Klaipėda signs on city streets

Each city is specific and has something that allows you to distinguish it from other cities, to imagine something when you hear its name and to recognize it when you arrive. Klaipėda is an extraordinary city. It is unique in Lithuania simply because it has an industrial port, is located not only by the lagoon, but also by the sea; and one very small part of it – Smiltynė – is on the peninsula. For most people who live elsewhere and come to Klaipėda only in summer, the city is probably associated with the sea, beaches and ships…

Klaipėda is the oldest city on the territory of present-day Lithuania with the oldest heraldic sign-coat of arms. In 2022, Klaipėda celebrated its 770th anniversary. On that occasion, the Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library of Klaipėda County prepared an exclusive exhibition about the signs of the city and presented in detail the history of the coat of arms of Klaipėda and the range of its ​​usage. The exhibition inspired the creation of this route. While traveling on it, you will learn which buildings are decorated and/or were decorated with the coat of arms of Klaipėda, and the meaning of the depicted signs.  It will help you to find the coat of arms of Klaipėda on many objects: on some it is clearly visible, highlighted, and on others it is as if ‘hidden’. By following the “footprints” of the coat of arms, you will get to know part of the city’s history: how Klaipėda developed, why it has such an old-town street grid, when the city minted its own money, which Klaipėda citizens’ feet are imprinted on the city’s pavement and why the first information pole appeared near Biržos Bridge and who erected it.  You will also learn the history of the Klaipėda Town Hall and the theater.

The route was created during the implementation of the “Klaipėda signs and their dissemination” project, which was supported by the Klaipėda City Municipality. It consists of 15 objects. If you travel on foot, you will cover the 2.5 km route in 2 hours.