LIETUVA	LITHUANIA
Klaipėdos apskritis	Klaipeda county

map →

Klaipėda is situated at the northern end of the Curonian Lagoon at the narrow strait connecting the lagoon with the Baltic Sea. Klaipėda is Lithuania's only seaport and has major ferry connections to Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Its population is about 191,000 (2003; down from 207,000 in 1992).

The picture on glass no. 1869 [left] shows the Kurhaus Sandkrug on the Curonian Spit (Lithuanian: Kuršių nerija; German: Kurische Nehrung). Sandkrug (Lithuanian: Smiltynė) became a town district of Klaipėda in 1900/1901. The Kurhaus was built in 1901 in the popular 'Swiss' style with some Art Nouveau elements. The main façade faces the lagoon.

The picture on glass no. 1960 [right] shows the historic North Mole Light of Klaipėda. The lighthouse was built in 1884 and was destroyed in 1945.

The Curonian Spit sand dune peninsula, which is 98 km long and is administered by the municipalities of Klaipėda and Neringa, was listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2000 (see list of other World Heritage sites depicted on glasses of this collection).

The region was inhabited by Baltic tribes already for more than a thousand years when these people founded a castle at this site at some time during the 13th century. The castle was located between the countries of the Teutonic Knights and those of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. Town and castle were conquered by the Teutonic Order in 1252 and were handed over to the Livonian Brothers. In 1257 the town was chartered as a town according to the city laws of Lübeck. At this occasion, the town was named Memele castrum, which translated into German as Memelburg, Memel or Mimmelburg. A few documents refer to the town as Neu Dortmund. In 1328 castle and town were incorporated into the countries of the Teutonic Knights. In the 14th century Memel was repeatedly attacked by the east-baltic tribes, who had formed the first Lithuanian realm. Further attacks came from Danzig (Gdańsk), Elbing (Elbląg) and Königsberg (Kaliningrad). It was not until the Peace of Lake Melno in 1422, which finally awarded Memel to the Teutonic Knights, that times became more peaceful. From then on the border between Prussia and Lithuania remained unchanged until 1923. In 1475 Memel received a new charter based on the city laws of Kulm (now Chełmno). The last Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach, converted the countries of the order into the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 and introduced the Reformation. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Memel was occupied by Swedish troops between 1629 and 1635. During the Nordic Wars Memel was again occupied and burnt down by the Swedes in 1678. Only after the Seven Years' War, when Memel had been occupied by Russia between 1756 and 1762, the town began to grow again. During the Napoleonic times and the occupation of Berlin, Memel served as provisional Prussian capital in 1807/1808.

After World War I the Treaty of Paris (Versailles) the Memel region was separated from the German Empire and in 1920 received an autonomous, German, administration under French supervision. Lithuania occupied the Memel region in 1923 and although Great Britain, France, Italian and Japan guaranteed the special status of the region as autnonomous within the Lithuanian state, the tensions between Germans and Lithuanians continued. In 1938, 88% of the inhabitants of the region voted for a return to Germany. Under pressure from Nazi Germany, Lithuania returned the region to Germany also because it expected support against Poland, which at the time had occupied the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. After World War II, Memel was incorporated into the Lithuanian Soviet Republic and was officially renamed Klaipėda because the name Klaipėda had been used occasionally during the 19th century and was used regularly by the Lithuanian population since about 1925. When Lithuania became independent from the Soviet Union in 1990, Klaipėda obtained a special status which became the basis for a period of vigorous economic growth.

[http://www.memelland-adm.de/memelstadt.html, http://www.memelland-adm.de/stadtgeschichte.html, http://www.biblioteka.lt/paveldas/statiniai/S205en.htm; http://www.lighthouseclothing.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=3703]