The Dangė warehouse

Since the middle of the 16th till the end of the 18th century Klaipėda port was located in the Dangė river and extended for about 3 km from the mouth of the river. The left bank of Dangė in the 16th century was already built up with warehouses and trade was constantly taking place here. The warehouses in Memel (now Klaipėda) were half-timbered constructions, but after the great fire of the city in 1854 it was forbidden to build wooden buildings in the old town, so the burned areas on the river embankment were built up with red brick warehouses. After the war, most of the warehouses were demolished, the previous construction of the harbor quays can be illustrated by two red brick warehouses (buildings 8 and 12 on Žveių St.) built after the great fire of 1860-1871.

Neo-Gothic elements can be seen in the architecture of warehouses – they have stepped pediments, the niches juos atkartojančios nišos that echo them; the facades decorated with decorative bands. Both warehouses have high gable roofs, are rectangular in plan and two stories high. Due to the structural similarities, the locals nicknamed the warehouses ‘Two Brothers’.

Warehouse at 8 Žvejų St. 8 was built in 1861. It was called Dange-Speicher (Dange Warehouse). A space was left next to the warehouse to collect water from the river in case of fire. The building was used to store herring, later flax tow, linseed, and then writing materials and school supplies.