About the activity
Texts by Laurencija Budrytė-Ausiejienė.
Hello, you are now standing on the historic land of Tauralaukis: a crossroads of ancient roads, a manor site and the meeting place of a king and an emperor. Just imagine: once upon a time, people of different civilisations, warriors and even nobles walked this land, and now we, guided by the threads of history, are following in their footsteps. Isn’t that wonderful?
It must be said that the Tauralaukis area has attracted people since ancient times, as lush oak groves flourished on the banks of the Danė and soft meadows thrived in the floodplains. The oldest manor in the Klaipėda area mentioned in written documents is the Great Tauralaukis Manor, whose name “Tawerlacken” was first recorded in 1500. It is believed that the name comes from the words TAURAS (aurochs) and LAUKAS (field), since aurochs probably lived near the large oak groves. However, the origin of the place name is still debated; for example, there is even a version linking it to a personal name, the surname of Hans Turlak. Historical sources mention two manors in Tauralaukis. The Great Manor was on the right bank of the Danė, in the area of today’s Klaipėda University Botanical Garden. The Small Tauralaukis Manor was founded on the left bank of the Danė in 1539. The surviving main house of this manor, the road guardhouse, 4 farm buildings and part of the park have been declared protected. It is believed that the famous meeting of the Prussian King Frederick William III and his wife Louise with the Russian Emperor Alexander I in 1802 took place in Tauralaukis.
In 1807–1808 the Prussian royal family, then residing in Klaipėda, liked to visit Small Tauralaukis. In 1900 a memorial stone (unfortunately not preserved) was unveiled in the manor park in memory of Queen Louise, and an oak was named after her.
From the early 19th to the early 20th century, a restaurant belonging to the manor operated in the Danė valley, where you could not only enjoy a good meal but also have a great time: by the standards of the day, there was plenty of entertainment here, including carousels, billiards and skittles, so the place was popular with the city’s most distinguished guests. In later times, the descendants and heirs to the throne of the Prussian King Frederick William III and Queen Louise often visited Memel (now Klaipėda) and Tauralaukis, but that is another intriguing story recalling the glorious times of these lands, which we invite you to discover on a romantic sightseeing trip by water bus on the Danė River.