Coast of Memel

The coast of Memel lies at the northern entrance to the Curonian Lagoon, where the long sandy Curonian Spit separates sheltered waters from the Baltic. In 1252 the Livonian Order and the Bishop of Courland built Memelburg at this strategic passage; the town of Memel grew beside it. Farther along the spit, fishing settlements shared a landscape of dunes and woodland. Forest clearance from the sixteenth century exposed sand to the wind, and advancing dunes buried some settlements.