The Battle of Memel was fought between the

Samogitians Samogitians ( Samogitian: ''žemaitē'', lt, žemaičiai, lv, žemaiši) are an ethnographic group of Lithuanians of the Samogitia region, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly co ...

and the Livonian branch of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

in 1323. According to the chronicle of

Peter of Dusburg Peter of Dusburg (german: Peter von Dusburg; la, Petrus de Dusburg; died after 1326), also known as Peter of Duisburg, was a Priest-Brother and chronicler of the Teutonic Knights. He is known for writing the ''Chronicon terrae Prussiae'', which des ...

, the Samogitians burned the city, but failed to take the

Memel Castle Memel, a name derived from the Couronian-Latvian ''memelis, mimelis, mēms'' for "mute, silent", may refer to: *Memel, East Prussia, Germany, now Klaipėda, Lithuania **Memelburg, (Klaipėda Castle), the ''Ordensburg'' in Memel, a castle built in ...

. They also burned another three neighboring castles probably Žardė (now the southern outskirts of Klaipėda), Poyso (on the left bank of upstream Dangė River, east of Klaipėda), and Eketė (at the confluence of Dangė and Eketė Rivers). After the battle, in 1328, the Livonian Order transferred the city and the surrounding area to the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Knights. In 1392, the Bishop of Courland also transferred his holding in Memel to the Teutonic Knights.Algirdas Matulevičius. Klaipėdos mūšis. Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija, T. X (Khmerai-Krelle). – Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2006. 217 psl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Memel (1323) Memel (1323) Memel (1323) Conflicts in 1323 1323 in Europe History of Klaipėda History of Samogitia