Memel

Memel stands where the Baltic reaches the Curonian Lagoon, beside the mouth of the Danė. The Teutonic Order founded a castle here in the thirteenth century, and a port grew under its protection. Known to Lithuanians as Klaipėda, the town served the lands around the lower Nemunas and became a meeting place of German and Lithuanian communities.

After the creation of the Duchy of Prussia in 1525, Memel adopted Lutheranism and prospered as a port for neighbouring Lithuania, exporting grain and other goods. Swedish forces occupied it during the wars of the seventeenth century, and new fortifications were built around the town from 1627. Its harbour remained valuable to Brandenburg-Prussia, even as war repeatedly contested control of the eastern Baltic sea coast.