Priekulė, Lithuania
Priekulė (, ) is a small town in Klaipėda District Municipality, Lithuania. It is located on the banks of Minija River about south of Klaipėda. Priekulė is the seat of Priekulė elderate. Priekulė was part of East Prussia for most of its history and, as part of the Klaipėda Region, became part of Lithuania in 1923–1939 and after World War II in 1945. History. Priekulė's name is known since the first half of the 16th century. At first it was named "Paminia" (at river Minia), and it was a small village with three homesteads. In 1511, a tavern ""zur  Minnige"" is mentioned in written sources. In 1540, a certain Lukas Preckol is an owner of the tavern. It is believed that the town name was derived from Preckol's last name. The name "Precols" was recorded on region maps in 1548. A church was built in 1587 and a teacher was hired in 1594. In 1609 during the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611), regiments of the Polish–Lithuanian cavalry plundered the town. In 1688 minister Wilhelm Martin built a new church. In 1905 the village, now known as Prökuls, had 500 residents who were mostly Protestant Lutherans and mainly spoke  the Memelland-Samogitian dialect. In the course of the German revolutions on March 29, 1848, the local judiciary was demolished, the tax collector was mistreated and the pub was looted. The Prussian authorities put down the uprising on March 30th On December 19, 2002 the city was granted coat of arms by the President of Lithuania. Landmarks. There is St. Anthony of Padua Church, built in 1938. In the city park grows a centuries-old oak, that is preserved as monument of nature. In the city there is a monument to Lithuanian writer Ieva Simonaitytė. Her cottage is turned into  memorial museum (established in 1984). Estates of the forefathers of philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) were located in (Kantweinen) in the vicinity of Priekulė.