Simon Dach Progymnasium

The first girls’ primary school building was built on this site in 1855. It was a one-story masonry building. Next to it was a barn for keeping teachers’ animals. In 1880, the building was enlarged, and the second floor was added. In 1881, the girls’ high school moved to the building from Ligoninė (Lazaret) Street. Because of the nearby park, the united school was officially named the Park School. The training here lasted seven years. In 1911, the secondary school classes were moved to Auguste Victoria Lyceum and the school became a primary school again. After the lyceum began to train folk school teachers, the students had the pedagogical practice at this school until 1924. In 1923, the Lithuanian language became compulsory. 374 girls studied at the school at that time. In 1924 the English Language course was introduced in the fifth form. In 1936, the school already had 695 students. There were 18 classes and 18 teachers (16 women and 2 men).

The appearance of the school changed the most in the third decade of the 20th century, when an extension was built according to the project of the city architect Paul Giesing. The cube in the center of the two-story building, with its massive rectangular columns, transitioning to semicircular arches at the top, not only connects the old and new buildings, but also gives the structure expression and grandeur. It is interesting that the architect’s wife – Freya Giesing (nee Niese), who worked as a drawing teacher at Auguste Victoria Gymnasium,   also contributed to the creation of the school’s interior. Her work is a former large window with fairy-tale heroes in the landing. After the reconstruction, the school was named after the poet Simon Dach, who was born in Klaipėda (then Memel) in the 17th century. During the World War II, boys also studied at the school. After the war a Russian language school operated in the annex of the building. Since 1975 there was the VII Lithuanian secondary school. The modern reconstruction of the school modernized the building even more. And although now the building is of the same height, the old school building, a great example of modernist architecture of the first half of the 20^th century, has been well accentuated by colors. In 1995, the school was named after Simon Dach again.