The building at 3 Turgaus St.

The building in this place was mentioned for the first time in 1786, and in 1858, the owner was John Mason, a British merchant and a commercial adviser. He was the owner of the “The British Hotel” (former Marktstrasse No. 48/49), which was opened in this house. The hotel changed owners several times, and in 1915 was renamed to “Berliner Hof”. In the building there were apartments for rent and offices for the provision of various services: a hairdresser, a dentist, and a tailor lived and worked there. There were customs broker’s offices, the company store of the Memel textile factory, a shoe store, a radio set repair shop, and an office of a fertilizer company in the building. In address books of 1920-1939 Lithuanian, German and Jewish surnames are found.

After World War I, Klaipėda region was separated from Germany, and was administered by France in 1920-1923. In 1921, in this building, the Lithuanian press publication and trade company “Rytas” (liquidated in 1939) was located, which also had its own hotel by the same name. It is believed that Antanas Smetona lived  here for a short time in 1923, as the High Representative of the Lithuanian Government for Klaipėda Region, when he negotiated with the French Prefect Petisné. In 1925, the “Elta” telegraph agency operated in the building. In 1935, the honorary consul of the Czech Republic and Slovakia worked here. Between the wars, there was “The Britisch Tunnel” restaurant in this building, which name was changed for “The Berliner Tunnel” during World War II.

The building was rebuilt after the war. Its facade was changed, the height of individual parts of the building was unified, the decor of the central part of the building was eliminated, and balconies were added. After 1990, the ground floor of the building housed a cafe and a sporting goods store. In 2011, an amber art gallery – store “Amber Queen” and in 2013 the private Amber Museum were opened here.