Klaipėdos universitetas

This paper investigates the question – why the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the peak of its power in the 15th century, failed to acquire Klaipeda, its natural gateway to the sea, whereas the young post World War I state of Lithuania, having lost its historic capital – Vilnius, managed to annex Klaipėda and its region (Memelland). Historic facts and events, as well as evaluations and conclusions presented by Lithuanian and foreign historians, are examined by invoking classic and Lithuanian geopolitical statements and insights. Expansion to the East, which was intrinsic to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at this time, is analysed as a major cause of its inability to expand to the Baltic shore. Opportunities to capture Klaipėda presented by the Thirteen Year War between Poland and the Teutonic Order in the 1450-60’s are evaluated. The 1923 annexation of Klaipėda and its region by Lithuania is shown as the result of a favourable geopolitical situation.

The aim of this article is to define the wooden building types, identification issues, problems of dating structures built in the 16th – 18th century, and to determine the beginnings of masonry construction in Klaipėda. The identified development of Klaipėda construction from wooden towards masonry buildings as well as chronological definitions of the building types and construction materials used, enables review of previously conducted archaeological and the dating of findings.

The article analyzes polysemous phenomenon of the history of European law and historical culture of European cities, the part of which is granting the privileges of the Lübeck and Kulm Law to Klaipėda in the Middle Ages. The development of the Lübeck and Magdeburg Law and the modification of the latter, the Kulm Law, is researched by historians, law and culture history experts of many European countries in various aspects, however, this phenomenon has not been systematically presented in the Lithuanian research literature. Therefore, basing the present investigation on the generalized analyses of the researchers working in Germany and in other countries, the article introduces the features of the historical development of the Lübeck, Magdeburg and Kulm Law. This article accords a particular attention to the analysis of the genesis of the medieval German towns’ laws, as well as the reasons and ways of their dispersion. The article also investigates the historical circumstances and factors which determined the expansion of the Lübeck and Magdeburg Law in the Middle Europe and to the East of Europe during the Middle and the Early New Ages. The ways, chronology, and area of the transfer eastwards of these laws are introduced. The sources and transformations of these laws are also analyzed in the article. The historical context of the emergence of the Kulm Law is discussed. The significance of these laws in the Middle and East Europe is presented in general outline in the article.

The article aims to systematize the historiographic knowledge of Klaipeda’s self-government and local administration, to show research problems and to propose potential directions for prospective research. The author distinguishes three stages in the development of local administration, analyses the particularities of these stages, explores the state of local administrative structures, competence, and mechanisms, and discusses the accessibility of sources necessary for research of such topics. Special attention is given to the research results of administration systems from 1945-1990, as well as a review of issues related to the legal status between a sovereign and the citizenry of Klaipėda while it was part of the state of the Teutonic Order.

Kosman, Marceli. Litauen: Legenden einer großen Vergangenheit und Realitäten der Gegenwart. WeltTrends: Zeitschrift für internationale Politik und vergleichende Studien, 1997, Nr. 16, S. 113–130 vs Kiaupienė, Jūratė. Replik zu Marceli Kosmans Version der litauischen Geschichte. WeltTrends: Zeitschrift für internationale Politik und vergleichende Studien, 1997, Nr. 16, S. 131–142.

The aim of this article is to present the results of linguistic research on peculiarities of the lexicon of the youth of Polish origin in Vilnius. The scope of the project was confined to the lexical stock, and the territory to Vilnius. A series of questionnaire-based surveys was conducted among students of Polish secondary schools in Vilnius as well as undergraduates of Polish philology at Vilnius University and Vilnius Pedagogical University. The collected lingual material was analyzed from the perspective of the influence of Lithuanian languages on the lexicon of the social dialect under investigation. Moreover, peripheral localisms of the Lithuanian origin that feature among the youth of Polish origin in Vilnius are also presented in the research.