Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

60 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp68–9

Founded in 1252 by the Livonian Order who built the
city’s first fortress, Klaipėda was the main trading port
until 1629. The order named the city Memel after a river
of the same name (Nemunas in Lithuanian). Briefly the
capital of Prussia after the Napoleonic wars, Klaipėda
remained an important port under Prussian control until
World War I. However, in 1923, the Lithuanian Army
claimed the city, renaming it Klaipėda. Despite serious
damage during World War II and its status as a military-
industrial centre during the Soviet years, this thriv ing city
is Lithuania’s third largest city and a major port today.

Klaipėda 4

Cafés lining a pedestrian street in the Old Town

E History Museum of

Lithuania Minor

Didžioji vandens 6. Tel (46) 410 524.

# 10am–6pm Tue–Sat. &

Located inside one of the Old

Town’s loveliest build ings, this

museum (Mažosios Lietuvos

istorijos muziejus) paints an

illuminat ing picture of the

earliest inhabitants of the

eastern region of Lithuania

Minor. Coins, maps, clothes,

old photo graphs and models

give a glimpse of the lives

of the local German- and

Lithuanian-speaking com-

munities before World War II.

The highlight is a collection

of photo graphs taken during

Hitler’s visit in 1939.

E Blacksmiths’ Museum

Šaltkalvių 2a. Tel (46) 410 526.

# 10am–6pm Tue–Sat. & 8

Black metal crosses, fences

and cemetery gates are exhib-

ited in a garden beside an old

working smithy originally

owned by Gustav Katzke, a

metalwork artist of the early

20th century. Some of the

crosses were rescued from

destruc tion when the

Sculpture Park replaced the

city’s main cemetery in the

1970s. Lithuania’s cross-

crafting tradition, in metal and

in wood, was recognized by

UNESCO in 2001.

location. In 1989, a replica of

the original statue was placed

in the middle of the fountain.

Ännchen of Tharau
Taravos anikė.
In front of the theatre in the
Theatre Square, which is the
heart of Klaipėda’s Old Town,
stands the statue Ännchen of
Tharau. The statue is the focal
point of the fountain dedicated
to Simon Dach (1605–59), one
of the city’s eminent personali-
ties. Born in Klaipėda, then
known as Memel, Dach was a
leading Prussian poet from
the late 1630s until his
death. He is well known
through out Germany for
his songs, hymns and
dialect poems. The
statue was inspired by
his poem Ännchen of
Tharau, written in 1637.
The original statue was
created in 1912, but it
mysteriously vanished on
the eve of World War II
to make way for a
statue of Adolf Hitler.
On 23 March 1939, Hitler
made a speech
from the theatre
balcony behind
its original

E Castle Museum

Pilies 4. Tel (46) 313 323.

# 10am–6pm Tue–Sat. &

Housed in a 17th-century

castle, this museum (Pilies

muziejus) is one of modern

Klaipėda’s most recog nized

symbols. The castle was built

on the foun da tions of the

city’s first fortress dating

back to 1252. In 2002, an

exhibition opened inside

one of the ramparts,

illus trating the develop-

ment of the fortress and

the city from the 13th

to the 17th cen turies.

The exhi bits include

weap ons, household

articles, wooden tools

and re-created models

of the castle and the

city in the 17th cen tury.

A Renaissance-era

gold ring encrusted

with diamonds

is the high-

light here.

Old wooden clock inside the

Clock Museum

Ännchen of Tharau in

Theatre Square

E Clock Museum

Liepų 12. Tel (46) 410 413.

# noon–5:30pm Tue–Sat,

noon–4:30pm Sun. & 8

From sundials to atomic

clocks, this unique museum

offers a fascinating insight

into man’s attempts to measure