

The name Birštonas is recorded in the oldest known source in the verse chronicle of the Teutonic Order chronicler Vyganda of Marburg, which tells of the invasion of the Order's army into Lithuanian land on February 21, 1382. The story goes like this:
"In 1382, during the cold and snow, the Marshal ordered a march against the Lithuanians. When he approached the land, he divided the army into three. One went towards Birštonas Castle, but quickly retreated; the second was seen in the Punia land, the third in Alytus."
Birštonas is referred to in this document by the word "BRIST".
The first mention of Birštonas is preserved in a Latin translation of a manuscript from 1464 and is kept in the Secret Archives of the Prussian State Cultural Heritage in Berlin.