KLAIPEDA on the north of Lithuania was founded by Germans near the Neiman estuary because of its convenient location for establishing a maritime port. The city's original name was Memeleburgh, or in short- Memel. Memel has a big influence on the Jewish world because the Mussar Movement was invented here by Rabbi Israel Salanter, who served as the rabbi of Memel. This is making KLAIPEDA an interesting Jewish heritage tourist site for us.       i 

Klaipeda is the only port city of Lithuania. For centuries, it belonged to Prussia, and its German background was evident in the style of houses and streets. At the beginning of World War II, the German army took over, as part of the Anschluss to annex Austria

Near the harbor we see an artificial hill on which the Germans built a fort in the 13th century. The city grew and the fortress did not fit the city any more. Therefore, in the 19th century, the fort was dismantled, and the municipality sold concessions to dismantle the walls, to use the stones to build homes. But paintings of the fort from the 17th century have been preserved, and there are plans today to restore the fort

Near the harbor there is the "rotating bridge" which has become a tourist attraction. Every hour, it is rotated manually to allow small boats to pass through the channel. Adjacent to the bridge is the sculpture of the "wind". A local legend says that in the 16th century, one of the bridge guards saw a man who told him that there would soon be no more food in the fort, and then the person disappeared like a wind. A local sculptor decided to perpetuate the story, creating a hollow sculpture. Kids love getting into it

Many wooden warehouses were built near the harbor. One of the warehouse owners in 1774 was a Jew named Ephraim Michaelson, who was one of the city's richest and most important persons. In 1854 there was a fire that destroyed all the warehouses and their contents. On their ruins red stone warehouses were rebuilt. In our generation, someone bought the ruins of one of Michelson's warehouses, and built a luxury boutique hotel in it. Due to its historical background, the hotel is called "Michelson"

The address: Žvejų street 18A

We go on a walk into the Old City. The streets are as straight as in New York. Paved with large stones, with large grooves between them. It is advisable not to come here with high heels. The streets are original from the 16th century, but the houses are newer. In 1854, there was a huge fire that destroyed almost all of the timber homes. The houses we see nowadays were built of concrete on their ruins

One of the stone houses that were not damaged in the great fire is now used as the municipal offices. It was owned by the consulate of Denmark, which was also the richest man in town. When Napoleon conquered Berlin in 1807, Prussian King Frederick Wilhelm III fled here, and lived in this most beautiful building in the city

Nearby there is a bronze statue of a cat, that the city's children love to "ride" on. A two-minutes' walk there is a mouse figurine. According to local mythology, this mouse is capable of performing miracles. If a local girl whispers her wishes into this mouse ear, they will soon come true. We tried, and it didn't work. Try yourself, maybe it will work for you

The main square in KLAIPEDA is the Theater Square. This theater building was built after the great fire, and survived the bombing of World War II. It is the oldest theater building in Lithuania. In the center of the square we see a fountain that is the most important statue in town. It is a statue of the national poet of Prussia, Simon Dach (1605-1659). His most famous song is called "Anne from Mitarao". Ann was fiancée of his good friend and the poet fell in love with her. He expressed his frustration and feelings in a love song he read at his friend's wedding ceremony with Anne. This song was composed later, and it became very popular and has been singing it ever since

Many ships anchor along the river shores, some of which constitute tourist sites or luxury restaurants. It's worth a visit

The Jewish aspects

The municipal archive has documents from the 15th century detailing "Jewish Tax" payments. Jews were deported from the city of Memel in 1567. In 1643 Jews were allowed to come to town only one day a week for commercial purposes, but not to stay there overnight. In the 19th century Rabbi Yisrael Salanter became the chief rabbi of Memel, and founded the Mussar Movement here. He succeeded in uniting all of the Jewish communities in the various synagogues, founded the local Chevra Kadisha society, and also founded the Gemara Learners Society. His home was a special Beit Midrash for Torah geniuses. He has published 12 books with Torah novellae of the GEDOLIM of his generation, making Memel one of the centers of Hebrew and Jewish printing in Eastern Europe

Klaipeda is an important area of Jewish history. Not far from ut are the cities of Kaunas, where the Slobodka Yeshiva was established. The city of Ponevej. Vilnius, and Jamels, where Rabbi Cook served before his immigration to Israel, and appointed the Rabbi of Jaffa. In the city of Klaipeda we can also see Jewish heritage sites

The four synagogues

There were 4 synagogues in Klaipeda, with the remains of 3 are worthy of visiting. The first is the Lithuanian Synagogue where Rabbi Israel Salanter was serving. This is how the synagogue looked at the time

Rabbi Israel Salanter was the founder of Mussar Theory and Movement. He also introduced the yeshiva world to the study of the books "Chovat Ha-Levavot" and "Mesilat Yeshrim". Since his times these books are learnt in yeshivas all over the world even in our time

He was the one to put into our lives the quote he heard from a jewish shoemaker: "As long as the candle is lit – it can be repaired". His Torah was written by his student in the book "Or Israel". He set forth descendants of rabbis and leaders. One of the most famous was Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Amnon Lipkin Shahak

When the Nazis entered the Klaipeda, firstly they burned and destroyed the synagogues. Today, a hotel stands on the site of the Salanter Rabbi's synagogue

The foundations of the synagogue were preserved, and thick glass surfaces were placed on them. It is located at the last door on the left side of the building. If the door is closed, the reception staff of the hotel can be contacted, and if they are not too busy, they will open the door for us

The address: 9 Daržų Street

Across the street of the synagogue we see a yellow house, now used as a beauty shop. This house was the "Shochet house", "slaughter house." The fact that the Jewish community employed a full-time slaughter and provided him with residence, indicates of the preservation of kosher food in Memel. They didn't need import meat from Vilna and other big Jewish communities in Lithuania

The second synagogue was "The Polish Synagogue", also called the "Hassidim Synagogue". It was built in 1835 of wood, at the end of the city. This synagogue was also burned in the great fire, and in 1876 was rebuilt from stone. Rabbi Shaul Zvi Bloch led the community of Hasidim in the city, and built around the synagogue a Talmud Torah school, and the local Chevra Kadisha. At the end of the 19th century, the municipality obliged the three Jewish communities to unite, and then other Torah schools moved to this location

Unfortunately, all the buildings in this location were destroyed by Russian bombs during World War II. There was no trace of the walls, but the floors of the synagogue and the Jewish school were preserved. The municipality respects the place, and forbids the construction of residential houses. If we come here in the afternoon, perhaps this is the place for a prayer of Mincha. Our little personal contribution to the return of Atarah to this ancient place in this sacred place

The remains of the Hassidic synagogue are at the intersection of "Synagogue Street" corner of Galinis Street

Up the synagogue street we reach the third synagogue. It is located in the Jewish cemetery. The red building at the end of the cemetery houses the offices of the Jewish community and its institutions, one of which is the only synagogue active in Klaipeda.

Address:  Ring 3

Prayers are held there every Shabbath, and 80% of the Sabbaths have a Minyan

When I entered the synagogue, I saw in one of the corners a young man reading the Parsha of Torah for the next Shabbath morning. At the end of the synagogue, I saw two students busy studying Gemara. When I went to chat with them and get to know them, they waved me and explained that they were now in the middle of a Torah lesson thru the Skype, and did not want to lose a word. Holy people! (For the first time in my life I enjoyed being rejected …)            i

Nowadays, 264 Jews are registered in the Jewish community of Klaipeda. Most of them old people immigrants from Russia. The young Jews went to work and live in the capital or immigrated to Israel. Five families of former Israeli Olim have moved back to the Klaipeda

In the community center there is a kosher grocery store and a specialty restaurant for the poor and the elderly. A Mikveh also opened there seven years ago. It was thought that it would be used only for brides, but it turns out that the use is more popular, and many women here maintain family purity more than they observe the Sabbath and kosher

The head of the Jewish community for the past 12 years is Felix Pozamski. His two daughters immigrated to Israel, and he visits them oftenly. He organizes the arrival of rabbis from Riga and Jerusalem to teach Torah in the city and give revival lessons. On Chanukah and Purim, he organizes big parties. Gentiles also come to light the candles and are showing an interest in Judaism. Last year there was an Yidiah theater in the city, which staged a Jewish play. These days, the director of Jewish theater and Gentile actors are rehearsing a new Jewish play. There is also a community of Karaites in the city, who sometimes join the Jewish community

"Until seven years ago, we experienced anti-Semitism here," Felix says. "On the wall of the fence outside they painted graffiti "Jews out". They also tried to uproot the gate. Today, anti-Semitism is no longer encountered here, probably because there are no Muslims in the Klaipeda

The cemetery where the synagogue is located was dedicated in 1834, but today Jewish monuments are not seen in its territory. When the Germans arrived in Klaipeda in World War II, they established a radio-communication military base in the cemetery. Remove all gravestones, and smash many of them, to incorporate them into the concrete base of the high antennae they built here. After the war, the Soviets arrived, and began using these antennas to disrupt Western radio broadcasts for anti-Russian propaganda

In 1988 the Reagan-Grovchow treaty was signed, which included a decision to stop disrupting radio broadcasts from the west to the east and in the opposite direction. The antennas were dismantled but the basis remained. The territory was returned to the Jewish community. Some of the antenna bases are preserved, and we can see stone tombs on Jewish graves inside the concrete blocks

When the antennas were dismantled, and the tractors demolished their concrete bases, many human bones were exposed in the antenna area. The Jewish community leaders gathered them, and buried the bones in a mass brothers grave. This large tombstone is laid on top of the burial place

The community leaders found only one complete tombstone in the area. They placed it in the center of the cemetery, as a single and prominent testimony to the loneliness that was here. The tombstone says in Hebrew text:              i

My dear wife was taken young

The important Mrs. Deborah Chaya

Daughter of Rabbi Yitzchak Nachman Jana

Passed away in 5th of Menachem Av

of the year 1886

In 1991, a stone a cement fence was built for the cemetery. Fragments of tombstones found scattered were combined on the fence walls. The local Jews call this fence "the wall of tears" and "the Western Wall". Today, the Jewish deceased are buried in the "Jewish section" of the municipal civil cemetery

39 trees were planted in the grounds of the cemetery. Every tree is named after the Klaipeda's residents Righteous Among the Nations that saved Jews during the holocaust. Under each tree there is also a sign with his name. A kind of local modest "Yad Vashem".

The fourth synagogue in Klaipeda is the "German Synagogue", inaugurated in 1886. It was demolished, and on its territory stands today a private villa. The rabbi here was Rabbi Yitzchak Rilf

The address: Grstägatvio 4

The pioneer (Chaluts) house

One of the most interesting Jewish sites in Memel is the "Beit Ha-Chaluts" ("pioneer house"). In the 19th and 20th centuries, Memel was one of the centers of Zionism in Europe. In 1927, Rabbi Rabinowitz established the Beit Ha-Chaluts home, where young Jews were trained in agriculture, prior to their immigration to Israel. The Jewish community organized work and training at 13 farms surrounded the city

The building also served as a meeting place for Zionist intellectuals from Russia and for meetings of Memel's youth. 600 Jewish pioneers from all over Eastern Europe passed through this pioneer house. This was when there were about 7,000 Jews living in Memel, which constituted about 15% of the city's resident

The address: Skerdėjų 3

In front of the pioneer house we see an empty lot. Here stood the old Mikveh. The building was destroyed, but the location was preserved

Address: Skerdėjų 4

Religious Jewish School

The chief rabbi of Klaipeda after Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was Rabbi Dr. Yitzhak Rilf, who also had great charity. Therfore they called him "Hilf" instead of "Rilf". ("Hilf" is "help" in German).         i

Rabbi Dr. Rilf also established "ISRAELITIC RELIGIONS SCHULE", a religious school for the children of the Jewish community in 1880. Jewish students attended general schools before noon, and in the afternoon came to this school to study Holy Torah lessons and Hebrew Language. Boys and girls studied in separate classes in Hebrew, German, mathematics and other core studies. Core classes were held in Hebrew, and in 1927 a Talmud Torah was opened for the ultra-Orthodox children, and in 1936 another Jewish school was opened where they studied all day

On the outer wall of the synagogue there are now two stone signs in memory of Rabbi Rilf, and in memory of his student, David Wolfson, who lived in the house opposite the school. Both established the local branch of the Zionist movement. David Wolfson of Klaipeda was the artist who designed the Israeli flag. He also gave the Israeli currency its name "Shekel".          i

The address: Grstägatvio 6

The Jewish Hospital

For many years, a Jewish hospital operated in a private house near the Polish synagogue. In 1898 the new Jewish hospital was inaugurated. The lot was purchased by Leopold Alexander, and the building and equipment were purchased with donation from Baroness Clara Hirsc

Address: Galini Pylimo 3

In 1664, a Dutch Jewish man, Moshe Jakobson de Young, arrived in Memel. He became rich in the Netherlands from salt trade. He also developed the trade in Memel, and became an exporter of lemon fruits and construction trees. This made Memel an important city. He brought with him Jewish aides and also a rabbi and cantor and slaughterer, and thus the first Jewish community was established in Memel. 20 years later he went bankrupt and returned to the Netherlands. But his son stayed, and established a large and famous pharmacy that was activating in the city for many generations. Five years ago, his descendants sold the building, provided it would continue to serve forever only as a pharmacy. But the buyer failed to meet this obligation, turning the place into a medical spa

The address: Tiltų 6

After World War I, Memel was annexed to Lithuania, and the Jewish community grew greatly. The city's chief rabbi between two wars was Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Rabinowitz, one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement in Lithuania. He greatly influenced the Zionism of the Jews of Memel

The Hebrew Printing House

In the Memel farmer's market there were also stands of Jewish books, especially SIDURIM and CHUMASH. The Jewish peddlers from Eastern Europe who came to the market for their trade, were returning to their homes in Russia loaded with Hebrew holy books. In the market square in the Klaipeda there was a printing press in which Jewis holy books were printed, as well as stories books and newspapers in Hebrew and Yiddish. The printing house was belonged to the Fuan brothers, and the building is still stands in the square in houses 7-9

In houses 15 and 17 in the same market square were the offices of the Inbar Mining Company. The senior partner was a Jew named Maurice Bicker. At his time, he was considered to be the richest man in Lithuania, and was known as a philanthropist who supported many Yeshivot and Jewish communities, as well as Christian institutions

The Jewish heritage sites in this article cover only some of the Jewish places in the city. If we wish to expand and to become familiar with more Jewish history

We'd search in Google other Jewish places, such as: Leo Roztovsky, director of the Jewish Hospital. The Jewish Bank building, the house of Wilhelm Stentian, Baker's partner. Beit Yosef Abelman, a wealthy Jewish merchant. Dr. Julius Pindikowski, Chief Physician of the Jewish Hospital. Morris Cohen House, and his clothing store, and more

There are many Jewish heritage sites in Lithuania, and the Ministry of Tourism of Lithuania is sympathetic with them. The Lithuanian Ministry of Tourism had connected me with the best tourist guide for Judaism in Klaipeda, Mrs. Lorenzia Boudreate

For several years, Lorenzia has been researching Jewish aspects of the city. She discovered things and places that were unknown to the general public and other tour guides. Many Israelis arrive at Klaipeda, where Cruising ships to the Baltic Sea are anchored. On the land excursion tours passengers are taken to general tourist sites in the city, which are not related to Judaism. I have been able to see and understand the Jewish sites described in this article thanks to this excellent guide. For those who want to enjoy a Jewish spiritual experience in the Klaipeda, I recommend emailing her for a personal or group tour. Her email: laurencija.budryte@gmail.com