The conference hall of Memel's city councillors in the building of the municipal authorities, in the Luisenstraße.

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The building of the municipal authorities, once the dwelling of the royal couple in 1807. The inner premises remained almost unchanged. Notably the rooms, which have been used by the royal couple, remained untouched. The present Conference hall of the city councillors is particularly important. At the rear wall three oil-paintings immediately catch someone's eyes; in the middle Emperor Wilhelm I., life-sized painted by Seemann. On the left Queen Luise, and on the right King Friedrich III., both painted by Kügelgen. The royal couple had given these two pictures to the former landlords, namely the merchant Consentius and his wife for the memory. The current municipal authorities' building belonged at that time to the merchant Consentius. The pictures later belonged to the town. Kügelgen created with the picture of the Queen Luise a masterpiece. It reflects the enchantingly gracefulness, the charm of the majestic woman in full faithfulness, and enthralls the viewer for a long time. When Emperor Wilhelm II. visited Memel on August 25th, 1890 he has also devoted a special attention to this picture. Incidentally, a photography of it of an equal size is in the Hohenzollernmuseum in Berlin, and you will find a shrinked copy at the beginning of this guide. The admission into the conference hall is allowed to everybody. The "Kastellan" will show it willingly (in the anteroom or in his apartment on the yard to the left, upstairs). The pictures on the walls of the anteroom to the conference hall are mostly views of Memel from different times. Particularly those is remarkable, which represents the farewell of the royal couple on September 25th, 1808. The majesties had come from Königsberg to a visit in Memel on September 22nd, 1808 and travelled back on the Curonian spit route on September 25th.

Text: Neuer illustrirter Führer durch Memel und Umgegend" - 1898
Image: UMBAS' Postcard Collection