My love, my peace, my birthplace – Klaipėda.

It’s so good and cosy that you want to put every bit of it in your pocket, like a piece of amber found on the Baltic coast, and never lose it. To keep as I keep my most precious memories. And you, my dear, as you walk around the magical port city, breathe in every breath, capture every image, and take away as much as you can from this journey; Listen to me, old man, I have seen and known a lot, so I know what is important in life and what brings true happiness;

You know what people say? You will discover yourself through work and become yourself. Now you don’t say that anymore? Laughs And that’s what happened to me – I’m a lynchpin. What? You say you haven’t heard of such a profession? Sounds ancient? Maybe you are right, because I am not a young man anymore, but I have to say that this is an important profession, but unfortunately it’s disappearing… In my youth, I had to be very vigilant. I changed the direction of the trains so that passengers could reach their destinations. Why am I standing here, you ask? At the end of the 19th century, the first narrow gauge railway station was established in Klaipėda Region; If only you knew how many memories and pleasant moments of youth have passed here…

I am standing here, in front of a red-brick cultural heritage building that commemorates the times when trains used to run from Klaipėda to the surrounding settlements, and later on the narrow-gauge tracks were even replaced by electric tram lines! Ha, don’t you believe, man, that there was a tram in Klaipėda? For almost forty years, trams in Klaipėda have been carrying passengers and freight along 11 kilometres of lines.

Every day I look across the street at the ancient steam locomotive on the platform of the railway station. I can’t look away, my heart is caressed by the emotional thread that binds us… Eh, what memories, what nostalgia…

I, being such a solid and sturdy pony, have been standing here since 2011, created by Claudius Pudymas. He gave me a new beard, which gave me dignity, and he also provided me with a uniform like a real East Prussian railwayman’s uniform. One hand on the lapel of my jacket – that’s the way I’ve always held it and always will! On the other is a lantern, which I used to use to signal to the train driver. The sculptor’s purpose in bringing me back to life is great – to remind me of professions that are disappearing. Not only are the followers of my professional path declining rapidly, but also the number of chimney sweeps. The sculptor has also created a memorial to these people – a sculpture of the soul mate of “Kaminkrėtis” is located in the Old Town of Klaipėda; It was assembled, moulded and built by the same hands, and, as Pūdymas said, it will not be the last.

Today, my mission is different – to remind you and the people around you of those nostalgic times, of the specialities that were once important, and of the sights of the port city – the narrow-gauge tracks and the trains that ran on them, and the trams that later replaced them;

Already on the run? Come on, hurry up. Then that’s enough for this time. Thank you for stopping by to talk to Grandpa. It’s always a pleasure to see such kind faces and attentive eyes. Have a good journey and I hope to see you soon!