Klaipėda Bastion Fortifications and St John's Hill

The complex of Klaipėda's bastion fortifications consists of three separate areas: The first, usually called St John's Hill (Jono kalnelis), includes the Galdern and Purmark bastions, the curtain wall, the old ravelin and the moat; The second includes the remains of the Prussia Bastion (today a health-care complex built in 1896 stands there); The third includes the remains of the Mill Bastion, where a school building now stands. To many people today this area may look like an unusual green space shaped for modern needs. That is partly true, but the rampart here was first raised, and the defensive ditches surrounding the city were dug, as early as the 18th century. The city was encircled by similar structures on its northern, eastern and southern sides. All this was done to protect the castle of the time, the city and its inhabitants. Over the years, as circumstances changed, the city needed more room to grow, and once the defensive structures lost their original purpose most of the fortifications were levelled. Today you can sit down here, take a break and try to imagine what the city might have looked like back then.