struggled to develop a port, which had to compete with nearby Klaipėda
and Liepāja. Larger port was constructed in the second half of the 17th
century, especially when in 1679 it was leased to English merchants. It was
destroyed in 1701 during the Great Northern War. During the times of the Russian
Empire (1795–1915) the port was moribund and began developing again only when
it became part of Lithuania in 1921. Two piers were constructed, but they were
frequently covered in sand. Thus it never grew into a bigger port, although it
briefly became vital to Lithuania in the brief period between when it lost
control of Klaipėda, and when it was incorporated into the Soviet Union
