Neringa (Vilnius Cultural Goods Production Association "Neringa", ) was a

production association Production association () was a form of the organization of industry in the Soviet Union. According to the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'', it is "a single specialized production and economic complex, which includes factories, plants, research, desi ...

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

best known as the major

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

manufacturer in the country.

History

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

there were several private businesses in toy manufacturing in Lithuania. In 1965 they were nationalized and put under the Ministry of Domestic Industry of the LSSR. In 1972 three major toy enterprises of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, "Žaislas" ("Toy"), "Lėlė" ("Doll") and "Vienybė" ("Unity") were merged to form "Neringa" association. In 1974 or 1975 the association was joined by the Metal Structure Plant in Bukčiai, in 1980 it incorporated the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

company "Aidas" ("Echo"), which manufactured children's furniture, strollers and musical instruments: metallophones, harmonicas, etc. In its heyday the association had over 3,000 workers.Žaisladirbių istorijos IV. Gamybinis susivienijimas „Neringa“
Toy Museum, Lithuania The production was mainly distributed wholesale. There also was a brand store in Vilnius. The association distributed toys not only in the country, but all over the Soviet Union. As with most industries in the Soviet Union, the association had its share in manufacturing goods for the military. For example, the metal goods workshop "Aidas" had to manufacture mine casings and its canisters were sold, e.g., to the army of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In 1988 the association became independent of the Ministry of Domestic Industry. In 1992, after the regaining of the independence of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, all production associations were dissolved into private companies. The resulting small toy companies were unable to retain good toy designers and to compete with foreign manufacturers. As a result of this and the closure of the large Russian market in mid-90s nearly all of them went bankrupt by the end of the 20th century.

Key persons

*, director (1981-1992)Algimantas MATULEVIČIUS
a

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

webpage

References

{{reflist Defunct manufacturing companies of Lithuania Defunct toy manufacturers Toy companies established in 1972 Companies disestablished in 1992