- Place
- Klaipėda City Municipality
- Region
- Klaipėda
- Type
- bronze fisherman unveiled in 1971 on a boulder inside a seasonal fountain basin
- Address
- Danės g. 17, Klaipėda
- Coordinates
- 55.70991, 21.13149
- Visit duration
- 15-30 minutes; longer while walking the Danė quays and Old Town
- Best time
- daylight; the warm season if the fountain is operating at the time
Skulptūra Žvejas, Žvejo skulptūra, Fisherman Monument
A bronze figure on a boulder from the lagoon bed
The monumental dark-bronze figure depicts a fisherman in a hood and heavy working clothes. One hand grips the handle of a fishing implement, the other rests at his waist, and several fish forms are incorporated beside his feet. The restrained pose, massive folds, and face turned to the side beneath the hood make the work recognizable at a distance. This is not Fisherman's Daughters in Šventoji or one of Klaipėda's other monuments to fishing and harbour life.
The bronze group rises from a large pink-grey boulder carved with broad, wave-like channels. The Regional Guide prepared by the public library states that the stone was lifted from the Curonian Lagoon bed near the Winter Port while the harbour entrance was being deepened. It was tested because there were concerns that rock long submerged in water might split. The boulder stands on a quadrangular base inside a shallow fountain basin.
The reviewed encyclopedia, library, and municipal sources do not publish precise dimensions for the present composition. The figure of 30 metres sometimes encountered in the Fisherman's story is therefore not the height of today's sculpture. It belongs to an unrealized proposal for a stylized wave.
From the 1957 proposal to the bronze cast
In April 1957, Klaipėda's city executive committee asked the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR for permission to erect a monument to a fisherman in the riverside square of what was then Soviet Square, now Atgimimo Square. Kazimieras Kisielis created the sculpture. In another early vision, the figure was to stand on the North Cape, visible from passing ships and raised on a 30 m stylized wave. Kisielis and architect D. Daukša received a prize for that architectural composition, but it was never built.
The plaster fisherman was modelled in 1958, and a bronze cast was made several years later. It remained in the sculptor's Vilnius studio for five years before being taken to Klaipėda. A shortage of funding and uncertainty over the location meant that alternative sites were still being discussed in 1961 and 1962.
Storage, repair, and the 1971 unveiling
In 1963, Klaipėda's chief artist at the time, Petras Šadauskas, learned that the bronze figure had been left on the grounds of the city road-maintenance authority on Rusnės Street and began to look after its fate. The monument was reconsidered in 1965. Seven years of outdoor storage had damaged it, so the bronze surface was renewed and cracks were filled. This is the repair clearly documented by the sources before the work went on public display.
The final solution was smaller than the original concept and omitted its tall stylized waves. The installed composition is by sculptor Kazimieras Kisielis and architect Petras Šadauskas. The Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia and Regional Guide say that the Fisherman was unveiled during the 1971 Sea Festival, but these institutional sources do not specify the exact day.
The reliable sources reviewed for this page give no record of the Danė-side composition being moved after its 1971 installation. Its earlier storage in Vilnius and on Rusnės Street happened before the unveiling and should not be described as the relocation of an already installed monument.
A fishing-industry marker beside the Danė
The Fisherman was developed in the Soviet period, when the fishing industry was one of the principal branches of post-war Klaipėda's economy. Historian Vasilijus Safronovas interprets the work as a marker of that industry and of Klaipėda's role in the economy of the Soviet Union. This is a reading of its historical context, not an explanation inscribed on the sculpture. Reliable sources record no legend about a specific fisherman.
The Lithuanian name varies. Library and encyclopedia texts use Žvejas, while the current Google Maps listing is titled Žvejo skulptūra. This page follows the requested form Žvejys, but all three names refer here to the same work by Kazimieras Kisielis beside Klaipėda City Hall at Danės g. 17.
Finding and visiting the sculpture
The exact sculpture site point is 55.7099083, 21.1314925, in the fountain beside Klaipėda City Hall and the Danė quay. The navigation link uses the Google Maps listing with place ID ChIJd-6moPrb5EYRyUKNP9tjCc0. The pin marks the artwork itself, not a car park, vehicle entrance, or general centroid for Danė Square.
This is a public outdoor artwork viewed from the quay, without a ticket desk or separate admission charge. It is not governed by indoor opening hours, although municipal works, events, or temporary barriers may affect access. Evening lighting can also change, so daylight is best for seeing the forms and surfaces clearly.
A seasonal fountain surrounds the sculpture. Klaipėda City Municipality included it among the fountains switched on before the 2025 warm season, but cleaning, repairs, weather, and operating schedules may mean that the water is off during a particular visit. Fountain maintenance should not be confused with documented restoration of the bronze figure itself.
