From Memelburg to Klaipėda : The history of Fortress Sieges

 I always look forward to a trip to Klaipėda. And not because the weather is different there, you can feel the sea breeze. But it is also great opportunity to watch the ships passing by. At the same time you can feel that the Lithuanians have been ruling Klaipėda for more than  70 years, but it is still  separated from the rest of Lithuania by a certain separation. But maybe this is natural thing ?

Part I. Medieval Crossrods of Swords: How the Samogitians Besieged Memel

1252 The Livonian Orders Master Eberhard von Seyn, together with the Courland Bishop Heinrich, reaches a strategically important place - here the Nemunas (the Germans called Memel) flows in to the see. 

They needed springboard that would connect the lands of the Livonian Order with the Teutonic Order in Prussia. Right here stands a wooden castle called Memelburg. For the Samogitians , this fortress was like a thorn in their throat. It blindly blocked their direct access to the Baltic sea and cut through the lands of the Baltic tribes. The knights of the Order had not yet had time to settle down properly when the peace of the surrounding forests was pierced by the trumpets of war. The century - long nightmare of the Memelburg began. 

The first trails : fire and catapults

In the spring of 1253 , barely after the first construction was completed , the castle was surrounded by a joint army of Samogitians and Curonians. The strategy was simple , but cruel - hunger and fire. The Lithuanians arranged wooden towers arround the castle, from which they pelted the captured with flaming arrows and stones. The knights defended themselves fiercery , and the castle walls withstood the first baptism, but it was only an overture. The citys greatest test ofthe 13th century came in 1258. The Samogitians returned stronger, better prepared, and driven by indomitable range. They burned down the German posad (settlment outside the castle walls) that had just begun to grow. Chronicals mention that the castle was surrounded so blindly that "neither a bird could fly out nor a beast escape". The defenders starved, ate horse meat and leather belts. Only by a hair`s breadth, after receiving reinforcements by sea  from Konigsberg, did the knigths manage to repel the attackers. 

Gediminas`Wrath and Strategic Pressure

In the 14th century, then Lithuania was ruled by the great strategist Duke Gediminas, Klaipėda suffered another crushing blow. In 1323. Gediminas`army , in revenge for the Order`s campaigns in the devastated Aukštaitija and Samogitia , reached Memel.  The Lithuanians did not used sophisticated siege engines - they chose the tactics of economic warfare . They completely burned the city itself, destroyed the port warehouses, the surrounding mills and villages, and left the castle itself isolated. Gediminas understood : if you can`t take the stone walls, make them so that they have nothing to defend. After this attack, the Order was forced to sign a truce, and the city linced his wounds for decades.  This first century of Klaipeda`s existance formed a unique feature of the city - the phenomenom of isolation. Memel was a German island surrounded by the Baltics. It survived only thanks to the fact  that it always had the sea. and a fleet behind it, which could bring in food and soldiers. The Samoginians never took the castle, but they achieved their coal - the city remained only the military post for a long time, and not a thriving trading center. 

Part II.The Swedish Flood and the Seven Yaer`s war: When the City Became a Geopolitical Prey

The 17th and 18th centuries brought a new reality to Klaipeda (Memelis). The city was no longer just a small wooden castle of the Order surrounded by pagans - now it was strategically important port of the Duchy of Prussia. Because of it, the great empires of Europe clashed, and military technology advanced: swords and bows were replaced by muskets, heavy artillery and modern land fortifications. Klaipeda turned into a modern land fortress, and its inhabitants became a hostages to the ambitions to the great powers. 

Swedish occupation: a port built with the their own money

In the 1629, one of the most powerful European armies of that time entered the history of Klaipeda - the Swedes, led by the king Carl Gustav II Adolf. As the Thirty Year`s War raged in Europe, Sweden sought complete control of the Baltis Sea. The Prussian hero and Elector Georg Wilhelm was too weak to resist, so Klaipeda surrendered to the Sweden without much bloodshed, but with great fear.  The Swedish occupation, which lasted until 1635, left a deep mark on the city. The Swedes understood that the port of Klaipeda was a "golden vein", so they introduced huge duties on trade. Paradoxically , it was from this money, collected from local merchants, that Swedish enginerees began to build a modern defense system for the city of Klaipeda - they poured the firts earthen bastions, which later evolved into the Jonas Hill we know today. The city became modern, inaccesesible fortress, surrounded by moats.

The Hell of 1757: The Seven Year`s War and the Russian Empire`s Strike

The greatest tragedy of that era befell Klaipeda in the summer of 1757, when Europe was torn apart by the Seven Year`s War. The Prussian King Frederick the Great was at war with half of Europe, and from the east a huge army of the Russian Empire, led by General William Fermor, supported by  the powerfull Baltic fleet, moved towards Memel. The garrison of Klaipeda was small, and defens was led by an elderly commandant , but the city did not intend to surrender without a fight. At the end of June, the Russian fleet blocked the port from the sea, and the land army surrounded thecity from the east . A terible bombardment of Klaipeda began. Russian war ships and land batteries  fired thousands of incendiary and explosive charges into the city center. Witnesses wrote that the city turned into real hell: church towers burned , half-timbered houses collapsed like matchboxes, and residents hid in the cestle cellars and bastion`s porters. Realizing that the city would be completly wiped off the face of the earth, and there were no reinforcements, the commandant surrendered. For the five year`s 1757-1762 Klaipeda was officially annexed to the Russian empire . Local residents and merchants were forced to swear allegians to the Russian empress Elizabeth. This period , paradoxically, was not economically disastrous for the city - Russian officers liked the local taverns, trade with the Russian hinterland revived, but Klaipeda forever remembered what modern artillery fire meant. Klaipeda survived again and after the war Prussian crown returned. Only to briefly become Prusia`s own lifeline and temporary capital, fleeing Napoleon, half of century later (1807).   

The Interwar Period. The Baltic Gold Ruch : Wood, the English and the Industrial Boom

Ahter the Seven Year`s War and a brief period as the capital of Prussia (1807-1808), Klaipeda shed its armor of a purely military fortress and opened its gates to global capital. The city realized its greatest asset - its geographical location on the border of the Nemunas delta, which was ideal for the export of raw materials. Klaipeda`s great economic boom began.

Number One Timber Port

In the 19th century, Klaipeda became the most famous timber trading port in the entire Baltic Sea. Logs flowing through the forest of Lithuania and Belarus reached the Nemunas in bundles, and from there - the Klaipeda lumber mils. This business attracted powerful merchants from Western Europe, especialy from Great Britain. In 1792 alone, as many as 756 British ships visited the port, carrying the timbe for the Royl Navy. A large English community settled in the city, a British consulate opened, and the local elite adopted British fashions. Started establishing football clubs    and sipping tea. English and Scottish capital also laid the fondations for Klaipeda`s first metalworking and mashine-building industry. 

Amber mines and cellulose giants

In the second half of the century, the city entered heavy industry. Since 1862, the famous "Stantien & Becker" company began to industrially mine amber at the bottom of the lagoon near Juodkrante, becaming the largest in all of the Eastern Prussia andextracting thousands of tons of amber, which traveled as far as Asia. And at the end of the 19th century, the silhouette of the port city was complemented by gigantic industrial chimneys - a cellulose factory opened its doors, which soon became the largest enterprise in the region. Klaipeda cellulose and plywood were valued throughout Europe, then Klaipeda remaining neutral, accumulated fabulous wealth from the transit of Russian goods.

Lithuania`s interwar maritim leap

After the events of the 1923 uprising, when the Klaipeda region was annexed to Lithuania, the city underwent another economic transformation. Until then, it had been a corner of the Germain Empire, Berlin invested more in Königsbeg . Klaipeda became  Lithuania`s only window to the world. The Rebuplic of Lithuania has directed huge investmets here. Wood export was supplemented by the food industry : the "Maisto" factory, the modern textile factory "Goliotas" and the joint- stock company "Lietuvos muilas" flourished in Klaipeda. The port was dredged, modernized and the first mechant fleet of independent Lithuania began to be the base there. During the interwar period as much as 70% of Lithuania`s total foreign trade turnover passed through Klaipeda. The city became a modern, cosmopolitan and prosperous industrial center.   Where Lithuanian, German and Jewish capital intertwined. It was this extraordinary matirial and industrial wealth created over two centuries that made Klaipeda such as diserable and painful target for both warring sides in the autumn apocalypse of 1944. 

Part III.The Apocalypse of 1945 : When the Time Stood Still  and the City Empty

The 20th century brought Klaipeda not just another siege, but the complete end of the old world. After the 1923 uprising and a short but intensive interwar period of Lithuanian rule, the city was annexed by Nazi Germany  in 1939. However, the greatest tragedy began in the fall of 1944, when the Soviet army approached the bordes of the Third Reich, Klaipeda became one of the most fortified places on the Eastern front - operation historically known as an the"Memel Pocket"- Bruckenkopf Memel - began. 

Bruckenkopf Memel - a steel bridgehead

In early October 1944, Soviet troops reached the Baltic coast at Palanga in a suddan offensive and completely cut off Klaipeda from the rest of the German mainland. The city became a surrounded island, with the Curonian Spit and the sea as its only connection to the outside world. Adolf Hitler ordered Klaipeda to be defended to the last drop of blood, declaring it a fortress. The German army formed fhree powerful defensive lines around the city, dotted with trenches, reinforced concrete bunkers and tank trenches. This relatively small garrison was supported from the sea by the German navy - the legendary cruisers "Priz Eugen" and "Lutzow". With their huge caliber guns, they destroyd Soviet positions on land from sea, preventing them from breaking through the front line. The siege lasted almost four months. In winter, the ground was frozen and the city was shaken day and nigth by the explosions of Soviet artillery and aviation bombs. The old town , which had stood for centuries, turned into a pile of smoking ruins. 

  The Great Escape and the Sea That Became Hope

The most terrible part of this siege was the humanitarian catastrophe. The city`s inhabitants - the Memelander`s - understood that the approaching Soviet army would not bring liberation.  At the end of 1944 and in January 1945 , a mass, desperate evacuation began. Thousand of civilians, women with children and elderly, leaving behind all their life`s possessions , walked and in horse-drawn carriages across the frozen Curonian Lagoon towards Nida and further towards Königsberg.   The ice cracked from bomb explosions, dozens of carriages sank to the deepths and the rest froze in the ice wind.  Another part of the populiation was evacuated by ship directly from the port of Klaipeda. This was the part of the great "Hannibal" operation, during which the Germans rescued millions of refugees from East Prussia by sea. 

Collapse and emptiness: 1945 January 28

The desition to abandon the city was made only when the defense lost its strategic meaning. At the end of January 1945, German soldiers secretly moved across lagoon to the Curonian Spite at nigth, blowing up the port facillities, bridges and remaining factories along the way. When the Red army soldiers entered Klaipeda on the morning of January 28th, they found not a surrandered city, but a terrible, smoking desert. Chronicals and soldiers mention that there was almost no one left in the city - only the wind driving paper bags throuth the empty streets and starving domestic dozens civilians remained in the city. This was greatest and final collaps of old Klaipeda. The city did not die physically - about 60% of the buildings were destroyed or damaged - but the spirit, culture and community, which created this land for almost 700 years died.  

Conclution : Phoenix above the waves of the Dange

The history of the Klaipeda is a constant cycle between ambitious prosperity and total destruction. Samogitian axes, Swedish muskets, Russian artillery and Sovet bombers repeatedly tried to erase this city from the map. However every time the dust of war settled, the voices of axes  and builders were heard again at the mounth of the Dange. After the catastrophe of the 1945 the city was repopulated - people from all over Lithuania  and the Soviet Union came here, creating a completely new  demographic and cultural fabric. Today`s Klaipeda is a monument to human stubbornness and the ability to rise from the ashes. Carrying within  itself the deep and scarred   marks of old sieges.

In a memory of Gintaras Beresnevičius

                        In  memory of Gintaras Beresnevičius

                            Lithuanian landscape /Ramūnas Kačiušis

Gintaras remained in my memory as a lecturer at Vytautas Magnus university. Now I do not remember exactly which semester it was , maybe at 1993. He taught a course with general title - Lithuanian culture. Recently he has defended his dissertation - The Concept of the Afterlife in the Ancient Lithuanian Worldview. I think that for us, first and second year students , it was kind of summary of the dissertation. In short , he was perhaps the best researcher and expert on the Baltic religion . And you could feel that he was an exceptional lecturer from the concentrated and full auditorium at the university. I would say he was archeologist and reconstructor of the intangible  Baltic heritage. Listening to his lectures it seemed that the entire Baltic tribe or army were standing behind his shoulders. 

Even more tragic is that his creative path was cut short as quickly as he created.

                                                    Gintaras Beresnevičius

 I would like to present a translation of Gintaras' text for All Souls' Day(Vėlinės).

                                                                                 xxx

All Souls' Day and Halloween are holidays that respond differently to the question - how to behave before the challenge of death? This is the response of different civilizations.

The Baltic civilization responds with seriousness, the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic - with a commotion of fear. The Baltic tradition invites spirits, the Anglo-Saxon one seeks to scare them away.

We are a very serious audience, and I like the Lithuanian response better. During All Souls' Day, we go to the dead, flooding the cemeteries...

We ourselves turn to our ancestors. The Celts avoided setting foot outside the threshold of their homes on that day, and especially at night - because then the gates of hell open, the dead, witches, and spirits rage right outside the window. Lithuanians also know that during All Souls' Day, spirits travel, move, and gather in cemeteries. And our response is - if the spirits come, we must meet them.

We very often overlook the power of our tradition.

In this case, it is harmony, a covenant with the ancestors, communion. It is the realization that the ancestors and we, the living and the dead, are one.

The meeting of the dead confirms this once again. There is absolutely no fear in it. Let's say, the Anglo-Saxon mentality, or nowadays the mass culture identical to it, eliminates death from circulation. One could say out of fear.

Why such different concepts of death? There are, of course, more than one reason. But first of all, such a feature would catch the eye here - our concept of death unites everyone first of all. From the point of view of modern Western culture, death is a terrible, irreversible, insurmountable separation, the destruction of life.

                                                 Gintaras Beresnevičius - Dausos

If death were to become conscious, the entire mass culture complex would appear meaningless, the entire passion for consumption would lose its meaning. The consumer is immortal, that idea was instilled in him by advertising. And he dies surprised and offended. Probably. After all, mass culture said nothing about this...

For the Lithuanian tradition, death is a bridge over the abyss, for the modern Western one - the abyss itself. Of course, there is a metaphysical tradition, many archaic peoples from the aborigines in Australia to the tribes of West Africa, from the Chinese to the American Indians have maintained a special, calm, trusting relationship with the dead.

Lithuanians also intervene here, this is not a religious outburst. Religious scandal arises at the very moment when the abyss begins to separate from the dead, standing face to face with the dead, with ancestors is a natural religious state.

The Romans felt it perfectly, medieval Europe did not lose it, But - the Middle Ages, but - the Romans. We have maintained it, maybe because of a special metaphysical sensitivity. Maybe because of isolation, closure.

Anyway, it is not a shame to maintain that communion with ancestors, which Rome and China knew, or the Japanese do not know, or the last riddle of the Earth - the aborigines.

Shameful is the fear of ancestors, the ability to stand face to face with them - the prerogative of the strong ...

Occupation of the Baltic countries and Chiune Sugihara

 

                                                      Chiune Sugihara in Kaunas 

 I wanted to write about the events in Lithuania in the summer of 1940 for a long time, but I could not figure out how to do it . Let me remind you that we are talking about the occupation of the Baltic republics, which was carried out almost simultaneously and using the same methodology. It is true that everyone somehow forgets the fact that Finland should have been in this company as well. According to the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement, the line was drawn not only through the Baltic countries, Poland, Romania, but also Finland. Many thougth that non - aggresion deal beetwen the USSR and Germany was useful for the Baltics states. On September 29 , 1939 , the Soviets invited Lithuanian delegation to Moscow where they were presented with a cooperation agreement . The Soviet Union offered to hand over Vilnius , it was just torned from occupied Poland , but in return Red army would deploy 20 000 troops in the country. The Soviet negotators sad that Lithuania was given to them and no one would help. In November Smetona ordered to prepare tor the possible tragic scenario. The country tranferred the treasury abroad, made agreement for the governmet - in- exile and withdrawing the Lithuanian military to East Prussia. Many lithuanians accepted the soviets bases in their country as a pragmatic result of the war. The international community accepted the occupaniont of the Baltic states as a realpolitiq of the day. On June 14 , 1940 Soviets issued an ultimatum for the Lithuania, demanding to form new government and let free movement of Red Army in the country. The government decided not to inform the press. During the overnight discusions the covernment was split on wtheather to accept or reject the Soviet ultimatum. Military leaders concidered that the resistence would result pointless bloodshel. Smetona was thinking politicaly and called to withdraw and send a clear signal to Europe that the country is under occupation. At that time international press was focused on the French capitulation and the besieged British forces in Dunkirk. The eventes in the Baltics only caught atention several days later. In Lithuania the scale of the tragedy were understood only later, when the killings began. 

                                           Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of planned division of Central Europe@wikipedia

Lithuania is occupied on June 15, 15 divisions - about 150,000 soldiers - enter Lithuania. Not wanting to accept this, Smetona retreats to the west. Powers are transferred to the unpopular Prime Minister Merkis. The Soviets struck a very favorable moment in the context of world events, on June 14, German troops occupied Paris. The France is attracting the world's attention. On the other hand, the emissaries sent by the Soviets skillfully pretended that Smetona's government had collapsed.  There was no force to gather the resistance, nationalists were demoralized after Smetona fled. Other parties were also weak after the ban on parties in 1936. And the active ones were quickly banned, like the Rifle union, and the Seimas is dismissed. 

Only communists are admitted to the civil service. Illegal elections to the People's Seimas are held and on July 21, Soviet  announced Lithuania as a Soviet Socialist Republic. 

The Lithuanian army was reorganized - from 32,000 in August 1940, there were only 8,000 in June 1941. The remaining soldiers were dismissed or arrested and shot or exiled. By June 1941, most of the companies operating in Lithuania were nationalized. The litas are withdrawn from circulation. Mass repression begins.

                                  Soviet soldiers cross the USSR–Lithuanian border in June 1940

According to the same scenario, Latvia and Estonia were occupied on June 17.

But before that, it was Poland's turn. According to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement, Poland was first invaded by Germany and soon by the Soviet Union. Many refugees came to Lithuania from occupied Poland. According to data from July 1940, there were 21,700 Poles and 11,000 Jews in Lithuania, as well as about 15,000 interned Polish soldiers.

In the first days of the Second World War, in September 1939, Chiunė Sugihara also arrived in Lithuania. He was supposed to open the Japanese consulate in Kaunas. Who was Chiune Sugihara?

                                                            Japanese consulate in Kaunas

He was a diplomat, or in other words, a Japanese intelligence officer with a diplomatic cover. He comes to Kaunas from Helsinki and rents a house from Professor Juoz Tonkūnas, where the consular office is established. Officially, it was a branch of the Riga embassy for the development of economic issues. And in fact, he was tasked with collecting data on the Soviet presence on the border for diplomatic and intelligence purposes. I would like to remind you that according to the mutual aid agreement between Lithuania and the Soviet Union, by accepting the Vilnius region, Lithuania in turn undertakes to admit Soviet troops, the agreement was signed in Moscow on October 10, 1939. The same agreements were signed with Latvia and Estonia. A contingent of 20,000 Soviet soldiers was stationed in Lithuania. This was the beginning of the loss of independence.

Let's go back to Chiune Sugihara. He was born on January 1, 1900 in a rural Japanese province. He studied quite well, but he fails the medical exam and cannot continue his studies in that direction. Although he is more interested in other fields and enters Waseda University, where he studies English literature. A year later, he passes the competitive exam for the diplomatic civil service. Originally in Harbin , China. The city appeared thanks to the Russian railway. A large Russian and Jewish community lived there. While working here, Čiunė learned Russian and German, which would later have a significant impact on his life. He was a member of the Manchurian government and participated in negotiations with Soviet Russia regarding the takeover of the railway . It is interesting that while he was in Manchuria, he married a Russian emigrant Klaudia and because of that he converted to Orthodoxy. The marriage did not last long, after a conflict with his authorities, he left his post in Manchuria , and with him his wife. He returns to Japan and married a Japanese woman there, receives new assignments in Moscow and Helsinki. And soon in 1939 he moved to Kaunas, Lithuania. The reason for Ciune's transfer was his qualifying skills. Japan had limited cooperation with Germany and was very concerned about what kind of game Germany was up to here, having established friendly relations with Soviet Russia. In order for Japan to gather more information about this, Chiune was tasked with establishing relations with Polish intelligence officials.

Sugihara's intelligence report was sent on July 31, 1940

And his later decision to start handing out visas to Jewish refugees, it can be said that it stems from the data obtained from his professional activity about the real situation in Europe, but also from the whole of his decision as a Christian. 

Jews way to leave Europe

On June 15, 1940, after the Soviets occupied Lithuania, the Jews started looking for ways to leave Lithuania. No one wanted to accept them. But unexpectedly, the Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk comes to their aid. 

Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk

He issues visas to go to Curaçao, a Dutch island in the Caribbean Sea, or to Suriname. But in order to reach them, these visas are not enough, because Europe is already under the control of Nazi Germany and the only way is through the Soviet Union, the new host of Lithuania. But that requires a Japanese transit visa. The Jews appeal to Chiune about these visas, he writes an appeal to his authorities, but receives a largely negative response regarding visas, but there was a more moderate attitude towards transit visas. He makes up his mind and starts issuing visas at will. It is said that up to 10,000 people could be saved this way. It is interesting that the Soviets did not object to the Jews traveling through their territory. Of course, the price of travel tickets has been raised more than once. Even after the consulate was closed on September 4, he distributed visas even from the departing train from Kaunas to Berlin. The refugees travelled to Japan, Kobe, where there was a Russian Jewish community, and then to other countries. But there was also a considerable part who were unable to leave, so the Japanese government deported them to Shanghai, China. Up to 20,000 of them gathered there, and there they met the end of the war. It is true that Germany put pressure on Japan to punish the Jews. But Japan suddenly disobeyed. It is believed that they wanted to repay the debt for a loan received from Jewish bankers from New York during the Russo-Japanese War. Another version claims that the rabbis managed to convince the authorities that Jews are closer to Asian roots than Germans.

Jew - Polish girl

Sugihara's fate was not easy. Although the Japanese government was still concerned about Sugihara's abilities, there was no repression. He was transferred to the Kingdom of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bucharest. There he accepted the Soviet occupation; he was ordered to be arrested and imprisoned. He was released in 1946 and returned to Japan the same way as the Jews, via the Trans-Siberian railway and by ship from Nakhodka. The US administration has significantly reduced the number of employees at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chiune was among those laid off. In 1950, he got a job at a trade agency and lived alone in Moscow for 16 years. Until the adviser of the Israeli embassy contacted him in 1968, he was already invited to Israel the following year, where he was accepted into the government. In 1985, he was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. He died a year later.

 

                                                            Chiune Sugihara museum in Kaunas

Streets in Vilnius and Kaunas are named after him. A museum established at his workplace operates in Kaunas. He received recognition in Japan only after his death. When Jews from all over the world gathered for his funeral, the Israeli ambassador arrived. The Tsuruga Museum, the place where refugees landed in Japan after a long and tiring journey, has been opened.

 What about those whose   Lithuania lost. Scientists calculates​ that Lithuania lost 1 million 100 thousand in 1940-1958 . 300 thousand were imprisoned​ , killed or taken to Siberia. 300 thousand became war and Nazis occupation victims , including about 210 thousand Lithuanian Jews . 1944-1947 forcibly fled from Lithuania about 500 thousand.

It is said that if not these adversity in Lithuania would live about 5 million population, the same amount lives in Finland, Denmark,  Ireland or in Norway.

In summary we can say , Chiune Sugihara was extremely good , offending own professional subordination and sharing visa . ​Maybe that's why  Japanese tourists travel to Kaunas and attends   museum . Chune Sugihara becoming lighthouse of 20th century, he illuminates Japan`s history .

Sugihara park was established in Vilnius in 2001.To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.

200 sakura trees donated by the Japanese government have been planted in the park.Sakuras are important part of Japanese culture. Every year in Japan , the Hanami festival is held, during which millions of people gather in varios parts of the country to observe sakura blossoms. It is interesting that due to the cooler climet in Lithuania, Japanese cherries open later than in Japan. 

The day before occupation, there took place meeting of the president, government and the army commander meeting. Army  units were waiting for  order . It was said that Lithuania in a week theoretically could mobilize 70 thousand prepared reserve soldiers. ​Maybe  Lithuanian example would be an example for Latvians and Estonians​.  And then the 200 thousands Soviets woud not be so impressively much .

But no order was given,  It wasn't a single shot was fired . 

How said one Swedish Diplomat,  after all you didn't resist.

As Europe was burning , only the US reacted differently : on the 23 July, 1940, US secretary of State Sumner Welles made his famous anouncement that the US does not recognise the incorporation of the three Baltic states into the Soviet Union. 

The Baltic countries regained their independence in 1990.

 

Riga

 

Riga

Riga is Latvian capital and the largest capital of the Baltic States, with about 700,000 inhabitants. Due to its position and historical background, it has become a trading center. Riga is 1/3 less than Vilnius in areal, but it has about 80000 more inhabitants.

 Legend saying that  in the cave in river lived a giant Christopher, who helped people move across the river. One night, a terrible storm hapend, when Christopher heard the baby crying. The giant got out of his cave and found a baby in the dark. He took him to himself, fed him, and laid him in his bed. Walking up in the morning he did not find the child, but there was a lot of gold in the cave.  And he built the city of Riga.
There is a sculpture on the bank of the Daugava to remember him.

 It is easy to get to Riga by bus, car and ferry. Riga is very popular among weekend travelers, so the trip should be planned in advance, as prices rise.

Rigas Old Town is included in the UNESCO list of cultural heritage in recognition of its Art Nouveau architecture. Riga is rich in Gothic churches, built by Riga's founder Livonian Order and Riga Archbishop.
Getting to know Riga is not a necessity to stay in the city center,it makes  very easy to reach the city's sights on foot. In the Old Town you must visit St. Peter, St. John, and St. Jacob's Churches.
The history of Riga begins settled by Livs and Kurs.It was used by vikings trade route to Byzantium.Place was good for trade, natural harbor located at the mouth of the Daugava River.
The date of the Riga City is considered to be 1201 years with arrival of Crusades. The first missions to the Baltic States were launched at the end of the 12th century. After a series of successful marches in 1197-1199, a colony of German knights was established along the river Daugava. It was founded by Bishop Albert (Albert von Buxhowden, 1165-1229), who was the founder of the Order of the Swords. Later, in 1255, an archbishop settled in Riga, who will have a significant role in the further development of the city. Also in relations with neighbors Lithuanians.
In 1282, the city became a member of the Hanseatic League. From the founding of Riga until the 16th century, only Germans lived in the city. The German administration tried to keep this German island in the Baltic environment, limiting Latvian residence rights.

In the old town, the eyes are trapped behind the ornate palaces, named as the home of blackhead knights. It was a brotherhood house, owned by unmarried foreign merchants, celebrated in a fun way. Their name stems from the fact that the founder of the fraternity was black, St. Mauritania, a former Roman legionary, martyr. The association was active in Livonia, and we can find its buildings in Tallinn. The members of the Order not only engaged in trade, but also city defense.
After the division of the Livonian Order, the city has been independent since 1561.
1581 comes to the Republic of the Two Nations. From now on, the Germans are losing their exclusive rights.
1621 - 1709 Riga is ruled by Swedes, Latvian itself is named as the golden age.
1710 - 1914 Riga is an integral part of the Russian Empire. But it also brings positivity.

 Riga is becoming the most important port of the empire. The population is growing four times. Half of the population in 1900 was Germans, the other part was Russians and Latvians. The so-called cat house, built in 1910, is built as the city grows. The legend tells us that at that time there was a very rich Latvian merchant who did not belong to any merchant guild, because the Germans did not want to accept it. So he bought a plot in front of one of them and built a house that at its height exceeded the guild house and at that time was considered the highest in Riga. The Germans felt offended and filed a Latvian merchant in court. And he said he couldn't command his animals how they should sit. Finally, the stubborn Latvian was taken to the guild, and the cats did not turn their tails into the guild building, but snapped.

Riga is the most impressive collection of Art Nouveau in the world. The golden age coincided with a sudden economic growth in Riga - a glamorous architectural style, has become popular over the years has become dominant in the city. There are more than 700 art nouveau buildings in the Latvian capital - more than in any other European city. Some of them are in the Old Town, but you will see the most impressive examples of this architectural style on the three streets - Elizabetes, Alberta and Strielnieku.

The art nouveau style began to cross Europe through the 19th century. late 20th century early in the year. Two main branches are distinguished. In Paris and Brussels, curved, swirled decorations prevailed, while straighter lines and more geometric buildings sprouted in Vienna and Glasgow. The cities of Eastern Europe, such as Riga, Prague and Budapest, have inspired Western inspiration with their own traditions and symbols, creating exceptional examples of art nouveau.

 In Latvia, the art nouveau architecture weaves in the threads of different cultures. For example, the most famous architect of this style, Mikhail Eisenstein, was born, raised and studied in Russia, and was inspired by German designers to create inspiration in Latvia. He is considered to be the best creator of art nouveau eclecticism, whose representatives focused on stylistic details of facades.In the 20th century At the beginning of the 19th century, sophistication began to get out of fashion, and the place of national romanticism, which was the result of Latvian national architectural style searches, came to its place. The buildings of that time are full of Latvian folklore symbols and national motifs. After a while, new details on the buildings were inflated with memories of classical Greece and the Roman Empire, as well as Russian winds. In Riga, Art Nouveau styles were accompanied by symbols from different cultures, continents and civilizations. Some of them came from nature, others from myths. At first glance it may seem that Riga's buildings are chaotic and changing, but each of them is another layer of art nouveau. 

When the First World War began, fascination with luxury and lavishly decorated in this style declined and was later replaced by art deco. In many parts of Europe art nouveau buildings have had to give way to new architectural ideas, and when many cities can boast impressive but individual examples, the Latvian capital is like an open-air museum.





1918 -1940 Riga was the capital of the independent Republic of Latvia.

1940 - 1941, 1944 - 1990 Soviet occupation , Riga was occupied by Germany during World War II and was headquarters of the Ostland Commissariat.
Until now, Riga has more ethnic Russians than Latvians, and relations between the two groups are rarely sincere.

After exploring the Old Town, you can follow the Freedom Monument. And take it straight out of Brivibas Street. On the right hand side you will find the Vermare Garden, built in the 19th century, and on the left - a plan for a park where you can relax after a long walk.
The hungry can go to the many restaurants, including Latvian cuisine. For those who like exotics - I recommend the market, which is located near the station. This market was once considered one of the most modern and largest markets in the world.
The history of the Latvian Museum of War and Occupation can be visited  - the National Museum of Art, recommended.. If you want to hear more about the history of the city, the Riga Museum of History and Navigation would be suitable.
Those who are interested in entertainment will find them in the central part of the city.