Author: Jānis Pēteris Bērziņš/Elizabete Luisa Līviņa
Source: BalticTravelnews.com/Wikipedia.org
Klaipėda, one of Lithuania's largest cities, historically known as Memel, is specially celebrated on January 15th as "Klaipėda Day."
This city is the third-largest city in Lithuania in terms of population, located by the Baltic Sea, and is 311 kilometers from the Lithuanian capital city "Vilnius."
Historically Klaipėda was situated in the ancient Curonian land known as Pilsuots. There is a version that the name originated from a Latvian word "pilsēta (city)." However, the historical name Memel - probably derived from the Curonian word "Mēmele," which means quietly flowing.
Nevertheless, the current name Klaipėda comes from from the Curonian words "even ground": "klais/klait" (flat, open, free) and "peda" (sole, ground), as a reference to the relatively flat terrain of the original settlement's surroundings.
Happy Klaipėda Day!
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