My love, my peace, my home – Klaipėda.
It is so beautiful and special here, you just want to collect every piece of it, like some kind of amber found on the Baltic coast, place it in your pocket and carry it with you forever. You want to protect it like your most cherished memories. You too, my dear, should take in in every smell and every image as you walk around this magical port city, to take as much from this trip as possible. Listen to an old man – I have seen and known a lot of things, so I know what is important in life and what brings us real happiness.
My love, my peace, my home – Klaipėda.
It is so beautiful and special here, you just want to collect every piece of it, like some kind of amber found on the Baltic coast, place it in your pocket and carry it with you forever. You want to protect it like your most cherished memories. You too, my dear, should take in in every smell and every image as you walk around this magical port city, to take as much from this trip as possible. Listen to an old man – I have seen and known a lot of things, so I know what is important in life and what brings us real happiness.
You know what they say? A man finds himself and becomes himself through his work. You don’t say that anymore? Laughs. Well, that’s what happened to me. I’m a switchman. What? You have never heard of such a profession? It sounds ancient? Perhaps you are right, as I am not a young man anymore. But I must say, this profession is very important even though it is unfortunately disappearing… I had to be very vigilant in my youth. I switched the direction of the trains so that the passengers could reach their destination. Why am I standing here, you ask? It was at this exact location, at the end of the 19th century, that the first narrow-gauge railway station in the Klaipėda region was established. If only you knew how many pleasant memories I made here in my youth…
I am standing next to the red-brick cultural heritage building that is a reminder of the times when trains ran from Klaipėda to the surrounding settlements. Later, the narrow-gauge rails were even replaced by electric tram lines! Ha! My friend, you don’t believe there were ever trams in Klaipėda? For almost forty years, the trams in Klaipeda transported passengers and cargo on 11-kilometer-long lines.
Every day I look over there, across the street, at the ancient steam locomotive standing on the train station platform. I can’t get enough of it, as an emotional thread that makes my heart melt… Ah, the memories and the nostalgia…
I, a serious and elegant man, have been standing here since 2011 when Klaudijus Pūdymas created me. He even added a beard, giving me dignity, and took care of my uniform so it is just like the ones that the East Prussian railroaders used to wear. One hand is tucked behind the flap of my jacket – and this is how I will always hold it! My other hand holds a lantern that I used back in the day to give my signals to the train driver. The sculptor’s goal in reviving me is a great one: to remind of the professions that are disappeared. Mine is not the only endangered profession. The number of chimney sweepers is also rapidly decreasing. Therefore, the sculptor also created a reminder of those workers: a Chimney Sweep sculpture, who is my kindred spirit, is located in Klaipėda Old Town. It was thought of, cast, and built by the same man – and as Pūdymas said, it will definitely not be the last one.
Today, my mission is different. It is to remind all of you of those nostalgic days, with the once important professions and the highlights of the port city: the narrow-gauge railways and the trains running on them, as well as the trams that later replaced them.
You’re leaving already? Well, that’s it for today, then. Thank you for stopping by to talk to an old man. I am always happy to see such pleasant faces and curious eyes. Good luck and, hopefully, I’ll see you again soon!