Old Memel. Memel city in Prussia Memel city now

Memel city in Prussia (Memel) is a city in Prussia, the northernmost in Germany, near the Russian border, near Kurish-Gaf. 19,282 inhabitants (1890). Large, almost always ice-free harbor, 5-6 m deep at the entrance; two lighthouses, fort. Shipyards, soap factories, iron factories. Trade in planks (from Russian forest), grain, coal, herring. In 1894, imports amounted to 24.5 million marks, exports amounted to 23.5 million marks (wood - more than half of this amount). The city was founded in the 13th century, under the name of Memelburg; joined the Hansa, belonged first to the Livonian, then to the Prussian Order. He suffered a lot in the wars with Lithuania and Poland and during the 30 Years' War. In 1813 it was besieged by the Russians.

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .

See what “Memel is a city in Prussia” in other dictionaries:

- (Memel) a city in Prussia, the northernmost in Germany, near the Russian border, near Kurish Gafa. 19,282 inhabitants (1890). Large, almost always ice-free harbor, 5-6 m deep at the entrance; two lighthouses, fort. Shipyards, soap factories, iron factories... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

The official name of the city of Klaipeda (now in Lithuania) until 1923. * * * MEMEL MEMEL (Memel), the official name of the city of Klaipeda (see KLAIPEDA) (in Lithuania) until 1923. Memel, the Teutonic Knights (see TEUTONIC ORDER) called the territory in the eastern... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

The city of Neman is silent. Ragnit Coat of Arms ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Neman (meanings). The city of Neman is silent. Ragnit Coat of Arms ... Wikipedia

City of Taurage lit. Tauragė ... Wikipedia

City, Lithuania. Lithuania settlement on the site of modern The city has existed since the 7th century. In the 13th century there was Lithuania here. Klaipeda fortress; name from the anthroponym Klaipejus or Klaipedaitis bow-legged, clubfooted. At the same place in 1252 the Livonian Order built... ... Geographical encyclopedia

Klaipeda Dictionary of Russian synonyms. memel noun, number of synonyms: 1 Klaipeda (3) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

MEMEL- the official name of Klaipeda (now in Lithuania) until 1923... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Memel- 1) r. see Neman 2) city see Klaipeda, Memelsburg Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001... Geographical encyclopedia

Memel- MEMEL, district mountains Prussian provinces of Koenigsberg in the south. shore of the Baltic. sea, in the East. Prussia, upon leaving the hall. Kurishgaf; commercial port and seaside. strengthened point to the north gr ce Germany, in 10 ver. from Russian gr cy. Connected d. with Tilsit... ... Military encyclopedia

Memel- the official name of the city of Klaipeda (now in Lithuania) until 1923. * * * MEMEL MEMEL (Memel), the official name of the city of Klaipeda (see KLAIPEDA) (in Lithuania) until 1923. Memel, the Teutonic Knights (see TEUTONIC ORDER) called the territory in the eastern... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Memel- (Memel) the former name of the city of Klaipeda in the Lithuanian SSR ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Memel- or Nemanek r. Kovno and Courland provinces, one of the constituent parts of the river. Aa (see). It originates in Novoaleksandrovsky district, flows to the north-west, forming on a significant part of its course the border between Kovno and Courland provinces: it connects at the mountains... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

Memel- geogr. (German name) Neman... Universal additional practical Dictionary I. Mostitsky

Memel- 1) r. see Neman 2) city see Klaipeda, Memelsburg ... Toponymic dictionary

Memel- (Memel)Memel, 1)former. name region of Lithuania (Memel region), on the coast of the Baltic Sea, north of the Neman River. It was part of East Prussia until 1919, when it came under French administration financed by the League of Nations. IN… … Countries of the world. Dictionary

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Treaty of Versailles, S.W. Klyuchnikov. The Versailles Peace Treaty was intended to consolidate the redivision of the capitalist world in favor of the victorious powers. According to it, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders of 1870);...

Two documents have survived to this day, dated July 29 and August 1, 1252 and signed by the great commander of the Teutonic Order, Eberhard von Seine, and the Bishop of Courland, Heinrich von Lutzelburg. According to them, the order founded a fortress in a swampy area on the left bank of the Dane River, called Memelburg (Memel is the German name for the Neman). Around this castle, originally wooden, a settlement grew very quickly, which received Lübeck rights already in 1254 or 1258 (according to other sources). Until 1923 (and in 1939-45) Memel was the northernmost German city; during the interwar period and after the end of World War II this city was known as Klaipeda.
The old town of Klaipeda-Memel is now small, although it continues to remain quite intact. About 60% of its buildings were destroyed during the Great Fire of 1854 and the fighting of World War II, but what remains still retains the atmosphere of the old Memel, a city more North German in spirit than Lithuanian.

On the left on the hill (with the city flag) is the place where Memelburg Castle stood ( a small amount of ruins are present), on the right are the already familiar K-Tower and D-Tower.

In its stone form, the castle looked something like this.

Development of the Dane embankment. On the right (next to the kebab shop) you can see the ticket office of the ferry to the Curonian Spit.

The castle hill is surrounded on three sides by a bay where a lot of boats of varying degrees of luxury are moored.

Between the promenade and the cruise terminal there are several small houses, where hotels and shops serving owners of yachts and boats are now located.

Among them there are also interesting examples of modern architecture. The Old Port Hotel wonderfully combines high-tech and half-timbered architecture. It turns out high-werk or fah-tech.

Traditional half-timbered structures are of course also present.

Klaipeda Theater Square, probably the largest in the Old Town. In the center is the building of the Klaipeda Drama Theater (1775), on the left is a modern extension to it. Here tourists usually tare with amber.

Development of the southern side of the square.

Neighborhood of Theater Square. It’s behind me, the D-Tower is visible on the left, and the Old Hansa restaurant is in the house on the right. In general, there are many restaurants in Klaipeda that I really wanted to go to just because of the names alone: “Old Hansa”, “Livonia”, “Memelis”. The latter also turned out to be a brewery, which predetermined the choice in its favor.

I repeat, the Old Town in Klaipeda is quite integral, although of course there were some late inclusions. A whole block is growing closer to the Dane embankment modern buildings, but how tactical they look overall. No one here is trying to deceive either residents or tourists. The new architecture looks exactly new, and does not try to imitate the Middle Ages with dummies, but at the same time it is high-tech in a historical environment, and it looks out of place here, making the city relevant.

Typical Stalinists also come across, and with them the situation is worse. Well, at least they covered it with tiles. Market Street (Turgaus gatve) runs towards the distant pipe, a reminder that Theater Square was once a market place.

Now the Market Square is located on the southern outskirts of the Old Town, and I went there through streets whose names I don’t even remember now.

In the building with flags is the Museum of the History of Lithuania Minor.

Remains of old Memel.

Upper street (Aukstoji gatve). In the building on the left there is an old post office, you can send a postcard to your homeland.

Only for Belarusians. Zyanon's safe house.

On Castle Street (Pilies gatve) a monumental Stalinist building was discovered, now owned by the Baltia shipbuilding company. On the spire, probably in Soviet times, there was a traditional star in a laurel wreath.

And finally we come out to the new Market Square, which of course is not new, but is still a market square. It occupies a fairly large area between Castle Street and Mira Avenue (Taikos prospektas).

The Old Town ends at the Market Square, as this photograph clearly demonstrates.

Above the dog there is an inscription “Old Town Watchman” (or something like that).

The tentacles of our distribution network have even reached Klaipeda.

At this square, Mira Avenue ends, leading to the residential neighborhoods of the city. In the distance behind the trees on the left is the Market Square, ahead is the Old Town.

This place stood out to me for three things. Firstly, an old bookstore sign. There is almost no such thing left in Lithuania.

Secondly, the statue of Neringa, a huge giant aunt who saved ships and sailors and, like, poured the Curonian Spit for this.

Well, the building behind Neringa is the Svyturis brewery (in Russian, by the way, translated as “lighthouse”), one of the largest in Lithuania, the sister of our “Alivaria”. Surprisingly, there was no beer bar at the brewery (which, by the way, I was counting on); its place was taken by some terrible Chinese restaurant.

From here along Mostovaya Street (Tilto gatve) I moved in the opposite direction, back north to Dana. Unfortunately, this time we were not able to see Soviet Klaipeda in the south of the city. I still preferred to go to the Curonian Spit, to the sea, instead.

The Germans return to Memel in 1939.

The history of the “free city” (the term “free” is used not in a legal sense, but in an ideological one. Formally, Memel was under the control of the Entente Powers) Memel, which today is shown on maps under the well-known Lithuanian name Klaipeda, is interesting to read from the point of view of parallels, analogies and, in general, the very idea of a “free city” on the border of the “enlightened West”™ and everyone else. The topic is relevant in St. Petersburg, since we have supporters of the idea of a “free city”. The following text provides an opportunity to look at the prospects for such a situation based on the experience of Klaipeda. In parentheses, let’s not forget that Klaipeda, unlike St. Petersburg, is an ice-free port.
Let's hit the road!
Without delving too deeply into the darkness of centuries, casually mentioning the Crusaders, Swedes and Samogitians related to the city, we see Memel, which by the end of the First World War of 1914-1918. was listed as the northernmost port city of Prussia. The collapse of the Kaiser's Germany led to the fact that the victorious powers, remembering what Prussia meant to the Germans, decided to tear the city away from Heimatland, rightly thinking about weakening German influence in the Baltic Sea, if not forever, then for a long time.
A young, persistent Poland appeared, which France saw as a counterweight to Germany, and which also had expansionist plans in the Baltic Sea. Wow, what plans! “Grateful” to those around them for centuries of vegetation, the Poles wanted to wrest the entire Baltic Fleet from the Russians and rule the seas themselves. Not all of them, of course, but definitely up to the Danish Straits. In these plans, there was clearly no place for the German Memel on the eastern borders. From the other side of the Memel region, the newly formed Lithuania jumped out like a pimple (then without Vilnius yet), which desperately needed a port on the Baltic in order to have a guarantee of its long and happy independence through free export/import by sea.

WHERE DREAMS LEAD

What to do if interest in history is not considered applied in the world. Why does he smart person V ordinary life, except sometimes to show off in company, remembering little known fact? It doesn’t matter that the incident turns out to be a historical anecdote, but it will highlight the narrator favorably in the eyes of his interlocutors. Especially if the eyes are female. It's a matter of physics. You sit on the plane and, using simple calculations, predict the arrival time. Or, here, geometry. You can draw a room plan and build in a closet. And put all the history textbooks in the closet that are difficult to find application in the busy life of a city dweller.

Meanwhile, familiarity with critical moments in the history of your country and its closest neighbors can be of great help in understanding what happened, is happening and will happen around us if the stars align in one order or another. And at the right moment it can suggest, for example, that it’s time to transfer the necessary things from the closet to suitcases, grab the children and quickly get on the plane from the impending disaster while they are still flying.
Here the Ukrainians were living, not bothering, and suddenly, bam, war. “Out of the blue,” sort of. But in fact - both “from this” and “from this”.

But today is not about them, but about the fate of the “free city” as a phenomenon.
Once upon a time, at the beginning of his journey to the East, the Fuhrer planned something similar for St. Petersburg. But it didn’t work out, fortunately. Although some here think it's unfortunate. And the movement of the Reich towards St. Petersburg began precisely there - in Memel 1938-39.
But first things first. So, Memel between the two world wars: a city that was needed by everyone, and at the same time was no one's.

WHOSE IS HE? HE'S NOBODY'S!

Territorial losses of Germany after WWI. Memelland is the most northeastern part.

The volleys of the world war died down. Europe buried its dead and squinted its eyes to see the future through the smoke of the fires. The victorious powers began to construct a world order, picking up the fragments of failed empires and putting them together into a new kaleidoscope European home. Among these fragments, Memel turned out to be a city that had no one to give. It was decided to leave it under the mandate of the League of Nations. In 1920, it was transferred to the collective management of the Entente countries. A small French garrison was present. Self-government was run by local Germans, who were the majority among the economically active population of Memel itself and the surrounding area, called Memelland. Whether the Germans considered all their Lithuanian neighbors to be “cattle”, history is silent. Not without this, I think.

French administration in Memel, 1920

As fate would have it, Memel was supposed to become a “free city”, like Danzig, which could not be left German, but the Polish future was also contraindicated for it. Well, shouldn’t we give it to the Swedes? Why on earth? Soviet Russia was against the idea of a “free city” and demanded that its interests also be taken into account in the fate of the ice-free port. Slave country, what can we take from it? He can't stand freedom. She has interests, you understand. Let her interests in the ice of the Gulf of Finland freeze every year from November to May.
Poland hoped that the city would fall into its hands with the assistance of “their” French, with whom they had almost reached an agreement. France, planning to transfer the Memel region to Poland, was of course not guided by love for Mickiewicz or a craving for Polish beauties, but hoped that in the future the port would not go to Germany, which had suddenly risen from its knees. How they looked into the water.

NEW CONTENDER

And then Lithuania appears on the scene. A small but proud country that wants territories that belong to it “by fairness.” The Founding Seimas of Lithuania modestly spoke out for the annexation of Klaipeda to Lithuania on the basis of autonomy.
The Memel Germans, who constituted the active majority in the region, quickly realized which way the wind was blowing and during the plebiscite of 1921, which was organized by the “Working Group of the Society for the Free State of Memel” (“Arbeitsgemeinschaft für den Freistaat Memel”), 54,429 people (75, 75% of the citizens who had the right to vote) voted for a free state and against the union with Lithuania. We will never be brothers!©
To which the Lithuanians presented their surveys, which showed that the Lithuanian language should be given the official status of a second language, despite the fact that during a survey in 1922 it was revealed that 93% of people declared themselves as ethnic Germans in the city of Memel and 63% declared themselves as Memellanders on the territory of Memelland.

On December 18, 1922, the Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor (as the Lithuanians called the Memel region), called in Germany “Direktorium der Litauer”, appeared in Memel. The official purpose of this committee was to organize the inhabitants of the Memel region into one whole society, which was to become part of Lithuania. They supported the linguistic, national and cultural activity of Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor. They also wanted to enlist the support of their brothers living in Lithuania and other countries of the world.
Once Yin has emerged, then Yang should appear somewhere nearby. The organization "German-Lithuanian Fatherland Union" ("Deutsch-Litauischer Heimatbund") together with the "Working Group of the Society for the Free State of Memel" ("Arbeitsgemeinschaft für den Freistaat Memel") put forward the idea of a "Free State of Memelland", which was later to join of course same for Germany.

TO ARMS, Piliečiai!

Lithuanian "rebels" (dressed as civilian soldiers) during the Klaipeda Uprising of 1923

The situation developed in such a way that the Germans, between the Poles and Lithuanians, wisely chose the latter. Germany approved the strengthening of Lithuanian resistance forces directed against Poland. The Memel Riflemen's Union (Memeler Schützenbund) purchased 1,500 rifles, 5 light machine guns and ammunition in Germany, paying with money from secret funds, the main investors of which were Lithuanian emigrants, mainly living in the United States. Weapons for the Lithuanians were purchased, no less, from the commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr, Hans von Seeckt. On behalf of the army, he assured Lithuania that the Germans would not interfere with the Lithuanian intervention.
The gun hanging at the beginning of the play did not hang until the last act of the drama and fired almost immediately. Time is money!

The coup began on January 9, 1923. The Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor published a manifesto to the French soldiers in the region, in which they asked the soldiers not to interfere. The rebels had to: be polite (oh!), not rob, not drink alcoholic beverages, not participate in political conversations, not carry Lithuanian documents, not carry tobacco and matchboxes with Lithuanian identification inscriptions.
On the same day, volunteers from Lithuania crossed the border of the region (they were in civilian clothes, which they had changed into on the train, but for identification they wore armbands with the letters “MLS”). Many Lithuanian residents of the region supported the rebels by supplying them with food.

Funeral of French soldiers killed during the 1923 uprising in Memel

Memel itself could not be occupied peacefully, since the port was defended by French soldiers. The "polite" rebels launched their attack on January 15, at 01:00. Several French officers and soldiers, a policeman and German volunteers were captured. By 05:00 Memel was occupied and the French soldiers retreated and surrendered a little later. It’s clear that no one wanted to die, it’s not clear why. The overall casualties were low: 20 rebels and 2 French soldiers were killed.
After these events, the territory of the Memel region was taken completely under the control of the Supreme Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor.

The monument to Kaiser Wilhelm, as expected in the days of popular uprisings, was knocked off its pedestal and dragged to the backyard

On January 16, a small Polish warship "Komendant Pilsudski" (formerly Finnish "Karjala", and even earlier former Russian "Lun") entered the port of Klaipeda. One of the passengers on it was Mssr. Trouson, a member of the French mission in Poland. His task was to suppress the coup, but seeing that the Memel region was already occupied, and French troops are actually in custody, the ship has sailed. The Poles were late.

The Polish armed forces could intervene in the situation. However, from behind the gray forests, the ominous profile of Comrade Trotsky appeared and the bayonets of Soviet units began to concentrate on the Polish border. The new Soviet-Polish war did not smile on Warsaw, despite the “Miracle on the Vistula” that had just happened. Thus, the USSR indirectly helped Lithuania take Klaipeda.

WELL HERE WE ARE IN LITHUANIA
On January 19, the Directory of the Klaipeda Region requested its admission to Lithuania as an autonomous territory with a separate parliament and government, two official languages, the right to administer taxes and duties, independently conduct cultural and religious affairs, oversee the local legal system, agriculture, forestry and social security system.

Let's stop for a moment to take in the moment. Lithuania has “laid down” on democratic procedures, the opinion expressed by the majority of the population, someone else’s territorial integrity and decisions of the League of Nations! Not bad for a miniature republic that is barely a week old. This is how history should be made, and you: “sanctions, sanctions...”.

Why is the West the guarantor of the status of a “free city”?
On January 10, the French and British governments, through diplomatic channels, asked Lithuania to "use all its efforts" to ensure that attacks on people and property do not occur there. They also condemned the support of the uprising from Lithuania.

1923. Uprising. Arrival of the British light cruiser HMS "Caledon" at the port, deaths on the Memel streets, arrival of French destroyers.

France soon sent a small squadron to Memel. Great Britain also made its mark by sending the cruiser HMS Caledon. Negotiations with the Lithuanian rebels that began on January 25 were unsuccessful. The rebel committee refused to hand over the city to the French, and the patrols that went ashore were fired upon and returned to their ships. Then the French command developed a plan for the armed capture of Memel, supported by the British. On February 2 (it took a long time to prepare!) the British cruiser landed a landing party ashore to interact with the French infantry battalion that made up the Memel garrison. At the same time, an ultimatum was put forward to Lithuania demanding the return of the Memel region to the hands of the High Commissioner of the Entente. At the same time, the Entente promised that if the ultimatum was accepted, the Memel region would then be transferred to Lithuania.
Lithuania accepted the ultimatum, after which on February 16, the Entente Council of Ambassadors decided to transfer the Memel region to Lithuania. This decision was subject to the condition that Lithuania fulfill the following requirements:
- autonomy of the region;
- freedom of transit and use of the Memel port by Poland;
- development of the status of the region and conclusion of a special convention;
- equality of rights in the region for the German and Lithuanian languages;
- equalization of civil and commercial rights of foreigners and residents of the autonomy.

In addition, at the unofficial level it was emphasized that the transfer of Memel to Lithuania is a kind of compensation for the loss of the Vilna region (Vilnius), which Poland had previously seized. In 1924, the actual transfer of Memel under the sovereignty of Lithuania took place.

Lithuania, having settled in the region, predictably began to “de-Germanize” new territories. A policy of imposing the Lithuanian language was pursued, although, according to the census of January 20, 1925, out of 141,645 residents who had the right to vote, 59,315 (41.88%) classified themselves as Germans, 37,626 (26.56%) as Lithuanians and 34 337 (24.24%) - to Memellanders.
In 1926, a military coup took place in Lithuania. After the coup in December 1926, martial law was introduced in the Klaipeda region (which lasted until 1938), German parties were banned and the local parliament was dissolved, which was a gross violation of the Memel Statute. At the request of the League of Nations, the Lithuanian authorities were forced to call new elections in the Memel region, which gave a majority to German parties (25 seats out of 29). However, already in 1932, the elected German authorities of Memel were arrested. The consequence was an appeal by the guarantor powers of the Memel Convention to the International Court of Justice of the League of Nations, which demanded that Lithuania restore the rights of the Memel parliament.

On the streets of Klaipeda between the wars. Signs in German

The Lithuanian port of Klaipeda has been actively developing. New structures were built, a new railway line was laid, and the fairway was doubled. Up to 80 percent of Lithuania's foreign trade turnover passed through the former Memel. If in 1924 694 ships visited here, then in 1935 there were already 1225. Soviet Russia also actively conducted foreign trade through the Klaipeda port, defending its trade interests.

NOTHING IS ETERNAL

Cover of Life magazine with the hero of the return of Germany Memelland, the heavy cruiser "Deutschland"

But the happiness of the small state, under the guise of world squabbles, cutting off its access to the sea, did not last long. The territories should go to those who really “really need it.” Germany recovered from the defeat, built up its muscles and spread out a map on which “their” lands were marked, which, due to an absurd misunderstanding, belonged to those who were previously not allowed into decent houses in Europe.
And soon the smoke of an impressive squadron literally appeared on the horizon of Klaipeda, the flagship of which was symbolically the heavy cruiser (pocket battleship) Deutschland, built to replace the sunken ships of the old Kaiser's fleet. On its bridge, despising seasickness, was Adolf Hitler himself, Chancellor of Germany. Personally.

To be continued

- Coordinates

/ / 56.40250; 24.15722 (Memele, mouth)Coordinates:

The name of the river "Memele" probably comes from the Prussian language, in which it means "surrounded by water" or "swampy place". [[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. Memele

Tributaries

Apašča (Lithuania)
Vīžona (Lithuania)
Dienvidsusēja (114 km)
Viesite (59 km)
Nereta (25 km)
Rikon (18 km)
Žūru (9 km)
Sunny water (7 km)

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Excerpt describing Memele

All this news made me dizzy... But Veya, as usual, was surprisingly calm, and this gave me the strength to ask further.
– And who do you call an adult?.. If there are such people, of course.
- Well, of course! – the girl laughed sincerely. - Want to see?
I just nodded, because suddenly, out of fright, my throat completely closed up, and my “fluttering” conversational gift was lost somewhere... I understood perfectly well that right now I would see a real “star” creature!.. And, despite the fact that, as long as I could remember, I had been waiting for this all my adult life, now suddenly all my courage for some reason quickly “gone to the ground”...
Veya waved her palm - the terrain changed. Instead of golden mountains and a stream, we found ourselves in a marvelous, moving, transparent “city” (at least, it looked like a city). And straight towards us, along a wide, wetly shining silver “road”, a stunning man was slowly walking... He was a tall, proud old man, who could not be called anything else other than - majestic!.. Everything about him was somehow... sometimes very correct and wise - and thoughts as pure as crystal (which for some reason I heard very clearly); and long silver hair covering him with a shimmering cloak; and the same amazingly kind, huge purple “Vain’s” eyes... And on his high forehead there was a shining, marvelously sparkling gold, diamond “star”.
“Rest in peace, Father,” Veya said quietly, touching her forehead with her fingers.
“And you, the one who has left,” the old man answered sadly.
There was an air of endless kindness and affection from him. And I suddenly really wanted, like a little child, to bury myself in his lap and hide from everything for at least a few seconds, inhaling the deep peace emanating from him, and not think about the fact that I’m scared... that I don’t know where my home... and what I don’t know at all is where I am, and what’s wrong with me this moment is really happening...