Возвращение в Клайпеду

[darriuss]

В Клайпеде я уже однажды был в мае 2009 года и успел даже написать о том суточном пребывании в этом славном портовом городе целых 6 постов (они тогда были, впрочем, куда менее объемными, чем мой современный средний обзор):
- Морской порт
- Новый город
- советский костел
- Старый Мемель, ч.1
- Старый Мемель, ч.2
- Куршская косаК сожалению, в тот

Comments

[vyrud]

Lietuvininkai t was the name of Prussian Lithuanians or Klein Litauen. This word they used to call themselves and to separate them from the rest of the nation :)

11: Vaiva is the goddess name (and female name too). But it is also related with rainbow - "vaivorykštė" is the "Vaivos rykštė" (scourge of vaiva).

In 16: house was built in 1938 but you are also right - the building was designed by the local architect with family Giesen (he worked as the construction councilor of Klaipėda municipality).

18: theater built in 1956-1959 (finally opened in 1963) as the culture palace of fishermen. So originally this wasn't the theater (and several years later probably will not be again the theater since there are plans to build new special building for theater (new project you can find here with visualizations http://www.lrytas.lt/-13197960211319638885-klaip%C4%97dos-muzikinis-teatras-i%C5%A1kils-ant-vandens-vizualizacijos.htm). About culture palace you can find interesting info with description in English on the site of Architecture and urbanistic research center:
http://www.autc.lt/Public/HeritageObject.aspx?uk=&ss=&contGeo=&er=&pl=3&as=&yf=&yt=&oe=&om=&su=&at=&ar=&ow=&style=&location=&type=1&rt=3&id=206

Also several photos of the church:
church in 1960: http://www.autc.lt/Handlers/ImageHandler.ashx?b=true&i=714&fn=0c02acdd-41f6-4e3b-b331-9c667b8c3cf2
church in 1961: http://www.autc.lt/Handlers/ImageHandler.ashx?b=true&i=714&fn=4bdc73a1-d998-4e67-aa0a-47f0438d03c6
church in 1962: http://www.autc.lt/Handlers/ImageHandler.ashx?b=true&i=714&fn=f216a8d1-49d5-4cc9-a821-9dde23ef1ee5
and in 1965: http://www.autc.lt/Handlers/ImageHandler.ashx?b=true&i=714&fn=dfe5ff7b-a97d-455c-9900-c84bb450537d
http://www.autc.lt/Handlers/ImageHandler.ashx?b=true&i=714&fn=f88d1cee-e017-408e-8ea5-391d732c5da5

[darriuss]

Thanks for these substantial remarks. The fact that catholic church was still in construction in 1960 and a year later was largely finished is simply mind-blowing. How could this happen, I wonder, during the period of Khruschev persecution of religion.

[vyrud]

The story with the church is really unique: in any case it was the single church of any religion built not only in Lithuania but also in Latvia and Estonia between 1945 and 1988. Still there are a lot of questions how this became possible. One of the facts is that permission to build it has been issued in 1956 before the start of new fight against religion. Another fact for the success was that construction started in 1957 when the period of Sovnarchoz (1957-1965) began. (Nearly all soviet Lithuanian functionaries confirms that these years were the best: they had more autonomy than during any other period of soviet rule. And these views are really grounded: most of the best decisions done in soviet period in Lithuania has the roots in this period). Construction was largely voluntary and people then were much more religious than today so there were no lack of volunteers including professional builders. Financial support was given also from Lithuanian organizations in USA, Canada and Australia what also made the construction easier.
But since 1959 the various attempts to stop the construction started (Khruschev personally fixed his attention in 1959 to the ongoing construction in Klaipeda and gave the directions to the Religious affairs council to prevent this). So in fact church wasn't consecrated in 1961 and immediately confiscated when the construction was finished according the decision of Bureau CK LKP.
1961 was particularly difficult period for the rulers of LSSR. Sovnarkhoz period gave them more opportunities and they began a series of projects - industrial, developmental and also of cultural importance, e.g. they began the reconstruction of Trakai castle (the first and the biggest phase of restauration was in years 1957-1962). But this also attracted the attention of Khruschev: in "Pravda" of 1961 you can find such passages of Khruschev at the talk given in Supreme Council: "Odnako u nas jest tovarischi kotoryje pereputali napravlenije dvizhenija. Kogda vsia strana dvizhetsia v kommunizm, oni dvinulis v druguju storonu - obratno v feodalizm. Feodalnyje zamki vostanavlivajut (smech v zale). Komu eto nuzhno ? (aplodismenty) Ne pora li nam razobratsia s etimi tovarischami ?". This probably also had the impact on the decision of bureau CK LKP on Klaipeda church. They also stopped the further restauration of Trakai castle (again works were resumed only in 1972-1973).
Another question is why from about 1956 we see several clear examples of real patriotism among the soviet functionaries in Lithuania (probably more than during any other period). I don't know exact reasons. But probably own impact had the fact that repressions were stopped and hundreds of thousands of people with deeply anti-soviet attitudes began to return back and joined other largely deeply anti-communist masses of population. So it was the early attempt to show patriotism and to try to gain popular support ...

[varjat]

Thanks a lot for so interesting details!

[darriuss]

Thanks, impressive and probably unique story.