Lithuanian Cities – Klaipėda

The City of Klaipėda

Klaipėda, formerly known as Memel, has one of the most turbulent urban histories in the Baltic region. Founded as a medieval order's castle, the city developed over the centuries into one of the most important ports on the Baltic Sea — first under the Teutonic Order, later in the Duchy of Prussia, and finally as part of the German Empire. After the First World War, the Memel Territory came under French administration on behalf of the League of Nations, before Lithuanian troops occupied the region in January 1923 and incorporated it into the newly founded Lithuanian state. In 1939, Lithuania was forced under German pressure to cede the territory; only in 1945 did Klaipėda finally become part of the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, and after independence in 1990, part of the Republic of Lithuania.

Today, with around 150,000 inhabitants, Klaipėda is Lithuania's third-largest city and the country's only ice-free port, playing a central role in Lithuanian foreign trade. Despite substantial wartime destruction, the old town preserves traces of its Central European past — half-timbered houses and merchant courtyards recall the Memel trading tradition. The city is also the gateway to the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage natural site and one of the most significant natural landmarks in Northern Europe. With the issue of the 2-euro commemorative coin in 2027, Lithuania honours Klaipėda as the urban heart of the Lithuanian coast and as a symbol of the country's historically layered yet firmly Europe-anchored identity today.