55º43N 21º07E, pop (2001e) 202 400. Third largest city in Lithuania, an ice-free seaport on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea; founded by the Livonian Order (1252) who built a wooden castle at the mouth of the R Dane and named it Memelburg; ruled successively by the Order, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the German Empire; occupied by Sweden (1629–35) and by Russia (1757–62); returned to Lithuania (1923); seized by Nazi Germany (1939–45); heavily damaged during the war, reconstructed under Soviet power (1945–90); birthplace of Friedrich Argelander; important cultural centre; international ferry port; university; timber, textiles, chemicals, paper.