"The Travelling church" of Klaipėda town, Lithuania, in the historical and archaeological contexts

ENIn the Late Middle Ages, the Teutonic Order started their activities in the non-Christian lands on the eastern Baltic shore: they built castles and towns all along the coastal stretch. The erection of Memelburg Castle on the coast of the Curonian Lagoon in 1252 was a result of the military and political strategy applied by the Teutonic Order. The year 1252 marks not only the beginning of the history of Klaipeda (Memel) Town, but also the beginning of the construction of the first Christian churches on the Baltic shore of the current Lithuanian territory. Before the Second World War, Klaipėda boasted several churches of different denominations. The two major ones, the City (up to 1858, German) and the Land (up to 1858, Lithuania) Evangelical Lutheran Churches traced their origin back to the shrines referred to in the 13th century sources of the Teutonic Order: those of St. John and St Nicholas that were first identified in the documents in 1258, although it was not clear whether they had been built at the time. The narrative of the history of the two parishes was undoubtedly reinforced by the Reformation: even though little was known about the churches operating in Klaipėda before the 16th century, in the 16th century Klaipeda had two houses of worship. One of these was intended for the German-sneaking population of the town and Folwark-settlements around the town, and the other for the Lithuanian-speaking residents who by the time had already settled down in the environs of Klaipeda. The separation of Klaipeda parishes on the linguistic basis was affected by the inculcation of the Reformation principles. [...].