Barracks buildings complex, Klaipėda

Barracks buildings complex, Klaipėda

At the turn of the 19^th – 20^th century, quite a few barracks were built in Prussia, usually reflecting the use of the neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic styles in the construction of government buildings. In the northernmost port of the German Empire, in the city of Memel, the same ensemble of buildings were built – a group of six neo-Gothic buildings. In 1904-1907 at the outskirts of the city at that time, on the other side of the rail a barrack complex was built. The buildings, having witnessed the change of armies, have kept their military purpose right until 1993 when it was transferred to the needs of the newly established Klaipėda university.

Today, the block buildings forming a regular plan are surrounded by streets from the three sides, however, during their construction the current Vilhelmo Berbomo street was still non-existent and appeared only at interwar. The enclosed military complex was targeted at the former Moltkės (currently Herkaus Manto street). At the main street and the northern part of the plot three buildings of mixed-purpose where placed. The barracks were set up in the two larger buildings, and between them, a single-storey building, recessed deeper into the plot, served as a chapel and a canteen.

In all of the buildings of the complex, the neo-Gothic elements quoting the historical fortresses, the philosophy of the so called “style of the homeland” and the highlights of materiality typical of that time, intertwine. The most expressive architectural elements of the exteriors are the plastered Gothic niches, stepped pediments and the brick décor. The bed part of the ground floor is emphasised with bricks of a darker colour, while the cornice of the top part is expressed with decorative greenish glazed tiles. The grand barrack buildings are nearly identical – these are symmetrical buildings in the central, recessed part made up of three-storeys and highlighted with a bulky stepped pediment, at the width of which, the buildings are extended to the courtyard via avant-corps. The side wings are of four-storeys, using a different, fine rhythm of windows on the top floor. They are also highlighted with fine stepped pediments from different sides. At the axis located between the buildings the asymmetrical single-storey chapel and canteen building with a clock tower recessed towards the courtyard: it is precisely this side of the complex that can be considered representative.

One of the west façade of the barracks, the lateral façade of the two smaller buildings of the complex as well as of the third, facing towards the current Universiteto alley, create a multifunctional breakdown of the street with its different volumes and asymmetrical compositions. It compensates the monotony of complexes of uniform architectural expression and replicates the complexity of the building, which is more typical of the city’s historical development. The smaller buildings – of two and three storeys were used for other purposes of the military cantonment, such as administration and servant apartments. Quite a few authentic fine interior elements remain all over the complex: doors, supporting structures, ceramic tiles and curved skirting boards. Even the massive iron fence, whose material solution for the red brick columns is matched to the buildings, remained to this day. The tower of the chapel and the canteen was rebuilt at the beginning of the 21^st century, thus bringing back one the main highlights to the complex.

Detail