Archipelagoes - Lithuania

Klaipeda is Lithuania's only port of entry. The town is situated at the inlet of the Curonian lagoon (Kurisches Haff). Klaipeda has a shifting political past, sometimes a part of Germany, sometimes a part of the independent Lithuania or Russia.

Until World War I, Memel was a northern town in Prussia. Between the wars it became, first a "free" city under the League of Nations, later Lithuanian. Then the nazists came to power in Germany, Memel was one of their first targets, and the town became German again.

World War II meant the end of a century long German influence in the area. The city survived the war without being totally destroyed. In the city center, you today find many old German and Lithuanian buildings. The dominating architecture is definitely of German origin. It is a city of mixed styles, as well as a mixed history.

You find no problem approaching the piers watching the inlet to "the sea channel". However, the outgoing current can be 2 knots. Be careful if strong winds is blowing in the opposite direction (towards land).

Inside the Sea Channel you find the city on the northern shore. You also find the "winter harbour" and passport control on this side. At our visit we got contact by VHF and a pilot showed us the way.

After clearance at the authorities, you sail to the south down the channel. Looking for a harbour you have two choices. The first is on your portside, "Old castle port", nearby the ferry bridge. (The small ferry is crossing the Channel between city side and "Split side").

A small distance further away you find the other yachtclub on the starboard side. (Curonian split side)

The communications over the channel are excellent. The little ferry take more people than cars.

Exploring Old Town

A regular, 60-ha grid of narrow streets flanked by Theatre Square and the Dane River, Old Town's street plan dates back virtually unchanged to the mid-17th century. This tight nucleus of right angles and tiny interior courtyards strikingly contrasts Klaipeda's sprawling web of wide streets and irregular angles.
Unlike the rest of the city, which grew up 'naturally', Old Town's appearance is the result of careful city planning and was rebuilt on an identical plan after repeated fires and sieges in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. As you explore, you are wandering the same narrow streets and sheltered inner courtyards that protected 17th-century residents from sea winds and blowing sand.
The only elements missing from this historic scene are the castle fortifications and the churches. Nothing remains of the medieval city walls: these were removed in the late 18th century during an economic boom. The castle tower, which originally stood just south of the present Old Castle Port, was removed in 1843. Klaipeda's churches, dating from the 13th to the 18th centuries, were once the primary landmarks on Old Town's skyline, but the last of these were destroyed in WWII.
The latest major fire, in 1854 nearly wiped out another distinctive feature of Old Town's architecture - the half-timbered or fachwerk construction for which Klaipeda is known to this day. Two such buildings were spared in the fire, at Aukstoji 3 and Sukileliu 18. Watch for characteristic elements (exposed beams and diagonals) in newer buildings.