A Bust, Dedicated to Liudvikas Stulpinas

In July, 1991, a commemorative plaque and a bust were placed and unveiled on the building at 7 Sankryžos st., where Liudvikas Stulpinas, the first captain of the Klaipėda Port, lived. It was made by sculptor Justas Mickevičius and architect Petras Šadauskas. The port captain’s council was settled in Stulpinas’ house.
Liudvikas Stulpinas was born on December 4th, 1871, in Jomantai, which is in the Telšiai district. When he was 15 years old, he worked as a junior sailor in a Latvian sail-boat in Liepaja. Later, he studied in the Liepaja Navigation School. He was the captain of ships such as Lithuania, Birma, and Russia.
In 1918, he became the consul for the Republic of Lithuania in Liepaja. In 1923, he became the captain of the Klaipėda Port, and worked as the captain until his death. In 1929, Stulpinas received the Great Duke Gediminas IV Medal.
Liudvikas Stulpinas died on July 15th, 1934, in Klaipėda. The captain, who once served the country in its independence, was forgotten during the Soviet times. Only in 1988 did an activist group form and strived to commemorate Liudvikas Stulpinas. The chairman of said group was Kazimieras Povilaitias. In June of 1990, the monument in the Smiltynė cemetery was restored. In 1991, a medal was created – the Liudvikas Stulpinas, the Captain of the Seas medal. In 1997, the Klaipėda 28th secondary school was named after Liudvikas Stulpinas. In 2006, the first Klaipėda Port captain’s museum was established in this school. In 2008, a documentary about Stulpinas was made, titled Liudvikas Stulpinas. The First Captain of the Klaipėda Port.