Klaipeda

Klaipeda (klī`pĕdä), formerly Memel (mā`məl), city (1993 pop. 206,400), W Lithuania, on the Baltic Sea, at the entrance to the Courland Lagoon. An ice-free seaport and an industrial center, it has shipyards and industries producing textiles, fertilizers, and wood products. It is the home of a large fishing fleet. One of the oldest cities of Lithuania, Klaipeda was the site of a settlement as early as the 7th cent. It was conquered and burned in 1252 by the Teutonic Knights, who built a fortress and named it Memelburg. The city was ceded (1629) by Prussia to Sweden but reverted to Prussia in 1635. In the Napoleonic Wars the city was (1807) the refuge and residence of Frederick William III of Prussia, who signed there the edict emancipating the serfs in his kingdom. From 1919 it shared the history of the Memel Territory. The name has also appeared as Klaypeda.

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Klaipeda

 German Memel

City (pop., 2001: 192,954) and port, Lithuania. It lies on the channel that connects the Neman River with the Baltic Sea. A fortress built on the site in the early 13th century was destroyed in 1252 by the Teutonic Order, who built a new fortress called Memelburg. It came under Prussian control in the 17th century, and the town (Memel) was settled by Germans. In 1923 Memel became part of Lithuania and was renamed Klaipeda. Seized by Germany in 1939, it passed to the Soviet Union in 1945. Klaipeda became part of the newly independent Lithuania in 1991. The modern city has major shipbuilding yards and is the base for a large deep-sea fishing fleet.

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Klaipeda

a port in Lithuania on the Baltic: shipbuilding and fish canning. Pop.: 190 000 (2005 est.)