Nemunas Delta Regional Park and its surroundings is the land of heritage of Lithuania Minor with its special history, unique scenery, original ethnoculture, and valuable cultural heritage. Villages and homesteads of Lithuania Minor were of greater variety than in Lithuania Propria as there were no forced rural restructuring which had a great impact on the establishment and development of villages, thus ancient villages had been preserved in Nemunas Delta Regional Park until the post-war period. These villages may be grouped not only by location, and names, but also by lifestyle peculiarities of villagers. Peculiar natural conditions of the coastal and lagoon areas had a continuous influence on the inhabitants of that area. Coasts were covered with the sands and wetlands, which were poorly suitable for conventional agricultural activities that people living in dry areas were engaged in. Therefore, homesteads and villages typical for farmers were not formed in these areas. The main aim of this article is to provide the analysis of the conditions of village emergence and development in the territory of Nemunas Delta Regional Park on the basis of historical written sources. The research showed that the villages located in the territory of Nemunas Delta Regional Park are disappearing, the number of rural residents and homes is decreasing. One of the defunct villages that should be mentioned is the village of Skirvytėlė located in the territory of Nemunas Delta Regional Park. It is presupposed that the names and boundaries of other villages may become extinct in the future as well. Therefore, it is important to assess the extent of the vanishing of villages and to develop a legal system to preserve the names and boundaries of vanishing villages for future generations so that the villages would not only be seen in historical maps. Also, in order to preserve the Prussian ethnocultural heritage of Lithuania Minor and Samogitian ethnocultural heritage of Lithuania Propria and the uniqueness of their landscape, it is expedient to make use of these advantages in developing an attractive image of a touristic region.

The international Cittaslow movement brings together towns that promote the slow life philosophy. The concept has been developed in response to the increasing pace of life and the adverse effects of globalization. According to the members of Cittaslow, the organization contributes to the sustainable development of their regions and to improvement of the quality of life. In view of the benefits of Cittaslow membership confirmed by research studies, the question arises whether the concept of Cittaslow could also be introduced in rural areas. This paper seeks to answer the above question. The study involved an analysis of the Cittaslow membership criteria (Cittaslow goals) and a survey conducted among the inhabitants of the Warmian village of Żabi Róg. The results of the study were used to test the research hypothesis and to assess the quality of life in the analyzed area.