Klaipėda Castle was first mentioned in 1252 in a document in which Grand Master Eberhard von Zeine agrees with Bishop Heinrich of Courland to build a castle between the Nemunas and the Danė. The town began to develop with the building of a wooden castle on the South Rage of the River Danė. The lagoon was thought to be a branch of the river Nemunas, known as Memel in Germany, and the castle was therefore named Memelburg. The wooden castle was built on a viscous site, so in 1253; On the right bank of the Danė river, a stone castle of the enclosure-garden type was built. The castle courtyard was made up of stone and wooden buildings, and the walls were protected by ditches and ramparts. Klaipėda Castle had to withstand numerous attacks by Samogitians and Lithuanians, so it was burnt and rebuilt many times through 15th century. Klaipėda Castle was fortified to defend against firearms. The castle’s defensive system consisted of towers, a defensive wall, ditches and ramparts with defensive structures. In 17th century Klaipėda Castle was attacked by the Swedes and destroyed by several fires, so the castle’s defence system had to be rebuilt and improved again. In 1686 around Klaipėda Castle were reconstructed into bastions. The last fortification works of Klaipėda Castle and the city took place during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).