The Klaipėda Sculpture Park

The Klaipėda Sculpture Park was established in the central part of the city in 1977. Just 40 years ago, this was the location of an abandoned cemetery. Various sources claim that over 40,000 inhabitants of Old Klaipėda could have been buried here, among which there could be some activists from Lithuania Minor.

During and after the war, Klaipėda has lost a majority of its German inhabitants, and when the Soviet Union took over the city, anything that was considered German was being removed. The old tombstones with German writings were being turned over, the graves were being robbed and vandalised and the fences and plates were being reused in other constructions. Thus, the cemetery eventually turned into a grassy and bushy plane. In 1975, the Soviet Government decided to eliminate the cemetery and to build a park there.

Today, the Sculpture Park is home to 116 different statues. Said statues were created during the Smiltynė Sculptors Symposium (1977-1991) by 67 different sculptors. Sculptors Symposiums took place during the summer and was one of the most significant cultural initiative of the time and it was not only in the city – it was a national. In 1986, the Klaipėda Sculpture Park was declared a local natural monument. Every sculpture in the park tells a story and bears a certain meaning, significance, and idea.

The Sculpture Park has tombstones from the 19th and 20th centuries, which greatly speak of the city’s history. When Lithuania’s independence was restored, some people started to rebuild the tombstones in the southern part of the park, bringing in flowers and candles. In some places, one could even see small hills, where people were buried.