The port of Klaipeda handles some 20 million tons of cargo each year

Klaipėda (approximate English transcription [ˈklaı.pɛ.dʌ], simplified Lithuanian transcription [klaǐpēda]; German Memel or Memelburg) is Lithuania's only seaport on the Baltic Sea. It has 194,400 inhabitants (2002), down from 202,900 in 1989. Today Klaipeda is a major ferry port with connections to Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. It is situated close to the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon. This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. ... This page is used to describe the simplified system of Lithuanian phonetic transcription (in wikipedia). ... Categories: Stub | Commercial item transport and distribution | Transportation ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and the Danish islands. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pride of Burgundy, a P&O Ferries car ferry on the Dover-Calais route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on short-distance, regularly-scheduled services. ... The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf) is sundered from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit and belongs to Lithuania and Russia. ...

The buildings of Klaipeda have a picturesque framework architecture similar to that found in Germany, England, and Denmark. Popular Lithuanian seaside resorts found close to Klaipeda are Neringa and Palanga. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation. ... Neringa is a town (having however rights of a city) in Lithuania. ... Palanga is a small Lithuanian seaside resort on the shores of the Baltic Sea. ...

History

As the settlement of Baltic tribes Klaipeda is known in the first centuries AD. For a long time it belonged to East Prussia, during which time it was called Memel. East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

The Teutonic Knights founded a castle upon the Baltic settlement in 1252 and recorded it as Castrum Memele (German Memelburg, also Mimmelburg). In 1254 Klaipeda was granted Lübeck City Rights. Teutonic Knights, charging into battle. ... The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ... Events Alfonso X of Castile, the Wise (el Sabio) Stockholm is founded by Birger Jarl (cf 1854) The widespread usage of torture by the Medieval Inquisition is introduced. ... Events December 2 - Manfred of Sicily defeats army of Pope Innocent IV at Foggia. ...

Historical design of Klaipeda

The area was converted to Christianity by the Teutonic Knights. The Peace at Melno-See in 1422 fixed the border between Province of Prussia and Lithuania. Memel remained included in Prussia and the border remained unchanged until 1919. It was one of the longest unchanged borders in Europe, and is referenced in the now-unsung first verse of the German national anthem, describing the borders of German-speaking lands: Von der Maas bis an die Memel, referring to the river Neman, or Memel in German. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once (a political shift as much as a spontaneous mass shift in individual consciences), also includes the practice... Teutonic Knights, charging into battle. ... Events August 31 - Henry VI becomes King of England. ... The Province of Prussia was a province of Poland from the 15th century until 1660, consisting of Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Das Lied der Deutschen (The Song of the Germans) or Das Deutschlandlied (The Song of Germany) has been the national anthem of Germany since 1922, though the current German anthem is restricted to the third verse. ... Neman River near Alytus The Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas; Belarusian: Нёман (Nyoman); Russian: Неман (Neman); Polish: Niemen; German: Memel; Swedish Njemen) is a major Eastern European River rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Baltic Sea near Klaipeda. ...

Beginning in 1474 Memel was governed by the Culm Law of the Prussian Land cities. In 1525 Ducal Memel, under Albert of Prussia (Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach-Prussia), adopted Lutheranism. It was the beginning of a long time of prosperity for the city and port, since Ducal Prussia was a Polish fief and later part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This border city served as port for neighbouring Lithuania, benefiting from its location near the mouth of the Neman River. The end of the prosperous times came, when between 1629 and 1635 Memel was attacked, damaged, and occupied by Sweden. It was rebuilt numerous times and 75 years later a large number of people in Memel died of the plague. With the creation of the united German state in 1871 Memel became the most north-easterly city of Germany. Still, according to 1905 census, almost half of the inhabitants of the region declared Lituanian as their mother tongue. Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. ... Albert (May 16, 1490 - March 20, 1568), (Albertus in Latin, Albrecht in German) Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and first duke of Ducal Prussia, was the third son of Frederick of Hohenzollern, prince of Ansbach and Bayreuth, and Sophia, daughter of Casimir IV Jagiello grand duke of Lithuania and... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... The Prussian Tribute, oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1882, 388 x 875 cm, National Museum in Kraków. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Neman River near Alytus The Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas; Belarusian: Нёман (Nyoman); Russian: Неман (Neman); Polish: Niemen; German: Memel; Swedish Njemen) is a major Eastern European River rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Baltic Sea near Klaipeda. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ... Plague redirects here. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... Lithuanian is the official language of Lithuania, spoken by about 4 million native Lithuanians. ...

Since Lithuania did not exist as an independent country immediately after the end of World War I, with the Treaty of Versailles the town of Memel and the surrounding territory was placed under the protectorate of the Entente States. The territory was called Memelland and was separated from Germany and an autonomous government under temporary French jurisdiction was installed. However the French left after Lithuanian uprising in 1923 under the command of Colonel Budrys. The acquisition had enormous consequences for Lithuanian economy, as the region accounted for as much as 30% of the country's whole production. In 1925 over 51% of the population of the region was of Lithuanian nationality. Shortly before World War II, facing Nazi militarism, and not being able to effectively defend itself against Germany, Lithuania was forced to transfer the town together with surrounding territories of Klaipeda Region to the German Reich on March 22, 1939, after its annexations of Austria, Sudetenland, and Bohemia and Moravia. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Woodrow Wilson with the American Peace Commissioners The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 is the peace treaty created as a result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, which put an official end to World War I between the Allies and Central Powers. ... Klaipėda Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the coastland of Lithuania around Klaipėda (formerly known as Memel) and the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of river Nemunas. ... Legal definition In international law, a protectorate is a state or territory controlled by a more powerful state. ... When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries that fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis powers in World War II. Other uses In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to... Klaipėda Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the coastland of Lithuania around Klaipėda (formerly known as Memel) and the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of river Nemunas. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Klaipėda Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the coastland of Lithuania around Klaipėda (formerly known as Memel) and the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of river Nemunas. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Klaipėda Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the coastland of Lithuania around Klaipėda (formerly known as Memel) and the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of river Nemunas. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sudetenland (Sudety in Czech) was the name used in 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: Sudetští Němci) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. ... The Czech Republic (Czech: Česká republika) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ...

During the Second World War, starting at the end of 1944 and into 1945, the inhabitants fled during active fighting. The city was captured by the Red Army in January 1945 and again given to the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, which in 1947 renamed the town to Klaipeda. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Red Army flag The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya in Russian), the armed forces organised by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... The Republic of Lithuania (in Lithuanian, Lietuva) is a republic in Northeastern Europe. ...

People born in Klaipeda

• Simon Dach (1605 - 1659), poet
• Rev. Michael Wohlfahrt (1687 - 1741), religious leader in America
• Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander (1799 - 1875), astronomer
• George Adomeit (1879 - 1967), American painter
• Immanuel Kant's grandfather and father

Simon Dach (July 29, 1605 - April 15, 1659) was a Prussian lyrical poet and writer of hymns, born in Memel in Ducal Prussia (now Klaipeda in Lithuania). ... Michael Wohlfahrt (1687 - 1741), also known as Michael Welfare, was a religious leader who assisted Conrad Beissel in leading the Ephrata Community in Pennsylvania. ... Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander (March 22, 1799 – February 17, 1875) was a Prussian astronomer, born in Memel in the Kingdom of Prussia (now Klaipeda in Lithuania), and best known for his work in recording the positions of stars. ... George Gustav Adomeit (1879 - 1967) was a German-born American painter and printmaker, and also co-founder and long-time president of the Caxton Company, a printing company that was bought by the Fetter Printing Company in 1955. ... A painting of Immanuel Kant in his middle age Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 in Königsberg – February 12, 1804) was a German philosopher from Prussia, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...

See also

• Ports of the Baltic Sea

This table lists statistics (2002) for the major ports of the Baltic Sea. ...

External links

• Official website of the city of Klaipeda (http://www.klaipeda.lt/)
• Official website of the Klaipeda seaport (http://www.portofklaipeda.lt/)
• Page on the history of Memel/Klaipeda (http://worldatwar.net/nations/other/memel/) by Richard Doody
• University of Klaipeda (http://www.ku.lt/)