Lithuania: Klaipeda
Klaipeda is the third largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and Kaunas and is a major Baltic Sea port and transport hub. It was known as Memel through most of its history and was either part of the Teutonic Knights controlled territory or Prussia later. Germany lost it after WWI just to reclaim it during WWII with Hitler himself arriving to proclaim the return of Memel in 1941. Being a strategic port, it was very heavily bombed and the entire historic old town was demolished. Today, some of it has been restored – it’s a small and pleasant city center to stroll in with only a few steps to the port with massive cranes and oil tankers.
