4. VILNIUS TECH Lithuanian Maritime Academy / former Immanuel Kant School and a residential area

About

The Immanuel Kant School, built in 1937, is one of the works of Paul Giesing, the chief architect of Klaipėda at the time. It exemplifies the dominant Bauhaus style, characterised by simplicity, functionality, clean lines, and a balance of proportions. The L-shaped building is set well back from the street, with a wide green area in front. The main structure is two storeys high, flanked by two three-storey side risalits. The interior is equally functional, designed with a corridor-based floor plan. 

The school was built after receiving funds from the city magistrate and named after the philosopher Immanuel Kant – a kind of antithesis to the Lithuanian Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium. This highlighted the symbolic connection between Klaipeda and East Prussia. The building sustained some damage during the war and was handed over to the Klaipėda Maritime School in 1948. A new three-storey extension was added in 1960.

The Immanuel Kant School was built on the street of the same name, in a residential district that reflected the housing needs of the 1930s and 1940s. The block lied between I. Kanto, Pievų Tako, and Gintaro streets. At the centre is a park – one of two of its kind planned at the time, and the only one to survive to this day. The district’s distinct character is enhanced by the varying heights and façade styles of its apartment blocks. Notably, Paul Giesing designed some of the buildings on I. Kanto Street and lived there himself, in house number 18.