ABOUT KLAIPEDA

Klaipeda is in Lithuania.
Lithuania is in Europe.
The square of Lithuania is 65 thousand km˛. The population in Lithuania is 3, 7 mln people. Klaipeda is the third town in Lithuania according to population. The population of Klaipeda is 203.269 people. Klaipeda is near the river Dane, Kuršiai Lagoon and near the Baltic sea.
There are a lot of museums: Picture gallery, History museum of Lithuania Minor, Blacksmith museum of Lithuania Minor and Clock and Watch museum. There are some old churches: St.John's and Mary Queen of Peace. Klaipeda is Lithuania's only seaport. In 1923 the Klaipeda region was attached to Lithuania. There are Klaipeda University, 30 secondary schools and some colleges. We have got some Art galleries and two theatres: Musical theatre and Drama theatre. We have got some beaches, a lot of cafes, restaurants and cinemas. We have got such festivals: Young musicians Festival, International Children's Folklore Festival and International Folklore Festival.

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KLAIPEDA'S HISTORY

Lithuania is a country on the eastern of the Baltic Sea. In the 15th and 16th centuries Lithuania was the largest in Europe. Klaipeda was founded in 1252. Eberhardt von Sein, the vice-master of the Livonian Order, built a wooden castle at the mouth of the Dane River. Klaipeda had the old German name "Memel". The Lithuanian name "Klaipeda" was first mentioned in 1420. Fires destroyed large parts of Memel in 1540 and 1854. 1709- 1710- the plague killed at least 3,000 people of Memel. During all these years Klaipeda belonged to Russia, Prussia, France, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania. In 1923 Klaipeda became Lithuania. Klaipeda's name come from the two words "klaips" and "eda", and it meant "bread" and "eat".

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THE SEAPORT

Klaipeda state seaport is the northernmost ice-free port on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. It connects the principal sea and land routes in the West -East direction. Port area is 1038 ha. Depth of water was 12 m and after reconstruction in 2000 it is 14 m. Every year about 8000 vessels from more then 45 countries come to Klaipeda port. Ships from owe port go to all these cities: thus, Stockholm Helsinki, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Roterdam, Antwerp, Bilbao and Copenhagen. They even reach the USA, South-East Asia, South America and Africa!

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THE MARITIME MUSEUM AND AQUARIUM

 The Maritime museum and Aquarium are built on an old Kopgalis fort. The Maritime museum was opened in 1979. This museum was found by Aloyzas Každailis. The Maritime museum is near the Baltic sea. There are a lot of the displays, fishes, shells and many other creatures. The Maritime museum and Aquarium cover an area of 2,700 sq.m. It is a very interesting place for all the children and for their parents. It is not very difficult to get there. Just buy a ticket and go! Near the Maritime museum there is a nice bridge across the river. We can see there some seals and fish. In big aquariums people watch different kids of fish. They are very beautiful and have got many colours on their skins
It's fantastic! There are a lot of penguins, sea lions, stranger sea plants, tortoises and many more things for you to see.

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DOLPHINARIUM

Klaipeda's dolphinarium is between the Baltic sea and Kuršiai lagoon. It is the first dolphinarium in the Baltic countries. Dolphins live in good conditions there.The water in dolphinarium is taken from the sea. Dolphins are very friendly animals. Every year a baby dolphin is born in Klaipeda's dolphinarium. People can watch their performances in water. Dolphins are very clever and nice. They understand people. You can also see not only dolphins but sea lions too. They are very funny, because they can kiss each other. Dolphins and sea lions have got their own names. Children give the names to the dolphins. What can they do there? They can jump out of the water, they can play with balls, and, of course, they can make you wet. 

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CLOCK AND WATCH MUSEUM

The Clock museum is in the center of the town. It was built in 1984. The museum collects the old modern clocks. The exposition is devoted to the history of clocks mechanism. In this museum we can see sundials, hour glasses, fire clocks, mechanical electromagnetic quartz and digital watches and clocks. Here are the clocks and watches of Renaissance, Baroque, Modern styles and etc. It is really a very interesting and important museum for our town. The Clock and Watch museum is unique in Lithuania. (The picture will be later)

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MAZVYDAS SCULPTURE PARK

We have got a very beautiful sculpture park. There are 30 beautiful and different sculptures in this park. The central cemetery was located there until 1977. And the park was built on the cemetery. The oldest sculpture was built in 1977. It's L.Garl's "The Beginning". He also constructed a sculpture called "A turn". This sculpture is very strange. We like it very much. There are also some more famous sculptures in the park, such as S.Misheikis "Scream". We like his sculptures, but they are also made by women. As an example, you can find K.Janoshevaite's sculpture "A lying woman" constructed in 1978.  You can also see a special monument to all the people who died during the World War II. People go there for a walk. Children play basketball there. And there is a cafeteria. People like to read books, play tennis and ride bicycles there.

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DRAMA THEATRE SQUARE

Drama Theater was built in 1819 and reconstructed in1990. It is a very beautiful building as you can see in the picture. There is a statue of a girl in the center of the square. It's the monument for Anike. It is a very nice statue.
Anike was an ordinary girl. Simon Dach, a German poet, fell in love when he saw her. Then he wrote a folk song for this girl.
The statue was built in 1912, but disappeared during the Second World War. It was rebuilt on November 18, 1989. 
The Drama theatre square is a very beautiful and romantic place for dates. You can meet there a lot of young people.
Nowadays a lot of concerts and festivals and fairs are organized here.

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THE CENTRAL POST OFFICE

We have got a beautiful old post office. There is a tower. In the tower there is a carillon (1986 m.) with 48 bells with a total weight of 6000 kg. The author of this project is Peter Shelling form Germany. A post office works every day. People can send cards, packets and letters. A half past eleven we can listen to the bell concert.

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SEA FESTIVAL

It is very fun during the Sea festival.
It comes every year, in summer. There are many musical concerts and many fairs in the streets.
We can buy here a lot of different and beautiful things or presents. People watch the ceremony of the King Neptunas (Neptune) on the river Dane. He swings by a large boat in the river and all the people meet him. This Sea festival lasts for 3 days. Nobody goes tossup. Everybody dances, has fun and sings songs. The last day of the Sea festival is the carnival day. A lot of people put on very interesting costumes and go along the town. Such a festival is the only one in Lithuania, so all the people from other towns and cities come here to see that wonderful show.

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