GOOD LOCATION
IN A PORT CITY
Thanks to the convenient location of „MICHAELSON boutique HOTEL“, our guests can reach everything easily. The hotel overlooks the Klaipėda Castle grounds or the Danė River, and the Old Ferry to Smiltynė is on the other side of the Danė, at its mouth, just a few hundred metres away. The seaside is always inspiring… So, as we break away from routine and pursue our dreams, let us promise ourselves to travel along it differently each time. We invite you to rest and spend meaningful time, enjoy complete comfort and recharge. We invite you to discover the historic character of this corner of the world and feel the vibrant heart of the port city… It is a unique opportunity to grow and develop.
HOW TO FIND US
Address: Žvejų g. 18 and 18A, LT-91241 Klaipėda – in Klaipėda Old Town, by the Danė River.
Reception: +370 640 63378, reception@hotelmichaelson.com, Mon–Sun 9:00–21:00.
Parking: the hotel has no car park of its own – you can leave your car in the city’s paid red zone next to the hotel (€1.50 / hour).
Ferry: the Old Ferry to Smiltynė is on the other side of the Danė, at its mouth, just a few hundred metres away.
Who were the Michaelsons?
Historical sources state that the Michaelson merchants came from the town of Wolgast, then in the historical and geographical region of Pomerania. Their family was among the first 45 people from 19 Jewish families who settled in Klaipėda, then Memel. Their names became part of the history of the Royal Maritime and Trading City… The first list of owners of warehouses and land plots near the castle was compiled in 1813. The owners of the warehouses being built on the Danė embankment were enterprising sea merchants and shipowners.
IN MORE DETAIL
The city’s main marketplace
Warehouses stood on the Danė embankment as early as the 16th century, as shown on the oldest city map of 1535, while brick houses and warehouses on Žvejų Street began to be built only in the early 17th century… The warehouses built by the Michaelsons at Žvejų g. 18 and 18A were used to store grain and iron goods and as a shop. For almost two centuries the square in front of them bustled with trade and was one of the city’s main marketplaces. All the riverside warehouses played an important role, as a large share of goods already reached Klaipėda by sea. In 1825, 1,116 ships carrying grain, flax, hemp and timber left Klaipėda. The port’s importance has not changed to this day, and its water area extends over 20 km.
The uniqueness of these buildings
The warehouses are not very tall: Žvejų g. 18A has three floors and Žvejų g. 18 has four, including the attic floors. The main floor in both is very large and wide, with doors designed for loading ships and horse-drawn carts. From the very beginning the upper floors had many doors, windows and dormers, because air and draughts were needed to dry the grain. The warehouses are built of red bricks bearing the local “F&G” mark, which is probably why the Great Fire of 1854 did not affect them. The upper floors are half-timbered; half-timbering became popular in the first half of the 19th century, when trade flourished in the port city during the Napoleonic Wars. The large dormers with mechanical hoists were installed in both warehouses later, in 1920–1929, and later still, in 1933–1936, when the new straightened Danė embankment was built, the warehouses ended up further from the water.
Tests of time
During the Second World War the Michaelson warehouses survived intact… In the Soviet era, around 1970, the small dormers were destroyed… Klaipėda University was founded on 1 January 1991, starting with three faculties – Humanities and Natural Sciences, Marine Engineering, and Pedagogy – and about 3,000 students. Today „MICHAELSON boutique HOTEL“ cooperates with and supports Klaipėda University.
ARCHIVE
“The terminology of Klaipėda architectural styles naturally flows from the historical-political situation. Klaipėda region belonged to Prussia, later to Germany, where construction laws and the education of architects were different than in Lithuania. This greatly influenced both the urban and architectural development of the city. The influence of Heimatstil, Jugendstil, and Bauhaus school can be seen in the buildings of Klaipėda at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In Lithuania, interwar architecture was called rationalism, constructivism, and recently the term interwar modernism has caught on. However, the architecture of Klaipėda can be called Bauhaus, because the influence of this style is obvious and indisputable.” Maja Ptašek
Source
Klaipėdos Bauhauzas. Modernizmo architektūra
Kęstutis Demereckas, Jurijus Bachitovas
Libra Memelensis, Klaipėda, 2011
After the first Michaelson warehouse was restored in 2015 and the second in 2023 – with their architectural details and small dormers recreated and both buildings sensitively adapted for hospitality – these warehouses have become one of the most memorable monuments of maritime heritage on the Danė embankment.