Klaipėda (pronounced [ˈklaɪpeːda]( listen); German: Memel)
is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea.
It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.
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.
Historical view of Memel, which is the old German name for the city.
In the 1240s the Pope offered King Håkon 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 Lübeck 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 Teutonic Order, administered by Deutschmeister Eberhard von Seyne. Documents for its foundation were signed by Eberhard and Bishop Heinrich von Lützelburg 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, Lübeck 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 Lübeck city rights in 1254[3] or 1258.[4]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 law 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 river in the West and Neman river in the East.
The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the *Pilsāts Land of the Curonians and named it Memelburg; later the name was shortened to Memel. From 1252-1923 and from 1939–1945, the town and city was officially named Memel. Due to political changes between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use; since 1945 the Lithuanian name of Klaipėda is used.The names Memelburg and Memel are found in most written sources from the 13th century onwards, while Klaipėda 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,[1] for the second time in the negotiation documents of 1420 as Klawppeda,[2] and for the third time in the Treaty of Melno of 1422 as Cleupeda. According to Samogitian folk etymology, the name Klaipėda refers to the boggy terrain of the town (klaidyti=obstruct and pėda=foot). Most likely the name is of Curonian origin and means "even ground": „klais/ klait“ (flat, open, free) und „ped“ (sole of the foot, ground).The lower reaches of the Neman River were named either *Mēmele or *Mēmela by local Curonian inhabitants. It means in the Couronian-Latvian language mute, silent (memelis, mimelis, mēms). This name was adopted by speakers of German and also chosen for the new city founded further away at the lagoon.
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Klaipėdos herbo simboliai.
Popiežius Prūsijos kunigaikštystės nepripažino.
Jis įkalbinėjo kaizerį rinkti kariuomenę Marijos žemių susigražinimui. Atoki Memelio tvirtovė tada buvo silpniausia Prūsijos vieta. Kadangi jai grėsė realus pavojus Prūsijos hercogas ėmėsi priemonių. Pirmiausia jis įsakė ardyti senąsias Memelio b...ažnyčias, o plytas gabenti pilies remontui. Kokį remontą jis buvo sumanęs atskleidžia antras įsakymas: „senąją tvirtovę nugriauti, o pilį ant naujų pamatų mūryti". Iš Nyderlandų pakviesti meistrai statybą pradėjo nuo gynybinių vandenų sistemos. Iškasti naujieji grioviai buvo tokie platūs ir gilūs, kad iš senųjų Ordino pilies fosų nė ženklo neliko. Memelis pasikeitė neatpažįstamai. Nebebuvo nei senosios pilies, nei bažnyčių. Nebeliko ir herbo, kurio žvaigždės liudijo apie Memelio pavaldumą Romai.
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