Klaipėda (; ; , also see the other names) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city and the capital of Klaipėda County, as well as the only major seaport in Lithuania.
The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the river . Located in Lithuania Minor, it was historically a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until its partition into the Prussia, and Germany until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles when it gained its independence and was placed under French occupation. In 1923, the Klaipėda Revolt resulted in the city's annexation by Lithuania, which lasted until it was occupied by Germany following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. Klaipėda has remained within Lithuania since the country's independence.
The city continues to experience sustained demographic decline due to flight towards the suburbs and other cities. The number of inhabitants of Klaipėda city shrank from 202,929 in 1989 to 162,360 in 2011, but the urban zone of Klaipėda expanded well into the suburbs, which sprang up around the city and surrounded it from three sides. These are partly integrated with the city (city bus lines, city water supply, etc.), and the majority of inhabitants of these suburbs work in Klaipėda. According to data from the Department of Statistics, there are 212,302 permanent inhabitants (as of 2020) in the Klaipėda city and Klaipėda district municipalities combined. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Neringa to the south on the Curonian Spit and Palanga to the north.
Names
The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the *Pilsāts Land of the Curonians and named it Memelburg, which would later be shortened to Memel. From 1252 to 1923 and from 1939 to 1945, the town and city were officially named Memel. Between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use. Since 1945, the Lithuanian name of Klaipėda has been used.
The names Memelburg and Memel are found in most written sources from the 13th century onwards, while Klaipėda is found in Lithuanian sources since the 15th century. The city was initially mentioned as Caloypede in the letter of Vytautas in 1413, and in negotiation documents from 1420, the city was named Klawppeda. In the Treaty of Melno of 1422, the city's name was listed 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"; it likely originates from a combination of "klais/klait" (flat, open, free) and "peda" (sole of the foot, ground), as a reference to relatively flat terrain of the original settlement's surroundings.
The lower reaches of the river Neman were named either *Mēmele or *Mēmela by Scalovians and local Curonian inhabitants. In the Latvian Curonian language, it means mute, silent (memelis, mimelis, mēms), as a reference to peaceful flow of the Neman. This name was adopted by German speakers, and also was chosen for the new city founded further away at the lagoon.
The name of the city in the Samogitian language is spelled slightly differently: . The most notable non-Lithuanian names include: ; ; .
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Klaipėda is also used as the coat of arms of the Klaipėda city municipality. The modern version was created by the designer Kęstutis Mickevičius. The modern coat of arms was created by restoring old seals of the Memel city (analogous with those used in the years 1446, 1605 and 1618). It was affirmed on 1 July 1992.
History
Teutonic Knights
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. The Balts initially established Klaipėda as a trading centre for the storage of goods and annual fairs with the neighbouring Germans.
In the 1240s, Pope Gregory IX offered King Håkon IV of Norway the opportunity to conquer the peninsula of Sambia. However, after Grand Duke Mindaugas of Lithuania, the Teutonic Knights and a group of crusaders from Lübeck moved into Sambia and accepted Christianity. These groups founded a fort in 1252 called 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 founding were signed by Eberhard and Bishop Heinrich von Lützelburg of Courland on 29 July 1252 and 1 August 1252.