Understand
It is the gateway to the Curonian Spit, a sand bar something like 100 km in length and 4 km in breadth that arcs down to the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
Get in
Get around
Bus trip per one trip per person - 1 Lt (ā¬0,29).
Shuttle bus trip per one trip per person - 1,7 Lt (ā¬0,49).
Taxi trip per 1 km - 1,5 Lt (ā¬0,43).
More information: Klaipeda passenger transport
See
There are many museums in KlaipÄda. Most popular Marine museum and Clock museum.
Do
There are many things to do in KlaipÄda. If you like nature - you must visit Curonian spit.
Clubs
If you like clubbing - there are many clubs in KlaipÄda. Best ones are - Kalifornija, El Calor, Honolulu and Global.
If you are first time in KlaipÄda, I would suggest you to visit Kalifornia club. Entrance is free of charge. Pint of beer costs 6 Lt (ā¬1,73 or Ā£1,2). This club has great atmosphere. Best days to get in are: Thursday (many young students come on that day), Friday and Saturday.
Beaches
There is also a big and wide sand beach at SmiltynÄ, full of locals and tourists in the summer.
Giruliai and MelnragÄ beaches are at Northern KlaipÄda, big and popular place to visit. The water is clean and warm.
Buy
There are many shopping malls in KlaipÄda. The biggest one is called Akropolis and it is the biggest shopping mall in the Baltics. There are many things to do in Akropolis: cinema, ice-ring, restaurants, shops, 2 supermarkets, pizzerias and so on. Akropolis KlaipÄda website.
Drink
There are many pubs and bars in KlaipÄda to spend some time just sitting relaxing and drinking. Most of the pubs are located in the city centre, but, however - there are many nice pubs in the southern part of the city (mainly - near NaikupÄs street). NaikupÄs street may be reached by getting on the bus or shuttle bus number 3. Drinks there are 2-3 times cheaper than in the city centre.
On average pint of beer in the pub costs between 2-6 Lt (ā¬0,57-1,7). Local beer quality is one of the best in the World, but there are many international beer brands served (for example - Carlsberg, Tuborg, Faxe, Bud and so on).
Sleep
Get out
The lovely seaside resort Palanga is on the way back to past glory. It is busy with tourists from June to September.
KlaipÄda (, approximate English transcription: ĖklaÉŖ.pÉ.dŹ, simplified Lithuanian transcription: ; Memel) is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea. As Lithuania's only seaport, it has ferry terminal connections to Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Some of its older buildings have picturesque half-timbered construction, similar to that found in Germany, England, and Denmark.
The population shrank from 207,100 in 1992 to 187,442 in 2005. Popular seaside resorts found close to KlaipÄda are Nida to the south on the Curonian Spit, and Palanga to the north.
Names
The Livonian Order built a castle in the *PilsÄts Land of the Curonians and named it Memelburg; later the name was shortened to Memel. From 1252-1923 and from 1939ā1945, the town and city was officially named Memel. Due to political changes between 1923 and 1939, both names were in the official use; since 1945 the Lithuanian name of KlaipÄda (ŠŠ»Š°Š¹ŠæŠµŠ“Š°) has been used, and after Lithuania declared independence in 1990 only KlaipÄda is used.
The names Memelburg and Memel are found in most written sources from the 13th century onwards, while KlaipÄda is found in Lithuania-related sources since the 15th century. The first time the city was mentioned as Caloypede in the letter of Vytautas in 1413, and for the second time in the Treaty of Melno of 1422 as Cleupeda. The name KlaipÄda is possibly a Samogitian appellation which may refer to the boggy terrain of the town (klaidyti=obstruct and peda=foot).
The lower reaches of the Neman River were named either *MÄmele or *MÄmela by local Curonian inhabitants and probably by Scalovians as well; this name was adopted by speakers of German and also chosen for the new city founded further away at the lagoon. Thus, the indigenous term was preserved for 700 years, and was used in the German national anthem, "Das Lied der Deutschen" (referring to the river only).
History
Teutonic Knights
A settlement of Baltic tribes in the territory of the present-day city is said to have existed in the region as early as the 7th century.
In the 1240s the Pope offered King HĆ„kon IV of Norway the opportunity to conquer the peninsula of Sambia. However, following the personal acceptance of Christianity by Grand Duke Mindaugas of Lithuania, the Teutonic Knights and a group of crusaders from LĆ¼beck moved into Sambia, founding unopposed a fort in 1252 recorded as Memele castrum (or Memelburg, "Memel Castle"). The fort's construction was completed in 1253 and Memel was garrisoned with troops of the Livonian Order, administered by Deutschmeister Eberhard von Seyne. Documents for its foundation were signed by Eberhard and Bishop Heinrich von LĆ¼tzelburg of Courland on 29 July, 1252 and 1 August, 1252.
Master Conrad von Thierberg used the fortress as a base for further campaigns along the Neman River and against Samogitia. Memel was unsuccessfully besieged by Sambians in 1255, and the scattered Sambians submitted by 1259. Memel was colonized by settlers from Holstein, LĆ¼beck, and Dortmund, hence Memel also being known at the time as Neu Dortmund, or "New Dortmund". It became the main town of the Diocese of Curonia, with a cathedral and at least two parochial churches, but the development of the castle became the dominant priority. According to different sources, Memel received LĆ¼beck city rights in 1254 or 1258.
In the spring and summer of 1323, a Lithuanian army led by Gediminas came up the Neman and laid siege to the castle of Memel after conquering the town, and devastated Sambia, forcing the Order to sue for a truce in October. During the planning of a campaign against Samogitia, Memel's garrison of the Teutonic Order's Livonian branch was replaced with knights from the Prussian branch in 1328. Threats and attacks by Lithuanians greatly thwarted the town's development; the town and the castle were both sacked by Lithuanian tribes in 1379, while Samogitians attacked 800 workers rebuilding Memel in 1389.
The Treaty of Melno in 1422 stabilized the border between the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the next 501 years. The rebuilt town received Kulm city rights in 1475. Memel remained part of what became Prussia and Germany; the border to Lithuania remained unchanged until 1919. It was one of the longest-lasting borders in Europe, and is referred to in the now-unsung first verse of the German national anthem, which describes borders of German-speaking lands: Von der Maas bis an die Memel, referring to the Meuse and Neman rivers.
Duchy of Prussia
Against the wishes of its governor and commander, Eric of Brunswick-WolfenbĆ¼ttel, Memel adopted Lutheranism after the conversion of Hohenzollern Margrave of Brandenburg Albert of Prussia and the creation of the Duchy of Prussia as a fief of Poland in 1525. It was the onset of a long period of prosperity for the city and port. It served as a port for neighbouring Lithuania, benefiting from its location near the mouth of the Neman, with wheat as a profitable export. The Duchy of Prussia was inherited by a relative, John Sigismund , the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the March of Brandenburg in 1618. Brandenburg-Prussia began active participation in regional policy, which affected the development of Memel. From 1629-1635, the town was occupied by Sweden over several periods during the Polish-Swedish War of 1625-1629 and the Thirty Years' War.
After the Treaty of Kƶnigsberg in 1656 during the Northern Wars, Elector Frederick William opened Memel's harbor to Sweden, with whom the harbor's revenue was divided. Prussian independence from Poland and Sweden was affirmed in the Treaty of Oliva in 1660.
The construction of a defence system around the entire town, initiated in 1627, noticeably changed its status and prospects. In November 1678 a small Swedish army invaded Prussian territory, but was unable to capture the fortress of Memel.
Kingdom of Prussia
By the beginning of the 18th century, Memel was one of the strongest fortresses (Memelfestung) in Prussia, and the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Despite its fortifications, it was captured by Russian troops during the Seven Years' War in 1757. Consequently, from 1757ā1762 the town, along with the rest of eastern Prussia, was dependent on the Russian Empire. After this war ended, the maintenance of the fortress was neglected, but the town's growth continued.
Memel became part of the province of East Prussia within the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773. In the second half of the 18th century Memel's lax customs and Riga's high duties enticed English traders, who established the first industrial sawmills in the town. In 1784, 996 ships arrived in Memel, 500 of which were English. (In 1900 there was still an active English church in Memel, as well as a 'British Hotel'). The specialisation in wood manufacturing guaranteed Memel's merchants income and stability for more than a hundred years. During this era it also normalised its trade relations with Kƶnigsberg; regional instability had degraded relations since the 16th century.
Memel prospered during the second half of the 18th century by exporting timber to Great Britain for use by the British Navy. In 1792, 756 British ships visited the town to transport lumber from the Lithuanian forests near Memel. In 1800 its imports consisted chiefly of salt, iron, and herrings; the exports, which greatly exceeded the imports, were corn, hemp, flax, and, particularly, timber. The 1815 EncyclopƦdia Britannica stated that Memel was "provided with the finest harbour in the Baltic".
During the Napoleonic Wars, Memel became the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. Between 1807 - 1808, the town was the residence of King Frederick William III, his consort Louise, his court, and the government. On October 9, 1807 the king signed a document in Memel, later called the October Edict, which abolished serfdom in Prussia. It originated the reforms of Karl Freiherr vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg. The land around Memel suffered major economic setbacks under Napoleon Bonaparte's Continental System. During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow after the failed invasion of Russia in 1812, General Yorck refused Marshal MacDonald's orders to fortify Memel at Prussia's expense.
German Empire
After the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, Memel became Germany's most northerly city.
The development of the town in the 19th century was influenced by the industrial revolution in Prussia and the attendant processes of urbanisation. Even though the population of Memel increased fourfold during the 19th century, and the population had risen to 21,470 by 1910, its pace of development lagged in comparison. The reasons for this were mostly political. Memel was the northernmost and easternmost city in Germany, and although the government was engaged in a very costly tree-planting exercise to stabilise the sand-dunes on the Curonian Spit, most of the financial infusions in the province of East Prussia were concentrated in Kƶnigsberg, the capital of the province. Some notable instances of the German infrastructure investments in the area included sandbar blasting and a new ship canal between Pillau and Konigsberg, which enabled vessels of up to 6.5 m draughts to moor alongside the city, at a cost of 13 million marks.
Owing to the absence of heavy industry in the 1870s and 1880s, the population of Memel stagnated, although wood manufacturing persisted as the main industry. It remained the central point of the Baltic timber-trade. A British Consul was located in the town in 1800; in 1900 a British Vice-Consul was recorded there, as well as a Lloyd's Agent.
By 1900 steamer services had been established between Memel and Cranz (on the southern end of the Curonian Spit), and also between Memel and Tilsit. A main-line railway was built from Insterburg, the main East Prussian railway junction, to St. Petersburg via Eydtkuhnen, the Prussian frontier station. The Memel line also ran from Insterburg via Tilsit, where a further direct line connected with Konigsberg, that crossed the 4 km wide Memel River Valley over three bridges before its arrival in Memel.
During the second half of the 19th century, Memel was a center for the publication of books printed in the Lithuanian language using the Latin alphabet - these publications were prohibited in the nearby Russian Empire. The books were then smuggled over the border into Lithuania.
The German 1910 census lists the Memel Territory population as 149,766, of whom 67,345 declared Lithuanian to be their first language. The Germans greatly predominated in the town and port of Memel as well as in other nearby villages; the Lithuanian population was predominant in the area's rural districts. (EB, 1938 Year Book, see map of languages)
Inter-war years
Under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, Memel and the surrounding Memel Territory (or KlaipÄda Region) was made a protectorate of the Entente States, in order to guarantee port rights to Lithuania and Poland. The territory was administered by an autonomous Landtag government, under a French High Commissioner, with the ultimate intention that it would be a self-governing territory on the model of Danzig.
Lithuania made the decision to invade Memel and the Memel Territory in January 1923. Weapons for the Lithuanians were supplied by Germans. The German government, through intermediates, assured Lithuania that they would not interfere with the Lithuanian intervention in the region The French garrison made only limited resistance efforts. As this incident occurred on the eve of the French occupation of the Ruhr Area, the Allies had no troops to spare for the restoration of their authority; they consequently took refuge in negotiations which eventually left the juridical sovereignty in the hands of Lithuania. A convention suggested by the League of Nations was accepted in March 1924 securing a measure of autonomy for the inhabitants, (see Gathorne-Hardy).
The annexation of the city, renamed KlaipÄda, and the Memel Territory with its large German population, had enormous consequences for the Lithuanian economy. The region subsequently accounted for up to 30% of the Lithuania's entire production, but after economic sanctions which were imposed on the region by the German government in 1933, the economic importance of the region declined.
Animosity between the local Memellanders and the occupying Lithuanians prevented the smooth working of the government. The first Landtag, elected in October 1925, was composed of 27 Germans and two Lithuanians - an indication of the German sympathies of the Memellanders, even those whose first language was Lithuanian. In 1934, 538 German employees were dismissed and 126 Germans were accused of treason before a Lithuanian Military tribunal, after about 1,100 weapons and other illegal materials were found in their possession. Before the election of September 1935, German newspapers were suppressed and four candidates were deprived of Lithuanian citizenship to prevent their election; some 9,000 'new' Lithuanians were given the right to vote. An expropriation edict issued on 6 September 1937 by Lithuanian authorities enabled seizure of German land and public buildings without consultation on the part of local authorities and without adequate compensation.
Opposition by the population to Lithuanian rule continued. The British Foreign Office observed that prior to the Landtag (or Diet) elections on 11 December 1938, the Lithuanian police had been withdrawn and public order had been entrusted to the native German auxiliary police. Lithuanian troops had been confined to their barracks and the sentries removed from the town gates. The elections again displayed an overwhelming majority for the Germans, who then appealed to the German government.
Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop of Nazi Germany delivered an ultimatum to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister on March 20 1939, demanding the surrender of the Memel region to German control. The British Consul in Danzig, Mr.Shepherd, reported to Viscount Halifax that "it was generally anticipated that on 25th March the Memel Lantag would vote for the immediate return of Memelland to Germany". Ribbentrop is also claimed to have stated that Memel āwill be taken by other means if necessary". Lithuania, however, submitted to the ultimatum and, in exchange for the right to use the new harbour facilities as a Free Port, ceded the disputed region to Germany in the late evening of 22 March 1939; Adolf Hitler had awaited this result on a battleship, sailed into the harbour in the morning hours and made a speech from a theatre balcony (shown in the Ćnnchen von Tharau photo above). This was Hitler's last territorial acquisition prior to World War 2.
1945-present
During World War II, from the end of 1944 into 1945, as Allied victory appeared imminent, the German inhabitants felt compelled to flee as the fighting drew nearer. Those who remained were later expelled or murdered. The city was captured by the Soviet Red Army on 28 January, 1945. Unlike the rest of East Prussia, the Memel Territory was not considered part of the Soviet occupation zone, and was therefore incorporated into the Lithuanian SSR, marking the start of a new epoch in the history of the city. Most churches in the city suffered damage during the war and were all demolished during the Soviet occupation.
The Soviets transformed KlaipÄda, the foremost ice-free port in the Eastern Baltic, into the largest piscatorial-marine base in the European USSR. A gigantic shipyard, dockyards, and a fishing port were constructed. Subsequently, by the end of the 1950s, the population of the city had doubled its pre-war population, and by 1989 there were 203,000 inhabitants. In the aftermath of World War II almost all the new residents came to KlaipÄda from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania. Initially the Russian-speakers dominated local government in the city, but after the death of Joseph Stalin, more people came to the city from the rest of Lithuania than from other Soviet republics and oblasts; Lithuanians then became its major ethnic group. Among Lithuanian cities with a population greater than 100,000, however, KlaipÄda has the highest percentage of people whose native language is Russian.
Until the 1970s, KlaipÄda was only important to the USSR for its economy, while cultural and religious activity was minimal and restricted. The developers of a Roman Catholic church (Maria, Queen of Peace, constructed 1957-1962) were arrested. The city began to develop cultural activities in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the introduction of the Sea Festival cultural tradition. Based on the Pedagogical University of Å iauliai and the National Conservatory of Lithuania in KlaipÄda, the University of KlaipÄda was established in 1991. KlaipÄda is now the home of a bilingual German-Lithuanian institution, the Hermann-Sudermann-Schule.
Demographics
References
External links
