Klaipėda

Klaipėda (/ˈklpɛdə/; Lithuanian: [ˈkɫɐɪpʲeːdɐ] ; German: Memel) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city in Lithuania, the fifth largest city in the Baltic States and the capital of Klaipėda County, as well as the only major seaport in the country.

Klaipėda
Klaipieda (Samogitian)
City
  • From top, left to right: Port of Klaipėda
  • Klaipėda University
  • Old timber framed houses
  • Teatro aikštė (Theatre Square)
  • Swing bridge and Black Ghost sculpture
Nickname: 
Uostamiestis (port city)
Interactive map of Klaipėda
Klaipėda
Location of Klaipėda in Lithuania
Klaipėda
Location of Klaipėda within the Baltics
Klaipėda
Location of Klaipėda in Europe
Coordinates: 55°42′45″N 21°08′06″E
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionLithuania Minor
CountyKlaipėda County
MunicipalityKlaipėda city municipality
Capital ofKlaipėda County
Klaipėda city municipality
First mentioned1252
Granted city rights1258
EldershipsMelnragė and Giruliai
Area
  City98.2 km2 (37.9 sq mi)
  Metro
1,434 km2 (554 sq mi)
Elevation
21 m (69 ft)
Population
 (2023)
  City158,420
  Density1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi)
  Metro
217,839
  Metro density146/km2 (380/sq mi)
Gross Metropolitan Product
  Total€6.0 billion (2021)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
91100-96226
Area code(+370) 46
ClimateCfb
Websiteklaipeda.lt

The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the river Akmena-Danė. Located in Lithuania Minor, it was historically a part of Baltic Prussia, the Prussian State of the Teutonic Order, and later the Duchy of Prussia under the suzerainty of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the duchy gained independence from Poland in 1657. As part of the Kingdom of Prussia it was the northernmost big city of Germany until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles when it was placed under French occupation. In 1923, the Klaipėda Revolt resulted in the city's annexation by Lithuania, which lasted until all of Memelland rejoined Germany following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. After WW2 the USSR annexed both North East Prussia and Lithuania, and joined Memelland into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Klaipėda has remained within Lithuania since 1944.

The city continues to experience sustained demographic decline due to flight towards the suburbs and other cities. The number of inhabitants of Klaipėda city shrank from 202,929 in 1989 to 162,360 in 2011, but the urban zone of Klaipėda expanded well into the suburbs, which sprang up around the city and surrounded it from three sides. These are partly integrated with the city (city bus lines, city water supply, etc.), and the majority of inhabitants of these suburbs work in Klaipėda. According to data from the Department of Statistics, there are 212,302 permanent inhabitants (as of 2020) in the Klaipėda city and Klaipėda district municipalities combined. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Neringa to the south on the Curonian Spit and Palanga to the north.

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