Klaipėda city center and industrial historic sites by bike

Transcription

1 KlaipĖda by bike EN

2 Klaipėda city center and industrial historic sites by bike Distance: 8 km Duration: 45 minutes 1. Sailing vessel Meridianas One of the main symbols of the city, sailing vessel Meridianas was built in 1948 in Finland. For over 20 years it was the property of the Lithuanian Maritime Academy and was operated as a training ship for trainees, sea navigators and captains. In 2012, because of the poor condition, it was even decided to sink the vessel, however, new owners were determined to preserve the symbol of the city. Now permanently docked vessel was renovated in 2014, with a luxurious sea food restaurant set up inside. 2. Danė river port Danė (or Dangė) was the home river for the port of the city approximately from 13th to 19th centuries. The harbour was situated in between two main bridges Biržos and Castle (Pilies) bridge, expanded up to the length of 3 km in the later years. Busy harbour area held various important industrial facilities, including sailing and steamboat shipyards, sawmills and warehouses, herring storehouses and central city scales, which were used for a variety of agricultural and industrial needs. KlaipĖda by bike 3

3 3. The earliest churches in the Klaipėda city (Turgaus str. 37) Around 16th 17th centuries at the banks of Danė river settled the first churches of the city German church of St. John (šv. Jono) and Lithuanian church of St. Nicholas (šv. Mikalojaus). The churches were relocated in 1625, when city was preparing for the war with swedes and started building various fortifications. Because of the big fire in 1854 which has demolished the Lithuanian church, a warehouse for herring, important and useful at the time, was built in that place. 4. Historic fortifications Jonas Hill The history of the fortification hill fort starts in the beginning of the 17th century, when engineer Charles Rose started drafting the city according to Dutch technology fortification constructions. The fortification complex consists of three main sections: ramparts (defensive boundaries formed of banks), external ditches filled with water (moats) and ravelins (inner banks, intended for bastion protection from the sides). Ramparts as tall as 3.5 m and bastions with external ditches were built in several places around the city and because of their size are now classified amongst the category of great royal fortresses. Jonas Hill (Jono kalnelis) is a part of historical fortification system. 5. Ashery Pelenynas (Pylimo str. 6) To the east of the city s historical fortifications lies the suburb by the name of Pelenynas Ashery. Having emerged around 17th century, the suburb gets its name from the former potash factory, which was both producing potash and recycling ash for glass manufacture. In 1854, ironically, the great fire of the Klaipėda city left the Ashery suburb in ashes. Only one building survived until these days, and is now holding the Rowing Club. 6. Klaipėda Power Station (Danės str. 8) Thermal power station of Klaipėda city was built in , and was an important economical advancement for both the city and the country, as Klaipėda port handled % of all import and export in Lithuania. Up to 400 workers were employed to create the foundation of the power station by hand hammering together more than wooden poles. Electric power transmission line around the city were constructed along with the power station, and 12 transmission substations were built in different suburbs. With the area of almost 2.5 ha, in 1935 station had reached the power of 9500 kw. 7. Mokyklos str. bridge There are six bridges across the Danė river: Pilies (Castle) bridge, Biržos bridge, Mokyklos str. bridge, Geležinkelio (Railway) bridge, Liepų str. bridge and Klaipėdos str. bridge. With the length of total 510 m, Mokyklos street bridge is the longest bridge over the river in the city, and its traffic flow reaches up to vehicles per hour. 8. Chemical fertilizer factory Union (Artojo str. 7) Chemical fertilizer factory in Klaipėda city started with the small plant opened in 1869 for manufacturing and utilizing bone manure as an organic fertilizer. With time the small plant grew into Union chemical fertilizer factory, specializing in production of super phosphate fertilizers and sulfur acid. In 1930, company received a gold medal at national agriculture exhibition. The factory was spread out in the area of m 2 and had 20 different buildings. After the WW2, however, super phosphate production was assigned to Artojas company, various chemical substances were manufactured by Sirijus factory. 9. Railway bridge across Danė river Railway (Geležinkelio) bridge across the Danė river was built in 1874, together with the railway section Klaipėda Tilžė (now known as Sovetsk in Kaliningrad region). The bridge was made of stones and formed five semi circular arcs, with the biggest arc reaching 8.5 m in height and 13.5 m in length. Unfortunately, the bridge was still too low for sailing boats, which had to take off their masts upon passing through. For this reason a special construction to bring the masts up was built beside the Railway bridge. During the occupation of the city in the Railway bridge was demolished. It was rebuilt during post-war period, this time using metal constructions. 10. Joniškė cemetery (Joniškės str. 36) Joniškė cemetery was opened in 1959, and nowadays already holds around burial sites. The remains of Jurgis Lėbartas ( ), one of the leaders of 1923 Klaipėda revolt (during which Klaipėda region was detached from French administration and reunited with the mainland of Lithuania), are buried in this cemetery. Interestingly, an older cemetery, dating more than one thousand years, has been found right beside Joniškė cemetery in 19th century. 11. Bachmann manor (Jaunystės str.) The lands of Bachmann get their name from German language bach meaning creek, mann meaning man. During the Middle Ages the region, full of water creeks, was a source of drinking water for the city, and especially for castle and its inhabitants. Already in 15th 16th centuries a couple of small mansion houses started to set up in the area. July 29, 1605, marks the date when in one of these houses the poet Simon Dach was born. He was the author of the first ever poem about Memel (old German name for the Klaipėda city) and in addition was a well respected professor at Koningsberg university. The current city icon monument of a girl Ann from Tharau, a central figure in a love poem written by S. Dach was built in 1912 in dedication to the poet. 12. Former boy orphanage (Jaunystės str. 12) Former Bachmann manor house especially flourished in 18th century, under the governing of Wilhelm Gerhard von Koschkull. Fourteen different buildings of the manor were preserved until these days, including the main living house (Jaunystės str. 22), smithery, houses of the milkmaid and the household manager, barns and other general household buildings, and the former boy orphanage. The orphanage was founded by Sophia Ursula, the widow of W. G. von Koschull. The building of the boy orphanage was built in 1881, together with a monument in dedication to Sophia. 13. Psychiatric hospital (Jaunystės str. 2) Just a little up from the Bachmann manor house, there is a former psychiatric hospital, built around Holding 75 beds, the hospital employed two doctors and seventeen nurses, had a sewing house, hot bath tubs, a nice garden with the walkways. The hospital house itself was built in neo-romantic and Bauhaus styles. In 1939 all the patients were transferred to Tapiau psychiatric hospital (now Gvardeysk), which had euthanasia program. 14. Klaipėda State University of Applied Sciences (Jaunystės str. 1 2) In 1946, the former area of the Bachmann manor house and psychiatric hospital was given to the Raseiniai School of Agriculture, and formed a new Technical College of Agriculture. The institution has changed a lot over the years, forming new educational goals, guidelines and names until 2009, when it became Klaipėda State University of Applied Sciences. A number of famous Lithuanians got their education here, including V. Intas, the founder of Mosėdis Museum and Exhibition of the Stone Collection, and K. Saja, a well-known writer and scriptwriter, who was among one of those who signed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania in KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 5

4 15. Klaipėda city butchery (Liepų str ) The buildings of the city butchery were built around (architect Walter Kleemann). The house no. 53, decorated with the heraldic bearings of the Klaipėda city, was the office and the household of the chief butcher. On the ground floor of the house no. 55 used to be restaurant Būrų stuba, while the second floor was the home for the butchery workers. Now the buildings belong to the sport center. 16. Water supply infrastructure (Liepų str. 49a) Until the end of the 19th century Klaipėda city did not have a centralized water supply since 17th century the main water supply were public water wells, set up in various places around the city market square, main crossroads, city gates. Only in 1899 the first borehole was made. City s water tower, water supply and sewage systems were consequently constructed in Gas factory (Liepų str. 47) Gas factory of the Klaipėda city was built in (architect J. Hartmann, director of the gas factory in Koningsberg). Only three out of twenty-eight buildings are still upheld two-storey red brick administration building and two separate gas storing facilities. In the beginning gas factory produced gas only for lamplight, but later started distributing gas also for industrial facilities and cooking needs. Ammonia, resin, benzene and other substances were also manufactured in the gas factory. After the war, gas factory buildings were turned into apartments for living and used until Russian Orthodox Church of All Saints (Liepų str. 45) In a small chapel was built beside the city s cemetery. Over the time, chapel has served not only for religious purposes right after the second world war it was used as a grain warehouse. In 1947 it was granted to the local orthodox community, which at the time had more than one thousand members interestingly, the first official religious community in Klaipėda city was orthodox, not catholic. The tower of the chapel was changed to a typical Eastern Orthodox cupola (dome), from the closed church in Latvia members of the community also brought iconostasis a characteristic luxurious wall covered with orthodox icons. In addition to orthodox, until 1990 chapel served as a church for Lutheran community, which did not have their specific religious setting at the time. 19. Klaipėda Sculpture Park the old cemetery (Liepų str./trilapio str.) One of the bigger parks in the city center has a name of a Sculpture Park (Skulptūrų parkas), and since 1820, when the city s cemetery was moved here from the another location, used to be an old graveyard. Around forty thousand people were laid to rest in this territory, including well-known public figures and philanthropists. The last funeral at this cemetery was held in In 1977 Soviet Government ordered the cemetery to be destroyed and converted into a park. Over the years park has been filled with various sculptures, created mostly in small Smiltynė village during summers. Now the park has an area of over 10 hectares and is an outdoor exhibition ground for 116 artworks of 61 sculptors. 20. Monument for the rebels of 1923 Klaipėda Revolt took the place in January 1923 and was organized by Lithuanian Government after the WW1 the region and the city itself officially was under provisional French administration, even though the total majority of population were Lithuanians. Despite the fact that the rebellion met little resistance from the French Government and Army, twelve of Lithuanian rebels, two French and one German policeman died during the Revolt. The monument for the 6 KlaipĖda by bike

5 rebels was built in 1925, sculptor architect and artist Adomas Brakas. Words To those who died for freedom in 1923 are carved into the stone on the monument. 21. J. L. Wiener memorial Julius Ludwig Wiener ( ) was one of the greatest philanthropists of the city. Born in Gdansk, J. L. Wiener was a member of the Klaipėda city Council. Over the years he gained the affluence by selling plant seeds and after death left all of his wealth as a legacy to the community of Klaipėda city. More than 300 thousands thalers were used for church and synagogue renovation, building of educational institutions, feeding the poor. The Wiener Charity Funds were active even until the WW Girls Lyceum of Queen Augusta Victoria (K. Donelaičio str. 4) Girls Lyceum was set up in the 20th century and became the most modern higher education institution in the whole Prussia at the time. School had advanced heating system with the automatic air conditioning system, keeping up the consistent temperature and cleaning the dust from the air. The school had a luxurious hall, decorated with frescoes and stained glass. In 1941 lyceum was turned into a war hospital. After war the building held the Association of the Teachers, now it is the Arts Faculty of the University of Klaipėda. 23. K. Donelaitis Square Up to the 19th century K. Donelaitis square used to be the cemetery of Krūmamiestis a small village on the margins of the Klaipėda city. Together with the expansion of the city, the area of the old graveyard was turned into a recreational spot, with a garden and linden tree boulevards, hence later called Linden Square (Liepų aikštė). In 1939 a monument for Kaiser Wilhelm was set up in the square, but later, in 1973, was changed to a monument for a famous Lithuanian pastor and poet Kristijonas Donelaitis (sculptor P. Deltuva, architect P. Šadauskas). He wrote a classic Lithuanian language poem The Seasons (Metai), which became one of the principal poetry works in Lithuania, depicting the everyday life of people in late 18th century, their connection with the nature, and annual cycle of their lives. 24. The Old Post Office (Liepų str. 16) The Old Post Office building complex emerged at The complex can be characterized as a blend of three different architecture styles various elements of classicism, neogothic and Art Nouveau. The complex is composed of two floor post building together with one floor buildings from both sides, which used to be warehouses and stables. Every Saturday and Sunday the 42 m height Post Tower revives with music sounds from one of the biggest carillon in Lithuania, which is housed in the tower. Carillon was built in the Netherlands in 2006, and consists of 48 bells with the diapason of four octaves. Taken together, the bells weigh around 5095 kg. 25. Clock and Watch Museum (Liepų str. 12) Around 18th century the present Linden (Liepų) street was still a suburb and a popular place of residence among the merchants of the city, which filled the street with the classic style mansions. One of these mansions belonged to the merchant J. Simpson. Decorated with four classic pillars and various statues displaying merchants and crafts, the mansion was built in 1820 and later, in 1930, was bought by the bank institution. The Museum of Clocks and watches was opened here in Monument for G. J. J. Sauerwein (Liepų str. 5) Built in 2011, a monument in the Linden (Liepų) street was dedicated to a notable humanitarian of 19th century Georg J. J. Sauerwein (Jurgis J. J. Zauerveinas). Born in Germany, G. Sauerwein ( ) is well known as the greatest linguistic prodigy of his time and during his life have mastered 75 different languages, including Lithuanian. He is also known as an active supporter of small countries and minorities across the world and is nowadays acknowledged in many countries. He was one of the first people to address the problems of imperialism and establish the idea of freedom and respect for all nations and countries, the idea that is now the foundation of the European Union. During his life, G. Sauerwein frequently stayed in Klaipėda city, where he was recognized as a politician and poet more than 300 poems in Lithuanian language are his legacy. Quite often he would stay in a small tavern at Linden (Liepų) str. 5, where these days one can find a huge granitic statue (sculptor G. Jonkus, architect V. Mazurkevičius). 27. Arka monument (Tiltų str./danės str.) Monument Arka (The Arc) was built in 2003, on the commemoration of the eighty years after Klaipėda Revolt. The statue weighs around 150 tons and reaches 8.5 m height. Red pillar symbolizes Lithuania Minor (Klaipėda region), while the bigger, grey part represents the mainland of Lithuania country. The missing top part on the right depicts the lost lands of Kaliningrad region. Carved into the stone of the statue are the words: We are one nation, one land, one Lithuania (Esame viena tauta, viena žemė, viena Lietuva). Sculptor A. Sakalauskas, architect R. Krištopavičius, constructor T. Tubis. 28. Biržos Bridge As the oldest and one of the main bridges in the city, Biržos bridge had a strategic significance until the end of 18th century and was surrounded by fortifications on the right bank. The bridge also had a great economical value each passing ship was charged with a bridge lift fee: a small entry space in a then wooden bridge was opened for the masts of the sailing vessels and up to the 1770 was unofficially called The Bridge Gate (Tilto vartai) of the city. The current name of the bridge Biržos means the market and is called that way because of the market that was situated nearby. During the WW2 bridge was destroyed, but then rebuilt in KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 9

6 exploring the northern Klaipėda by bike Distance: 20 km Duration: 1.5 h 1. Klaipėda University campus the old army barracks (Herkaus Manto str. 84) Klaipėda University was formally founded on January 1st, 1991, by Lithuanian Parliament. In 1993, the educational institution was granted with a former military campus six Neo-Gothic buildings made with red bricks, built in , which are declared as an architectural monuments. Originally, army campus consisted of eight buildings, including two residential houses, canteen, general household building, guardhouse, headquarters, warehouses and apartments of higher rank military officers. Army campus served for its purpose until 1993, when the University settled in its premises. It is thought that a number of famous Lithuanian people have visited the military campus, including Jonas Basanavičius (the proponent of the revival of independent country of Lithuania), Maironis (one of the famous Lithuanian poets), also two Presidents of Lithuania Kazys Grinius and Antanas Smetona. KlaipĖda by bike 11

7 2. Jūros park Jūros (Sea) park was formed in the middle of the 19th century, after the city has expanded to north in Around 1899, when the park was still small and young, Robert Koch, a famous German microbiologist and a Nobel prize laureate, initiated the emergence of the hospital for patients with leprosy in the area, the only in the whole Germany at the time (Klaipėda region Lithuania Minor was under German supervision). Hospital building is not present anymore. For a long time the park used to be the main recreational area in the city constant entertainment was boosted by a number of carousels and amusement rides, dance and play grounds, ball pit, Ferris wheel. Park has held various competitions, including volleyball, handball, basketball and other sport tournaments, or even musical performances of the orchestra. Now the city has several parks, but this one is still very popular and enjoyable among citizens it has basketball and volleyball courts, children playgrounds, skate park, disc golf course, adventure park. 3. German war cemetery from WW1 and WW2 A small cemetery for 127 people (german soldiers) who died during the first world war was created close to the military campus right after the first world war. The WW2 brought even more casualties 1.3 thousand people were buried here in the cemetery in the period until Even after the WW2 (in ) the captives from the local German prisoner-ofwar camp were constantly laid to rest in this cemetery. In the 1960s, however, the burial site (together with the monument) was demolished. The restoration works have started in 1995, initiated by German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) graves of German soldiers of both wars from all over Lithuania were moved to this cemetery, a memorial with the names of the deceased was built in A separate memorial was raised to pay the tribute to the crew and passengers of Füsilier passenger ship, which on November 20th, 1944, accidentally entered Soviet occupied territory after missing the entrance to the city. The ship was bombed by Soviet artillery with no survivors out of 287 of people on board. 4. Summer amphitheatre (Vasaros estrada) Outside amphitheatre for summer events was built in 1983, and since then each year hosts regional Song Festivals (Dainų šventė). Except from the Song Festival, summer amphitheatre held a number of other events, including gatherings of Reform Movement in , concerts of famous singers. A former shooting range resides close to the amphitheatre. Before the WW1, the range had an elaborate structure, with various concrete constructions and ditches. 5. Mumlaukio Aulaukio (Svijanė) Lake History of the Svijanė lake falls back to 13th century, when in 1290, local curonians put out a proclamation about the land distribution, in which the lake was mentioned as a landmark of the city s border. The small stream (also bearing the name of Svijanė), comes from the lake, passes through the current railway station, Lietuvininkai square, Janonio street and flows into the Curonian Lagoon (Kuršių marios). The other small lake not very far away from Svijanė, used to be called Aulaukio lake. Now it is enclosed in the territory Grand Duke Butigeidis Dragoon Battalion (Lietuvos Didžiojo Kunigaikščio Butigeidžio dragūnų batalionas) the area of Lithuanian Armed Forces. 6. Radio and TV tower (Vasarotojų str. 2) Klaipėda s Radio and TV station (or so called Giruliai TV tower) was built in The station first started with the radio transmission, later in the years followed by television. The TV towers in Lithuania have a notable significance on January 13th, 1991, the main radio and TV tower in Lithuania (Vilnius TV station) was occupied by the Soviet Army, which had a goal to cut all the connection with the outside world. As the plan of the Soviet armed forces was known in advance, thousands of citizens gathered throughout the whole night around 12 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 13

8 the main landmarks of the country government buildings, supreme court, TV towers. 14 people died that night, more than over thousand were wounded. Even though the main events took place in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, each city in the country held a massive assembly of local residents, including Klaipėda. Hundreds of people clustered around Giruliai TV tower, not only determined to protect it, but also transmitting important information about the situation in the capital and the whole country to the CNN and other major media channels. Today the TV tower broadcasts around ten radio stations and all the available television channels in the country. 7. Giruliai Railway Station (Stoties str. 1) Built in 1892, Giruliai Railway connects Klaipėda city with the capital Vilnius. The station was built after the railway section from Russian border to Klaipėda was laid down. The first passengers to arrive at Giruliai a seaside resort came here on June 15th, The trains (especially in summer weekends) were filled with passengers coming to relax at the seaside. The Railway Station building dates more than a hundred years. The building is decorated in fachwerk style, traditional for the local region and brought to Lithuania (or to be specific, Klaipėda) from Germany. 8. Giruliai Forest Until 19th century, the area between Klaipėda city and current Giruliai suburb was a constantly moving sand hills. In 18 19th centuries the city (and its merchants) was obliged to cover these sectors with plants in order to stop erosion and retain the land. The forest at first was called Plantation Forest, but nowadays is known as Giruliai Forest. An association, called Plantacijos Girininkija (meaning a forest administration unit) was created at the time among the concerned citizens. Giruliai name comes exactly from this forestry unit Girininkija. Forests all over the country are divided into separate administration units, in total 381 in Lithuania. Giruliai forest can be classified as coniferous, mostly pine forest. However, black alder, European beech or even northern red oak can be found under the roof of the woods, as well as a handful of animal species, including foxes, squirrels, deer, wild boars and moose. 9. Giruliai suburb After the start of forestation works in 1819, the area around new forest slowly turned into a settlement. In 1863 the merchants of Klaipėda came into the possession of Giruliai village area and built a peaceful seaside resort. They laid down the road to another resort Melnragė, set up expensive and good-looking summer houses here, planted rare species of trees in the forest. The resort became popular amongst citizens in Giruliai and Melnragė were connected to the city of Klaipėda in Labrenciškė Labrenciškė is a residential area in the northern part of Klaipėda. As many boroughs of the city, it used to be a mansion land, mentioned in the documents as long ago as 17th century. Labrenz family were one of the wealthiest landowners in the region, handling more than 103 ha of property. They were in charge of the mansion until The current district of private houses was formed in Plytinė Plytinė is another residential area in the north of Klaipėda, situated between Purmaliai and Tauralaukis districts. It is known that this site was settled even before the city of Klaipėda was established in 1252 a hill fort and ruins of pagan sanctuary were found next door to Purmaliai village. As mentioned in the historical sources, a windmill, built around 13th century became the point of a local settlement, which later grew into several farmsteads. In the beginning of the 20th century, a brickyard (or plytinė in Lithuanian) was built in the mansion territory. The bricks it produced were mostly used for the construction of The Most Holy Virgin Mary s Ascension Church in Palanga city (Palangos Švč. Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų bažnyčia). 14 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 15

9 12. Church of st. Francis of Assisi (Savanorių str. 4) In 2012, Klaipėda s Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (šv. Pranciškaus Asyžiečio bažnyčia) and the Oncology centre were built. Currently, the church is supervised by Franciscans priests. The church was designed with the goal to recreate the architecture of Porziuncola, a symbol of the origin of Franciscan order, which is located at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi. The inverted ship-like ceilings of the church resemble the Noah s ship. The stones, used in the circular altar, are from the Mount Sinai, a place of Moses and his nation s wanderings. During festive rituals, a sacred relic of St. Francis was placed at the altar, which symbolized the faith in one s participation in the life of the church. 13. Hospital complex (Liepojos str. 39, 41, 43, 45, 49) The hospital district consists of two different hospitals in close collaboration. The construction of the first one, Klaipėda city hospital, started in A hospital unit with 600 beds was opened in 1976, another three units were opened in the following years: gynecology obstetrics department, infectious disease department and oncology department. In 2006 the hospital name was changed to Klaipėda University Hospital. At the current time around 45 thousand patients are hospitalized here annually. Another hospital in the area bears a name of Jūrininkų hospital (Seamen s hospital). Its establishment is linked with a small clinic from The current hospital building was built in 1988 (architect E. Chlomauskas), the official opening was held in Up to 19 thousand patients are hospitalized and 140 thousand out-patients are treated each year. 14. Lithuanian Cinema Studio (Kretingos str. 100) Lithuanian cinema studio (Lietuvos kino studija LKS) was founded in An abandoned building in Kretingos street, which in the past belonged to KGB, was given to LKS Klaipėda s branch. Local people used to call this LKS complex Hollywood. Although studio was suitable for bigger projects, a building was mostly used for filming commercial programs and two TV games. The last movie, filmed in LKS Klaipėda s branch, was Störtebeker (2006) by a Portuguese director and artist Miguel Alexandre, about a famous burglar Klaus Störtebeker, who raged around the Baltic sea in the Middle ages. 15. Tauralaukis The name of the borough Tauralaukis can be translated to Auchor s (extinct species of domestic cattle) field. Tauralaukis (also called the old crossroad) is known for its connections with the royal family of Prussia King Frederick William III, Queen Louisa and their children, who liked to spend their time here in their mansion house. Historical sources list two separate mansions in Tauralaukis district: the bigger mansion was on the right river bank, nowadays in the territory of University Botanical Gardens; the smaller mansion, set up in 1539, is preserved until today on the left river bank. Most of the buildings seen today (manor house, guard-room, household buildings and the park) were designed and constructed in the period of 18 20th centuries and are listed as historical heritage. The small manor house was often visited by the royal family. 16. Klaipėda University Botanical Gardens (Kretingos str. 92) Klaipėda University Botanical Gardens have an area of 9.3 hectares and were established in The main botanical garden in the Western Lithuania exhibits 4 different plant collections coniferous woody, deciduous woody, herbaceous ornamental, and herbs as well as medicinal plant collection. Not only domestic Lithuanian species, but plants from all over the world can be found here. Altogether, the gardens have around 40 thousand plants and more than 250 plant species. The main goal of the Gardens is to foster the local and global plant species, exchange the different species and breeds with other institutions. A plant seed collection can also be found in KU Botanical Gardens. 17. Residential area and community gardens The new residential area of 5.3 ha in size is situated between KU Botanical Gardens, Kretingos street and Danė river. The construction of the district started in 2004, two new streets were laid down in the area Senvagės street and Žolynų street. A couple of decades ago there used to be a planting administration for the Klaipėda city. Close to the planting office there used to be a horse riding stud. Near the private houses there is a community garden, or allotment (kolektyviniai sodai), private plots for growing various food plants or gardening for non-commercial purposes. Initially most of the allotments are located outside of the city, near forests, rivers or other water bodies, however, during city expansion, some of them turn into suburban areas. 18. Danė river Three rivers cross the city of Klaipėda Danė (interchangeably called Dangė as well), Smeltalė and Kretainis. Danė river, the main and biggest one, rises in Kretinga district (a small town outside Klaipėda), where it bears the name Akmena (sometimes Danė is called that name too). After traveling across the region for about 65 km, Danė flows through Klaipėda city, drains into the Curonian Lagoon (Kuršių marios) and, consequently, into the Baltic Sea (Baltijos jūra). The size of drainage basin is 595 km 2. The name Dangė was officially used until 1981, when linguists decided that it is too Germanic and suggested using Danė instead. Nowadays linguists agree that Dangė is more of a Prussian and Curonian origin, meaning bend, angle and resembling the river bed, while Danė does not have an actual meaning. Both of these names are used today, while a lot of people agree that the river should be officially renamed back to Dangė. 19. Luizė borough Luizė borough is based in between Kretingos str., Panevėžio str., Anykščių str., Pievų str. and Šiaurės av. Luizė (Louisa) name comes from the Queen of Prussia, the district was called that way because of a local mansion house (Luisenhof) that belonged to the royal family. The mansion was built in 1783 (on the crossroad of current Liepų str. and Šiaurės av.). The founder of the manor house was Ch. W. Wachsen, a head of a Merchants Guild, Sweden and France consul in Prussia. His house is still preserved until these days at Liepų str. 62. Most of the houses in Luizė borough are private and luxurious homes. In 1992, a catholic parish was established in the area. The church, built in 2007, was dedicated to St. Casimir (šv. Kazimiero bažnyčia) who was the prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century. The stained glass window in the church is probably the biggest in the whole country height 11 m, length 4.5 m (created by Prof. K. Morkūnas and E. Valiūtė). 20. LCC University (Kretingos str. 36) LCC International University, established in 1991, is an internationally recognized liberal arts institution. It was founded by a joint campaign of Lithuanian, Canadian and US American foundations. At first the University started functioning in Panevėžys, other Lithuanian city, but was soon moved here. The University adopts educational model, where broadbased education is placed within the context of a Christian academic community in order to extend education beyond the classroom. 21. Vynerio (Wiener) promenade (Kretingos str.) A tree avenue, connecting Klaipėda city and Tauralaukis, was designed and planted at the end of 19th century. 5 km in length, the avenue was called Vynerio (Wiener) promenade. Julius Ludwig Wiener ( ) was one of the greatest philanthropists of the city. J. L. Wiener was a member of the Klaipėda city Council. Over the years he gained the affluence by selling plant seeds and after death left all of his wealth as a legacy to the community of Klaipėda city more than 300 thousands thalers. The bigger part of Wiener promenade persisted until these days, however, the old trees are gone. During Soviet occupation the promenade was planted with linden trees. 16 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 17

10 exploring southern Klaipėda by bike Distance: 9.5 km Duration: 50 minutes 1. Baltija borough (4th borough) Baltija borough, or so called 4th borough of the city, was built in the place of Pempininkai village around , although after WW2 Soviet government had launched a kolkhoz (a form of a collective farm in Soviet Union) called Baltija in this area. The borough has an approximate area of 92 ha and is divided into two smaller separate districts Pempininkai (along the Taikos av.) and Nerija (along the Šilutės road). Hosting 24 thousand inhabitants, Baltija borough holds mostly massive five-storey and nine-storey condominium buildings, engineered specifically for this suburb. Nine-storey houses were masoned from red and yellow stone bricks with the blue glaze coating for the balconies. 2. Pempininkai community center and fountain (Taikos av. 81) Pempininkai community center was built in (architect A. G. Tiškus). The architect planned the food court and the shopping houses, the cinema theatre and the library together with the main symbol of the square water fountain with the KlaipĖda by bike 19

11 metal weather vanes, designed and made in 1975 by artist H. Urbaitis. Fountain and the traditional vanes were restored in 2016 and are at the beginning of a broad pedestrian avenue stretching throughout the whole Baltija borough. 3. Draugystės park Draugystės, or Friendship, park unites four different boroughs of the city and was created in the area of a former Gedminų (Gotzhofen) mansion from 16th century. The design of the park, incorporating a vast number of condominium buildings, public schools and churches, was established in Long walkways by the side of a several ponds across the park soon became a popular spot to relax from the noisy city life. Park also holds various species of the trees, including European larch, horse-chestnut, European and Northern red oak, largeleaf linden and others. A stone monument to acknowledge the inception of the park was laid to the ground in 1975, close to the Debreceno str. 4. Parish of Bruno of Querfort (Debreceno str. 3) Catholic parish of Bruno of Querfort (šv. Brunono Kverfurtiečio) was founded by the Franciscans within the Catholic Church on January 7, Franciscans (in Lithuania commonly known as Bernardines after Bernardino of Sienna) moved to Lithuania in 13th century and greatly supported the development of education and local culture in the area, even created the first Lithuanian school. The current parish building is temporary it has been planned to build a church and a monastery in the surrounding neighborhood in the nearest future. Four different units will be set up together: a 300 m 2 sized chapel with a community center, a 500 m 2 sized church, a bell tower and the monastery with five monks. Community center is ought to have a cinema theatre, adult and children education centers as well as AA recovery center. 5. Debrecenas district Debrecenas borough of the city has its name from the Debrecen city in Hungary, which is one of the twin towns (partners) of the Klaipėda city since 1970, when the neighborhood was built. Up to the 20th century this district was part of the former Gedminų (Gotzhofen) mansion territories and held small villages on a wet and swampy lands. The condominium buildings in this borough were the first ones in the city made with a slab foundation rather than bricks. Architects of the city then and now paid a lot of attention to the green zones and the pedestrians they designed a 500 m long broad walkway to connect a busy Taikos avenue with the Draugystės park. Lands along the avenue were turned into a green belt with parkways and trees, and schools with kindergartens around it. 6. Gedminai borough (5th borough) Built in (architect A. Vitonis), Gedminai borough stretches for 113 ha along Taikos av., Debreceno str., Šilutės road and Statybininkų av., making two separate smaller districts Debrecenas and Naujakiemis. Same as other boroughs in the southern part of the city, Gedminai were filled with the five- or nine-storey condominium buildings. Specially for this borough, however, twelvestorey condominium houses appeared. On the back side they were painted in a colourful decorative pattern. 20 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 21

12 7. Gedminai mansion (Statybininkų av. 2) First written mention of Gedminai estate and mansion has been dated to When Friedrich von Goetzen (Frydrichas fon Giocenas) became the owner of the mansion in 1675, the mansion itself was granted with the nobility title and at the time had extended through the current districts of Žardininkai, Smeltė, Kalotė and Tauralaukis. It was one of the biggest mansion houses with its lands in the region until 19th century. In 1859, the new owner of the mansion Karl Friedrich Gubba (Karlas Frydrichas Guba) built a palace in the Neo-Baroque style, formed a couple of artificial water ponds in the park. The palace was reconstructed in 1900 and later turned into a primary school. The mansion house and territories were officially attached to the city area some time after the WW2. Since 1983 the mansion house holds E. Balsys Gymnasium of Arts. 8. Žardininkai borough (6th borough) and Simonaitytės hill Žardininkai borough (architect R. Valatka) is situated between Statybininkų av., Vingio str., Smiltelės str. and Taikos av. in an area of 100 ha and was built in 1981, making it one of the newer suburbs in the city (from those which were built during the Soviet occupation). The borough was designed to form a shape of a letter L with the park in the middle. The green area was drafted in It is connected to the Draugystės park, making a long stretch of parkland along the city. In the middle of the park there is a water pond with the small island in the center for the birds swans, mallards, black-headed gulls and other species. Close to the pond lies a hill, highly popular among children both in summer and winter Simonaitytės hill, called like that after a famous writer Ieva Simonaitytė, who lived in Klaipėda in Orthodox Church of st. Nicholas (Smiltelės str. 14a) Orthodox Church of st. Nicholas (or in Lithuanian šv. Mikalojaus Apvaizdos stačiatikių cerkvė) was built in The church has a lot of nautical motifs: frescoes with the fishing, navy or merchant marine episodes, paintings of st. Nicholas walking over the water, knots and anchor symbols incorporated into the metal fence outside. Paintings on the ceiling of the dome were done by Russian artists from the Palekh Artel of Ancient Painting in This orthodox church is the only one in the city with a distinct nautical theme. A stone-cross monument in the yard of the church portrays a prayer to st. Nicholas from a seaman, sailing away from a safe harbour into the sea. Together with a couple of Sunday schools, church holds a traditional craft studio and cinema hall. 10. Catholic Church of st. Joseph (Smiltelės str. 27) Klaipėda city at the moment has 5 catholic churches. The founder of Catholic Church of st. Joseph (šv. Juozapo Darbininko) is the bishop Bronislovas Burneikis, who invited Jesuit monks and the sisters from the Institute of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to join the new parish. The church construction started in 1991, in 1995 the church established a support center for young people. The church was opened to the public for the catholic mass in Since 2009, the church is supervised by a father and theologian dr. Vladas Gedgaudas. 11. Progymnasium of Pranas Mašiotas (Varpų str. 3) Progymnasium of Pranas Mašiotas was created by the local members of Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and monsignor Jonas Gedvilas in The educational system in the school is based on Christian values and focuses a lot on moral as well as ethical schooling. The school is named after a famous teacher and the writer of children literature Pranas Mašiotas, who worked as a headmaster of a school in Klaipėda city in A quotation of his is now the motto of the school: More solidarity and well planned efficient work. 12. Bandužiai borough (7th borough) Built in in the place of a former village by the name Bandužiai, this suburb is the last and biggest on the southern city edge. The most prominent streets in the district are named after small villages that used to exist in the area Bandužiai, Markučiai, Kuncai, Budelkiemis and others. Bandužiai borough is situated between Smiltelės str., Šilutės road, Jūrininkų av. and Taikos av., is almost 139 ha in size and holds around 38 thousand inhabitants. Most of the condominium buildings in the area are five-, nine- or ten-storey with slab foundation or twelve-, sixteen-storey with monolithic constructions. 13. Sąjūdžio Park To commemorate the 20 years after Reform Movement of Lithuania (Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), in 2008 the city founded a park in the area between Laukininkų and Varpų streets. Even though not very big (only 8.3 ha), the park maintains nice biking and walking trails, playing and sport grounds for children, skate park and BMX tracks. Trees of 276 different species were planted in the park. A sculpture of a blooming blossom, built during the Reform, stands in the park as a monument (architect R. Marčius, sculptor S. Mišeikis). 14. Pigeon loft (Varpų str. 31) Pigeon post was used in Klaipėda even until 1930 to communicate with the lo- 22 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 23

13 cal cities and villages. Klaipėda is the only city in Lithuania, which has its personal homing pigeon breed Klaipėdos aukštaskridžiai (Klaipėda high fliers in English, or Der Memeler Hochflieger in German). It was bred by German breeder before WW1. The first pigeon keeper s association in the city was established in Pigeon lofts like this were inseparable part of the city life and architecture. Five pigeon lofts still remain in Klaipėda most of them stand in between the condominium houses, mainly in the southern part of the city. 15. Žardė and Alksnynė Traditionally for the city, Žardininkai borough gets its name from the historical sites in the area Žardė or Sarde was a name of a small water stream. Around 11 12th centuries community here grew into a village, which was protected by a couple of hillforts Laistų hillfort and Žardės hillfort, on which curonians (Baltic tribe) had a castle, first mentioned in Sadly, hillforts did not survive until these days. Alksnynė, however, gets its name from the settlement in the Curonian Spit (Kuršių nerija). The suburb was built in 1975, filling the area with five-, nine-, ten- and twelve-storey houses. They were planned as a bit more luxurious flats were more spacious, houses built using decorative red bricks. Plan of the area was designed to protect the buildings from harsh northern and western winds, and give as much privacy as possible. 16. The New Market (Taikos av. 80) The oldest market in the city was based at the center of the old town Theatre square, which later was turned into the cultural site. In the old times second market place was created at the outskirts of Friedriech suburbs (now the outliers of the old town). These days the second market place is called the Old Market (Senasis turgus). Small and temporary markets have often been found on the banks of the river and some of the streets in the city center. After nine years of planning and building, the New Market was opened in 1989 and has 158 trading sites as well as a supermarket, general household building, covers for the seasonal marketing and a small hotel. One of the specialties of the New Market is fish selling a separate building only for the fresh fish of many varieties is on the left side of the main market building. Because of the assortment of the fish the emblem of the market is a dolphin, as a symbol of the sea. 17. Movie theatre Jūratė and Kastytis Right after the development of the movies, cinema became one of the most popular recreational activities of the 20th century. Seven movie theatres were opened in Klaipėda city during Soviet occupation: Baltija, Aurora, Vaidila, Vaiva, Švyturys (Kapitolijus), Žemaitija, Jūratė ir Kastytis. These days, however, there is only one permanent movie theatre. Jūratė ir Kastytis, which is now closed, was the last one from the seven to be opened. Red brick building had two movie halls of 200 and 400 seats, with a wide vestibule between the halls. The sculpture of Jūratė and Kastytis, the characters from a well known local love story, was built on the wall of the theatre in 1977 (sculptor G. Jonkus). 24 KlaipĖda by bike KlaipĖda by bike 25

14 18. Debrecenas supermarket, fountain and the Monument of Friendship To celebrate the partnership with Debrecen city in Hungary the twin city of Klaipėda, in the 1970s the city council gave the name Debrecenas to the newly built district. At the same time a shopping center was built in the area, and consequently was given the same name. For the design of the shop, the architect G. Tiškus and his group were awarded a prize from the Soviet Architect Association. At the time, it was the biggest supermarket in the city and had the brand new technologies, such as self-checkout. The fountain in the square right beside the supermarket was built in (author A. Bosas). The Monument of Friendship between the cities was built in 1970 on the corner of Taikos av. and Debreceno street (sculptor L. Garla). The monument displays the heraldic bearings of both Klaipėda and Debrecen. 19. New Apostolic Church (Taikos av. 72) New Apostolic Church broke apart from Catholic Apostolic Church in the middle of 19th century. Originally formed in England and often referred to as Irvingism, it soon spread throughout Europe. One of the first irvingian societies in Europe formed in Klaipėda, in the 1830s. After independence of Lithuania was regained in 1991, irvingian societies were registered in a number of cities in Lithuania. Community in Klaipėda has over 400 members, the current church building was granted to the irvingians in Over nine million members are united by this church worldwide. The religion accepts the Apostles Creed, believes in the sacramental nature of Holy Communion and baptism, considers the Bible as the authority of the Word of God, the next coming of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 20. Culture center Žvejų Rūmai Most of the southern boroughs were built around the same time and in similar style big condominium houses. Earlier during the wars city lost almost all of its higher buildings, making it rather flat. For this reason, as well as the fact that multistory houses were getting into the fashion all over the world, these houses were especially desired by architects and the community. Only seven out of nine planned boroughs were actually built during the expansion of the city. Culture center Žvejų Rūmai (the name Palace of the Seamen translated to English language refers to the nautical nature of the surrounding boroughs as well as the city itself) was built close to the Baltija borough in The center has an area of eight thousand square meters and is distributed into three zones: concert hall, sport hall and the club. The bigger concert hall has 1127 seats, the smaller one 200. The center was opened in 1982 and at the time was one of the most prestigious in the country. It is still open and active for theatre, concerts, art exhibitions. Photographers: Andrius Pelakauskas, Grantas Martinkevičius, Klaipėda tourism and culture information center. 26 KlaipĖda by bike

15 Klaipėda tourism and culture information center Turgaus str. 7, LT Klaipėda, Lithuania Ph , Klaipėda s City Public Health Bureau Taikos pr. 76, Klaipėda Tel visuomenessveikata@sveikatosbiuras.lt Klaipėda Municipality Liepų str. 11, LT Klaipėda, Lithuania info@klaipeda.lt