Jewish heritage in Klaip\u0117da can be traced back to the 15th century. The Jewish community has long been known for its industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit, and the Memel region offered favourable conditions for developing trade links. Jews came to the city from many places \u2013 Prussia, Russia and other European countries \u2013 so there was no single unified community. Hasidim and Litvaks, often opponents of one another, lived here alongside German Jews.<\/p>\n
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Today Klaip\u0117da has a Jewish community centre with around 300 members. An avenue of thuja trees with a memorial marker has been planted at the Jewish community memorial cemetery. On Gr\u012f\u017egatvio Street you can see a plaque dedicated to David Wolffsohn, a businessman of Lithuanian Jewish origin and Zionist activist who is associated with the design of the Israeli flag and the name of Israel\u2019s currency. Since 2006, Rabbi Reb Noson Vershubski has lived and worked in Klaip\u0117da.<\/p>\n
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To learn more about the history and present-day life of Klaip\u0117da\u2019s Jewish community, join one of the tours. You can also click >here<<\/a> to explore Jewish heritage sites throughout Lithuania.<\/p<\/p>\n