The largest Lithuanian port, Klaipeda has been of great strategic importance throughout its history. Part of Germany until 1923 and then called Memel, the city has retained its medieval charm and part of the old half-timbered buildings typical of German quarters in various cities in the northwestern part of the Old World. Admirers of the history of the Baltic States and Western Europe, navigation and shipping also have something to see in Klaipeda. The most interesting museum collections are devoted to blacksmithing and watchmaking, and in the Klaipeda Castle there is an exposition telling about the Teutonic Order. Don't forget the busy schedule of festivals and celebrations! In summer, Klaipeda hosts many events that attract thousands of tourists to the city.
TOP-10 sights of Klaipeda
Half-timbered warehouses
Numerous half-timbered warehouses are called typical for Klaipeda buildings. The buildings for the storage of port cargoes were mainly built in the 18th century in the manner typical of the Germans.
In Klaipeda, you can look at half-timbered buildings in the Old and New Towns:
- The oldest buildings of the 18th century are a five-storey warehouse with a mansard roof at the address: st. Aukshtoji, 3 (the height of the building reaches 15 meters) and three-storey entrance warehouses with a single-pitched curved roof at the address: st. Darju, 10.
- Three-storey warehouse on the street. Posyuntinu with a gable roof, used today as the Meno Kiemas Arts and Crafts Center.
- Two warehouses with neo-Gothic elements near the Dange River, built in the second half of the 19th century.
- Residential building of the 18th century with a fireplace on the street. Didjoyi Vandens.
Fachwerk is a frame structure, the supporting part of which are beams inclined at various angles. Visible from the outside of the building, they give the houses a particularly picturesque look. The space between the beams is usually filled with adobe materials.
Oferlander's palace
A mansion belonging to a Dutch merchant was built in the New Town near the long market of artisans, which was noisy here in the 18th-19th centuries. The building has clear features of classicism - an architectural style fashionable in European culture in the 17th-19th centuries. It is characterized by harmony, rationalism, simplicity and harmony.
The merchant Anthony Gert Oferlander was one of the richest residents of the city and regularly paid huge taxes to Memel's treasury. His business interests included shipbuilding companies, trading houses and ships.
Maritime museum
Being a large port city, Klaipeda simply could not but have a museum dedicated to maritime affairs. It is located in the old fortress of Kopgalis, and its collection includes not only exhibits dedicated to the development of shipping, but also items telling about fishing, marine sciences, ecology and other relations between people and the Baltic.
Visitors are greeted by the wildlife department, where you can see the inhabitants of the Baltic region - birds, marine mammals and fish. A large collection of shells and corals has several thousand exhibits. For fans of the history of shipbuilding, the collection of models of various ships is of undoubted interest. In the courtyard of the museum, there are several life-size ships and ship anchors.
The complex of the Klaipeda Maritime Museum also includes a fisherman's house on the shore of the Curonian Lagoon, in which the authentic atmosphere of the 19th-20th centuries has been preserved.
Paulenis' ship
Klaipeda fisherman Gintaras Paulenis was neither a professional sailor, nor a certified shipbuilder. He only fanatically loved the sea and dreamed of walking on it on his own ship. Having studied the ancient drawings of the Newfoundland shipbuilders, Gintaras created his own ship and in the summer of 1994 set sail on it in the Baltic. He hoped to become the first Lithuanian citizen to cross his native sea in an ancient ship. It took the brave Paulenis a little over two weeks to get to Sweden.
After a while, the fisherman set off on the return journey and disappeared. In the fall, the wreckage of his small ship was thrown ashore by a storm near the resort village of Nida. Then the body of Paulenis was also found. The ship was restored and displayed on the embankment as a monument. According to the researchers, the reason for the death of the brave traveler was the same storm that killed the passenger ferry "Estonia".
Museum Aquarium
You can watch fascinating shows with the participation of fur seals, penguins and even sea lions in the Klaipeda Aquarium, which has opened in the building of the old fort. Black Sea dolphins and California seals take part in the program. An important part of the work of the Klaipeda Aquarium Dolphinarium is dolphin therapy. Marine life helps the rehabilitation and socialization of disabled children.
Walking through the halls of the Aquarium, you will see not only the habitual inhabitants of the Baltic states, but also exotic penguins from the Southern Hemisphere, North Sea seals and fish inhabiting the coral reefs of the tropics.
Clock Museum
Johann Simpson's palace, built at the beginning of the 19th century, after the death of the richest Englishman and resident of Klaipeda, managed to be the property of a merchant, doctor and even the mayor of the city. In 1913, it was acquired by the banker Grichberger, who arranged a global reconstruction. After renovations, the building was decorated with columns on the façade, classical sculptures designed to symbolize trade and crafts, and rich stucco moldings. 70 years later, the Clock Museum was opened in the palace.
The exposition tells about all kinds of devices with which you can determine the time. They belong to different eras, and you will see solar, water, hourglass, starry and even fire clocks on the stands of the museum. The unique collection of chronometers of the 16th-19th centuries is considered especially valuable. Among the exhibits there are rare watches preserved in a single copy.
The more modern part is represented by electromechanical, quartz, electronic and pendulum clocks. In the summer, a flower clock is erected on the site in front of the museum.
History buffs will love the collection of antique lunar and solar calendars.
Blacksmithing Museum
Lithuanian blacksmiths have long been famous throughout the Baltics. In Klaipeda, the products of the master Gustav Katske were especially appreciated. In the 19th century, his smithy, literally and figuratively, thundered throughout the entire district.
In 1992, on the occasion of the anniversary of Klaipeda, on the site of the workshop of Gustav Katske, the Museum of Blacksmithing was opened. The exposition presents the most typical items for Lithuania and the surrounding area, made with the help of forging and casting. You will see the ancient weather vane that adorned the chimneys of the half-timbered houses of the old town, and the grave crosses collected by the Klaipeda restorer Dianizas Varkalis. Among the exhibits of the museum are candlesticks and hangers, fireplace grates and fragments of fences, household items and home decorations.
Viewpoints of Klaipeda
You can see the city from above and admire the opening panoramas at several addresses. The best viewing platforms are located:
- On the tower of the Church of Mary Queen of the World. The height of the site is 46 meters. Attraction address: Rumpiškės, 6. Admission is paid - 3 and 2 litas for adults and children, respectively.
- At the VIVA LAVITA bar. It is located on the 20th floor of Tower K, and the outdoor terrace is on the roof of the building. Address: Naujojo Sodo, 1a.
- At the Restoranas XII restaurant. You can look at Klaipeda from the 12th floor of the hotel. Address: Naujojo Sodo, 1.
The restaurants will offer you national dishes of Lithuanian cuisine. Worthy of attention are zeppelins and Shakotis cake with a cup of coffee and a view of Klaipeda.
Curonian Spit
The sandy strip of land stretching from Zelenogradsk near Kaliningrad to Klaipeda is called the Curonian Spit. Its name comes from the Curonians - a tribe that lived in this area before the arrival of the Germans. The Curonian Spit is a unique natural formation. It belongs to the territories of exceptional aesthetic value. In 2000, the Curonian Spit was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are no more such natural complexes in the world.
The length of the spit is nearly one hundred kilometers, the width ranges from 400 meters to 3, 8 km. The peculiarity of the natural formation is that several landscapes are presented along the spit - from tundra to desert, and the variety of representatives of the fauna of all these ecosystems living here is impressive even for a specialist. There are natural areas on the spit where biological species that have disappeared elsewhere have survived. It serves as a landmark and resting place for migratory birds: annually up to 20 million birds fly over the Curonian Spit. Some of them stop at the reserve to rest. Birds are watched at Fringilla, Europe's oldest ornithological station, founded in 1901.
What to see on the Curonian Spit while on vacation in Klaipeda?
First, the Dancing Forest natural complex. The unusual trees were planted in the 60s of the last century on the Runderberg dune. Strong winds could be the reason for the amazing shape.
The second attraction of the spit is the observation deck on the Parnidis dune near Nida. A magnificent panorama of the Baltic Sea opens from above.
Noteworthy is the collection of wooden sculptures on the Mountain of Witches near the village of Juodkrante. The authors of the works are Lithuanian craftsmen who created the sculptures in the late 70s of the 20th century. The creative camp runs every summer, and the exhibits on Witch Mountain are still being updated.
Juodkrantė lighthouse, built in 1950 and still in operation, rises next to the sculptures.
