SAMOGITIA. PLACES OF INTEREST (SHORTLY)

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PAPILE, town is in the Akmene area. Located in the southern part of the region (area - 159 sq. m, population - 4250), Papile is mentioned in the written sources starting 1253. Its archaeological monuments includes two mounds, in addition to two important natural monuments - the rock exposure of the Jurassic period and a lime-tree of 15 stems.
Simonas Daukantas, a 19th century Lithuanian historian and writer, is buried in Papile.
The architecture monuments include the Siaudine wooden church built in 1775 and a bell tower. Another place of interest is Paragiai, a memorial farmstead of two writers sisters Sofija Psibiliauskiene and Marija Lastauskiene who signed their work by one pseudonym of Lazdynu Peleda.

PLATELIAI, town in western Lithuania, 15 km north of Plunge, situated along lake Plateliai. In 1959 its population was 494 (645 in 1923, 800 in 1939). The town has a secondary school, forestry center, 25-bed hospital, and several small economic enterprices. During the period of Lithuanian independence (1918-40) Plateliai was a township seat in the county of Kretinga. Local government agiencies were licated there as well as health and forestry centers and a sawmill. Several economic and cultural organizations were active in the town. The township encompassed 2,195 farms with a total of 9,980 inhabitants.
Plateliai is located in the northwest corner of the Western Upland, a region of particular scenic beauty with many hills, forest and lakes. archeological excavations have shown that the area has been inhabited since the 2nd-4th centuries, but the first recorded mention of Plateliai dates from the begining of the 15th century. In 1511 King Sigismund the Old gave control of the district to Stanislas Kesgaila, elder of Samogitia, but in 1533 it became the property of Queen Bonna, who built her residence on one of the islands in lake Plateliai. In the 18th century the town and estate were ruled by the Oginski family of magnates. At the beginning of the 19th century Count L.de Choiseu Gouffier, who had recently fled from France and was a relative of the French statesman Ettienne Francois de Choiseul (d. 1785), acquired control of the estate; this family retained control of the estate until the Soviet occupation in 1940. Countess Sophie de Choiseul (nee Tyzenhausen, 1790-1878), born in Lithuania, was noted for her fictional writings based on Lithuanian and Polish history. The first SS.Peter and paul church was built by King Sigismund Augustus in 1564. Subsequently the Plateliai parish became one of the wealthiest in Zemaitija (Samogitia); in 1841 it controlled 800 ha of land. In 1940 the parish numbered 5450 people.

PLINKSES. The town is located to the South-West of the most northern town in Lithuania, Mazeikiai.
In the very heart of Zemaitija (Samogitia) at the beautiful Lake Plinksiu, next to the palace of the old estate, you will find an oasis of comfort peace and health, a hotel and recreation centre Plinkses.
The hotel and recreational centre Plinkses is built in the recreation area of Mazeikiai region, on the eastern coast of lake Plinkses, next to the former estate and park of Count Konstantinas Pliateris. The central palace of the estate with auxiliary buildings of interesting architecture were built at the end of the 19th c. The park was created in the 2nd half of the 19th c. Its layout mirrors the principles of the English landscape type parks with a slight allusion to the traditions of the Classicism. The palace, the park and the ponds around it create a very valuable historical and architectural ensemble. Take a stroll along the lanes of our park and you will feel the spirit of history around you.
The hotel and recreational centre Plinkses is regularly renovated to keep it up with international standarts. The hotel administration and other employees are always ready to assist you and promptly attent to all your needs and desires.
This is the right place for a good rest from the city noise and your everyday problems.
The nature around you, the whisper of the moving trees in the centenarian park will fill your body with strengh for the challenges of the coming day.

 PLUNGE. The town is the administrative centre of the region. The area of the region is 1692 km². The population is 56.7 thousand. National Park of Zemaitija with Plateliai lake district is its pride and decoration. There are 37 lakes in the region. The river Minija with tributaries shows its beauty and in the southern part-upper reaches of the Jura. 37.9% of the region territory is covered by forests, mostly fir-groves. There are over 350 cultural monuments in it.
Plunge, town in western Lithuania, 26 km south-west of Telsiai and 39 km east of Kretinga; its population in 1972 was 16200 (4236 in 1923, ca 6000 in 1940, 8672 in 1959). The town lies on the western fringe of the Samogitian Uplan, and is divided by the Babrungas river, tributary of the Minija, with the major portion and town centre lying on the left bank and the railroad district situated on the right. The railway, with connected plunge with Telsiai and Kretinga, was completed in 1932. During the period of national independence, the town served as the centre of plunge township in the country of Telsiai.
The area comprising the town has been inhabited since pre Christian times. On the banks of Babrungas there are two fortress hills and a barrow grave cemetery in which remains of weapons and military gear dating from the 9th-14th centuries have been found. The town began to develop around the fortress of Gondinga. Historical sources first mention the estate and eldership of Plunge in the 16th century, as Gondinga gradually began losing in importance to plunge. The earliest church, St. John the Baptist’s, was built by King Sigismund Vasa in 1617; it did not survive. In 1792 King Stanislovas Augustus granted Plunge rights of self-government. Lying at the intersection of roads leading to the harbours of Klaipeda (Memel; then under German rule) and Liepaja (Latvia), the town became an active commercial centre, with seasonal as well as semi-weekly markets, and an especially brisk horse trade, the volume of sales occasionally reaching 1000 head at a time. In the possession of Count Platon A. Zubov, a Russian general, since 1806, the estate passed to the Oginski family in 1873. By 1859, the town had 172 buildings and 3595 inhabitants.
Michael Oginski (1849-1902) built a magnificent mansion and created a huge park (62 ha), with rare trees and seven interconnection ponds fed by the Babrungas river and regulated by sluices. The mansion, which still stands today, is in neo-classical style, one of the loveliest monuments of 19th century architecture in Lithuania. During 1873-1902 Oginski maintained a school of instrumental music, which admitted poor students (among them, Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis) and served mainly to train future members of the famous estate symphony orchestra. Consisting of approximately 35 players, the orchestra played during formal dinner parties on a platform in front of the mansion and at High Mass in church. Its brass ensemble performed for religious processions and agricultural exhibitions while the chamber group accompanied luncheons in the mansion. Another important cultural asset was the mansion library, part of whose collection was later acquired by the University of Kaunas. Moreover, there remains a stone belfry from 1858, a significant architectural monument recalling the wooden Lithuanian bell towers of old.
Plunge’s commerce and industry received a major boost with the restoration of Lithuanian independence (1918). The most important concern was the joint-stock company of Kucinskas and Pabedinskas, one of the largest textile works in Lithuania. In 1940 it employed over 1000 workers and had an annual turnover of 6 million litas’ Under the Soviets it was taken over by the government and expended, employing over 1500 workers. In addition, the town had a pot and tile factory, dye-house, tannery, slaughterhouse, fruit drink works, a large dairy, two brickyards, two sawmills, dozens of workshops and stores, three banks and other economic enterprises. Educational-cultural life was likewise active. The secondary school built in 1919, soon evolved into an 8-year high school (gymnasium). At first located on the Oginski estate, it was joined in 1935 with the Capuchin secondary school at nearby Maceliai. A secondary agricultural school was founded in 1921. The Jewish community maintained its own secondary school and synagogue. In 1941 the invading Nazis executed nearly all of Plunge’s Jews (ca 1800); a memorial tomb has been erected over their mass grave (1967).
After World War II, under Soviet rule, new stress were laid and new residential sections were added. Besides the already mentioned textile plant, now Lithuania’s largest, there are woodworking shops, a furniture factory, a building materials plant, a 125-bed hospital, a tuberculosis dispensary, three secondary schools, an industrial technical school (at the Oginski palace), and other economic, health, and cultural institutions.

PRIEKULE, town in western Lithuania, 21 km southeast of Klaipeda, on the Minija river. It had 1,823 inhabitants in 1959 (921 in 1923, ca 2,000 in 1939). The town has a high school, 75-bed hospital, a veterinary hospital, and a Dutch tile factory. There is an old park with rare European, Canadian, and Asian trees. The village and the estate of Priekule are first mentioned in historical records from the early 16th century. Then under German rule, the area was inhabited almost entirely by Lithuanians. A Lutheran church, one of the oldest in the territory of Klaipeda, was built in 1587. A number of the parish priests were noted men of letters, both in Lihuanian religious and secular literature; Rev. Kristupas Jurksaitis, pastor during 1879-82 published his collection of Lithuanian folk tales and texts illustrating different dialects; from 1903-15 the pastor was Vilius Gaigalaitis, an outstanding activist of Lithuania Minor, who headed the Sandara (Concord) youth society and published the monthly Pagalba (Assistance). Lithuanian books and newspapers were published at the Schroeder printing house, established in 1866. The town’s growth accelerated after the building of the Klaipeda-Tilze railroad in 1875. The town had a population of 400 in 1897 and was known for its large horse markets. After World War I, the town held annual summer festivals which featured horseback riding by girls in national costumes. In 1923, Priekule, as part of the Klaipeda Territory, joined to Lithuania and made the township seat. There were two brishworks, a dairy, an electric power station, a forestry center, and two primary schools.

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RASEINIAI, city in western Lithuania, 73 km Northwest of Kaunas, on the Samogitia highway. The population in 1973 was 10,500 (6,217 in 1939, 6,242 in 1959). The city was a ceramics factory, a men's and children’s' clothing factory, a butter diary, a 200-bed hospital, two secondary and several vocational schools.
The history of the Raseiniai area goes back to the 13th century. Variants of the name in historical documents include Raseyne, Rossein, Roszein and Roscena. In 1253-54 King Mindaugas bequeathed this land in Samogitia to Christian, the first bishop of Lithuania, and to the Livonian Order. But neither was able to withstand the resistance of the Samogitians. Attempting to subdue Samogitia, the Teutonic Order, which had established itself in Prussia and Livonia, conducted frequent military expeditions; Raseiniai suffered especially in 1322 and 1377. During the reign of Vytautas the Great, the Samogitians were for a time (1405-09) given over to German rule, although the Lithuanaians secretly aided their resistance and revolts. After the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410 the Samogitians were finally freed. With the advent of Christianity, one of the first churches was built in Raseiniai in 1416 or 1421. Some historians contend that at that time the town was granted the privilege of self-rule according to the Magdeburg Law; subsequently these privileges were expanded (in1592 and in 1643). From the time of the Union of Liublin (1569) until Lithuania's last partition (1795), Raseiniai served as the seat of the Samogitian eldership. All the regional courts were located there, and the nobility assembled in the town for their dietines. The oldest documents pertaining to landed property have been preserved in court archives. In 1642 the Dominicans were established in the town; they replaced the old church with a new Baroque edifice, built a chapel and monastery, and maintained a school and large library. The Carmelite monastery was founded in 1720 and the Piarist monastery in 1742. The Piarists also maintained a school which in 1788 had 173 students. Following the uprisings of 1831, the Russians closed the monasteries. Raseiniai was one of the first towns to rebel against Russian rule in 1831, and for a time served as headquarters of the rebel leaders (see Insurrection of 1830-31). By mid-19th century the town had grown into an important agricultural trade centre, exporting large quantities of grain to East Prussia and Riga (Latvia). In 1857 the population numbered 8,516 (7,455 in 1897). Several agricultural societies and co-operatives were founded at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
During the period of independence (1918-40) there were the county and municipal administrative office, a courthouse, and local agencies of forestry, agronomy, and veterinary; the town had 2 hospitals, 2 high schools, 4 elementary schools; commercial enterprises included a sawmill, dairy, slaughterhouse, leather tannery, banks and stores. The most noted feature of the town is the Dominican Baroque church and monastery, which are being preserved as architectural monuments.

RIETAVAS, town in western Lithuania (Samogitia), 53 km east of the Baltic port city of Klaipeda. Its population was 3423 in 1970 (2031 in 1923, 288 in 1959). The main part of the town lies on the right bank of the Jura river. Wood furniture and dairy products are produced there. The town has an agricultural, a commercial, and a secondary school, a 125-bed hospital, and a tuberculosis dispensary.
Rietavas is first mentioned as Retowe in an agreement, signed in 1253, between the Livonian Order and the bishop of Couronia to divide the old Couronian region known as Ceklis. It is believed that following the conquest of that Baltic coast area by the Teutonic Knights, the local inhabitants abandoned their homesteads and retreated deeper into Lithuania, returning after the war of 1422 when Lithuania regained Samogitia. From the 15th century, Rietavas was a township seat and subsequently, became a district (pavietas) centre, one of 28 in Samogitia. The district had a population of about 5800 in 1556-1567. In 1588 the town was assigned to Leo Sapieha, chancellor of Lithuania, and remained in the possession of this noble family until the beginning of the 19th century. King Stanislavas Augustus in 1792 granted the town the charter of self-government and the privilege of its own coat-of-arms bearing the inscription For nation, king and liberty and depicting a gold lion with a silver sword in its mouth against a blue background.
Rietavas gained most of its fame during the administration of the Oginski princes (1812-1909), who owned not only the town but also 57 000 ha of land in the surrounding areas. They abolished serfdom on their estates in 1835 without allowing the parcelling out of the farms; raised the standards of agriculture; organised agricultural exhibitions; and concerned themselves with improving the living conditions of their peasants. Making Rietavas his residence, Prince Iranaeus Oginski built a palace and laid out a 60-ha park at his estate. The town’s centre was replanted, its streets were straightened and widened. The church of St. Michael the Archangel was built during 1853-1874, one of the largest in Lithuania. An agricultural school with a training farm was founded in 1859; one of its teachers was Laurynas Ivinskis, the well-known publisher of Lithuanian calendars. The school was closed by the Russians in 1872 founded a music school which had a 60-member symphony orchestra; the school operated until 1903. The first electric power plant in Lithuania was built in Rietavas in 1892. There were 1750 inhabitants in 1897.
Under the independent Republic of Lithuania, Rietavas was the seat of a Lithuania, Rietavas was the seat of a township numbering 10 000 people. The Samogitian highway, connecting Klaipeda with Kaunas, passes through the town.

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SALANTAI, town in north-western Lithuania, on the Salantas river (a tributary of the Minija), 23 km Northeast of Kretinga. The town, situated on the left bank of the river, covers 423 acres. Its population in 1970 was 2,163 (1,677 in 1923, 2,179 in 1939, and 2,321 in 1959). Mentioned earlier in historical records than Salantai is a locality named Imbre, 4 km south of Salantai, known since the 13th century, which later became an elder ship seat. Salantai is mentioned in the second half of the 16th century as one of the villages in that elder ship. The estate and the village owned by a number of aristocratic families. In the 19th century they belonged to the Gorskis, who were related to prominent Polish and Lithuanian magnate families. On the estate they accumulated a large archives, containing many royal privileges, deeds, memoirs, diaries, coin and rock collections. At that time Salantai was already a township seat with 2,449 inhabitants (1897), ca 80 stores, a water mill, and a post office. There were rich merchants trading in flax and linseed with the port cities of Klaipeda and Liepaja (Latvija). The first wooden church, built in 1630 was destroyed during the Swedish invasion (1710). The ensuing plague decimated the population of the town and its vicinity. A new wooden church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected in 1724; the present-day Gothic-style church was built in 1911. Pastors were drawn from among the prelates of the Samogitia diocesan chapter. Bishop Motiejus Valancius (q.v.) was born in the parish of Salantai; during his episcopate (1850-75) temperance was almost universally realised there. A parish school was active since the beginning of the 19th century, when it had 77 pupils (1811).
In the period of national independence the township of Salantai consisted of 62 hamlets with a total of 10,000 inhabitants. The town itself contained government offices, a dairy, a flax purchasing centre, a power plant, an elementary school and commercial concerns. Streets were straightened out and new buildings erected in the centre of town. The Soviet system, imposed after World War II, has Salantai designed as the seat of a countryside district. There are a middle school, a 75-bed, and a number of small industrial and economic enterprises.

SARNELE, hamlet in northwest Lithuania, near Zemaiciu Kalvarija (renamed Varduva in 1964), 8 km southwest of Seda. Its population in 1970 was 437 (497 in 1923, 394 in 1959). The hamlet consists of single farms distributed over an area 4 km in length. It is crossed by the Varduva river, a tributary of the Venta. Barrow graves, where two bones daggers, a horn axe, and a harpoon fragment were found in 1965, testify to the presence of Neolithic settlements (ca 3800-1800 B.C.). A nearby fortress hill disclosed a cultural layer characteristic of the 1st century A.D. The poet Vytautas Macernis (q.v.) was born and buried at Sarnele.

SATEIKIAI

Sateikiai, town in north-western Lithuania, 14 km Northwest of plunge. Its population in 1970 was 596 (362 in 1923, ca 400 in 1939, 654 in 1959). It originated in the 17th century alongside an estate which subsequently became the property of the Plateris family. One of its members built a new Gothic-style brick church in 1875; the beautiful stained-glass windows were destroyed in 1945 by a group of red Army soldiers. On their estate the Platers and installed a 5-ha park with lovely walks, flower beds, decorative cherubs and rare trees. Part of the extensive library was transferred to the central State Library at Kaunas in 1920. During the period of national independence the town had an elementary school, a forestry office, a brewery, and several stores. Since 1950 it has been the centre of a countryside district.

 SILALE, town in western Lithuania, 27 km north of Taurage, with a population of 2995 in 1970 (1058 in 1923, ca 1,400 in 1939, 1,972 in 1959). The history of Silale reaches back to the early 16th century. In 1533 the town received its first church, that of St. Feancis. During the Reformation, the Evangelical Lutherans also created a parish and built their church. In 1859 there were ca 1,100 inhabitants in Silale, which was becoming famous for its markets. During World War I the town sustained extensive fire damage, but it was quickly rebuilt after Lithuania regained national independence. The town now had a secondary school, a public library, a power plant, a Jewish synagogue, and a number of trade establishments. A new Gothic church was concentrated in 1919; its parish embraced over 8,000 faithful and was one of the largest in Lithuania. The township, of which Sill was the seat, had at least 13,000 inhabitants distributed among 133 towns, villages, hamlets, and homesteads. Since 1950 Sill has been the centre of the Soviet administrative district. It continues to maintain a vigorous economic and cultural life as new residential districts are extending its southern city limits.

SILUTE, town in western Lithuania, 45 km Southeast of Klaipeda. Until 1923 it was under German rule and was called Heydekrug. In 1970 it had a population of 12,400 (4,389 in 1925, 8,969 in 1959). Silute was formed from the villages of Verdaine, Silokarciama, and Zibai, located halfway between Klaipeda and Tilze (Tilsit). The earliest reference to Silute is found in a document from 1511-15, by which permission was granted to open an inn for travelling merchants. Soon farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and tradesmen began clustering in the area. The village of Verdaine, on the left bank of the Sysa river, acquired a church in 1550 and a school in 1588. By the end of the 16th century, local markets drew merchants from Klaipeda, Tilze and Konigsberg. An early upsurge of population was reversed by the famine and plague of 1709-11, but after 1721 the number of inhabitants began to grow again. In 1818 Silute was made the centre of a county. When Klaipeda railroad was completed in 1875, its commerce with German cities expanded considerably. There were 2,042 inhabitants in 1892.
After centuries of German rule Silute was rejoined to Lithuania in 1923. It prospered as a market town. At the same time, local industry produced lumber, bricks, candy, fruit, drinks, soap, and alcoholic beverages; there were several mills and machine repair shops, as well as banks and branches of large, nation-wide agricultural companies. A German and Lithuanian high school, an agricultural school, and a farm economics program for girls provided education.Religious needs were served by two Lutheran Evangelical churches and one Catholic church, built in 1550, 1922, and 1850, respectively.
During the last 15 years its boundaries were expanded and it was made the centre of an administrative district. The major factory processes lumber and makes furniture. Other establishments include machine repair shops, textile plants, a distillery, a dairy, an animal fodder processing plant, and a sanitation machinery factory. There are two secondary schools (Russian and Lithuanian), an agricultural technical school, a medical and two occupational schools, a 270-bed hospital and 65-bed tuberculosis dispensary, a children’s tuberculosis hospital, a theatre and an ethnographic museum.

 SILUVA, town and religious shrine of western Lithuania, 19 km north of Raseiniai. It’s population was 996 in 1970 (992 in 1923, ca 1,200 in 1939, 971 in 1959). In 1457 local landlord Petras Gedgaudas built a Roman Catholic church of the nativity of Mary. The parish festivals held annually at Siluva on the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady soon became known not only throughout ‘Samogitia’, but they attracted Lithuanians even from the Prussia. Equally famous among the people was the painting of Mary in the church, believed to be a copy of Maria Maggiore in Rome. When the Reformation swept over Lithuania in the 16th century, one of its supporters, Sophie Wnuczko (Vnuskiene), who had acquired the estate and town, in 1592 founded an advanced school for the preparation of Calvinist teachers and ministers. At the time the holdings of the Catholics parish were confiscated. Around 1606 the catholics initiated court proceeding to regain their property. Their case was led by Rev. Jonas Kazakevicius (q.v.). In the course of it there happened an unusual event, recorded as follows in a hand-written history of the Siluva church dating from ca 1651.
It is about mirracular increasing of a weeping girl with child in her arms, which was seen by shepherd boys. The reason of girl’s weeping, was her son’s worshipping at namely that place she increased. Than she disappeared.
This is believed to have occurred around the year 1608. Another related fact is the discovery in 1612 of a hidden trunk containing parish documents and church articles. The location of the buried trunk has been found thanks to a blind men. He led the searchers to the same rock where the Holy Virgin is alleged to have appeared and the trunk was dug up.
On July 22, 1622, the tribunal of Vilnius handed down its decision, according to which the church property was to be returned to the Catholocs. A year later the contending parties put in effect a compromise settlement: the Catholics renounced their claims to a portion of the land, while the Calvinists reimbursed the former for damages.
In 1625 Rev. Kazakevicius built a small church in place of the earlier one out of his funds. At this site of the apparition he also erected a small chapel. In 1641 he rebuilt the church, giving it a latin cross plan. The chapel at the site of the apparition was replaced by a larger one in 1663. Finally, in 1760, construction of a brick church was begun, without demolishing the older wooden one. At the time of the consecration of the new church, the picture of the Holy Virgin Mary was crowded with the crown of the chapter of St.Peter’s in Rome (Sept. 8, 1786).
During the time of the Press ban (1864-1904) illegal publications printed abroad were distributed among the throngs. Under Soviet Russian rule, pilgrimages to holy shrines were again severely restricted. During the period of national independence (1918-40) up to 100,000 persons took part in the annual Siluva devotions.
In 1908, architect Anton Wiwulski (Vivulski), who resided in Paris, designed a new chapel. The construction begun in 1912 and was completed in 1924. The chapel was named the Apparition of Mary. In 1975 Pope Paul VI granted the church of Siluva the honorary title of bazilica minor.
The cult of our Lady of Siluva has recently spread through Lithuanian communities in abroad. The most prominent shrine is the large Siluva chapel installed within the national Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Washington, D.C., ceremoniously consecrated on Sept. 4, 1966.

SKAUDVILE. At Kryzkalnis the motorway intersects another important road-from Riga to Kaliningrad. The town of Skaudvile stands nine kilometres from the crossroads.
Skaudvile grew up in the late 19th century . Large farmers’ markets there used to attracts traders from Germany, England and Sweden.
The town’s main tourist attraction is the oldest builging - a wooden church, built in 1797, in the folk architecture style. The fretwork of the interior, the late - 18th-century altarpiece and the sculptures of saints are all worth seeing.
Anyone walking around the town will notice the memorial to the resistance fighters in the courtyard of the former NKVD headquarters.
At the end of the Second World War, when most European countries breathed a sigh of relief, the partisan war against the soviet occupation began. It lasted until 1953 and claimed over 20000 partisans’ lives.
To intimidate people, Soviet security would leave dead bodies on town squares, and later buried them in ditches or threw them into wells. Over 40 resistance fighters were killed in Skaudvile, and most of them were buried in the courtyard in front of the office.

SKUODAS, town in northern Lithuania, 2 km south of the Latvian border, situated at the confluence of the Bartuva and Luoba rivers and along the Kretinga-Priekule (Latvia) railroad. In 1970 the town had a population of 4,684 (3,624 in1923, ca 4,000 in 1939, 3,139 in 1959). Since World War II, during which the town suffered extensive destruction, hundreds of new buildings have gone up and water supply and sewerage systems have been installed. There is a rope factory, dairy, mill, 165-bed hospital, secondary and music schools. In 1950 the town was made the centre of a Soviet administrative district numbering 32,000 inhabitants.
The earliest mention of Skuodas occurs in the Livonian Chronicle, according to which it was the site of battle between the Samogitians and the Knights of the Sword in 1259. This battle ended with defeat for the latter, of whom 33 knights and an undisclosed number of ordinary soldiers were killed. In the late 16th century Skuodas belonged to the Chodkiewisz (Katkevicius, Katkus) magnate family. John Chodkiewicz, elder of Samogitia, aimed to make Skuodas a major economic centre, inviting craftsmen and merchants and securing rights of self-government for the town. A new name, Johansburg, did not catch on. In 1625 the estate and town passed to Sapiega magnate family, which owned it until the insurrection of 1831. Upon confiscating the estate, the Russians converted the mansion, into an army barracks. In 1833 the town had 1,387 inhabitants; in 1849, 1,099; and in 1897, 3,814. From the second half of the 19th century onward it was a township seat, with a distillery, a tannery, plants producing button and matches, and more than 20 stores. During the period of national independence, a shoe factory, wool-carding plant, dairy, public library, and secondary school were established. The first Holy Trinity church was built around 1566; the present-day brick church dates from 1847. The old parish school had 60 pupils in 1853. An Evangelical-Lutheran church has survived from the 16th century; it was built by the Chodkiewicz family.

 SVEKSNA, town in western Lithuania, 38 km Southeast of Klaipeda, on the Baltic Sea. Its population in 1972 was 2250 (1670 in 1923, ca 2000 in 1939, 1905 in 1959). The town has a neurogichal hospital, secondary school, mill, lumber mill, and other minor industrial and business enterprises. Since 1950 it has been the centre of a countryside district and of a state farm.
The area around Sveksna was inhabited even before the time of Christ, as is testified by surviving barrow graves and fortress hills. The later are especially abounded along the banks of Asva and Veivirzas rivers, where they form an entire defensive system, occurring at intervals of 5 km. Excavation of the graves has yielded bronze and silver ornaments, amber and glass beads, swords, spearheads, and Roman coins. In one graveyard 9th-13th century ornaments were found; a portion of them are housed in a museum in Vilnius. One silver and six bronze statuettes of Egyptian deities were discovered in 1853. In the middle of the 13th century teutonic Knights began making forays into the interior of Samogitia. Their marches, originating from the Klaipeda (Memel) castle, usually took them through the Sveksna countryside. After more than a century of fighting, the latter became covered with a dense forest, interrupted only here and there by human settlement. Teutonic road descriptions from 1384 and 1387 mention only the Sveksnale creek. But following the decisive Teutonic defeat at Tannenberg (1410) the region began to recover. There appeared an estate on which a church was built in 1509. The first landlords were the Kesgaila family of magnates; their holdings included virtually the entire Sveksna township. From 1598-1766 the estate and village passed through the hands of several other noblemen landlords. The only paper factory in Samogitia, a wool-carding shop, gunpowder and glass factories, a brickyard, and a sawmill were operating at Sveksna in the 17th century. The estate and village had 500 inhabitants in 1644. In 1766 the estate was acquired by Count Wilhelm Broel-Plater, a nobleman of German origin whose descendants owned the property until 1940. Jurgis Plateris (1810-1836) built a large library, inviting Simonas Stanevicius as his librarian. Adomas Plateris (1836-1909) aided book-smugglers in carrying Lithuanian publications across the Prussian border during the time of the Press ban. Another important figure in the national reawakening movement was Juozapas Rugis, who practised medicine there from 1886-1918. During the period of national independence Sveksna was a township seat with Roman catholic and Protestant churches and a synagogue, high school, hospital, nursing home, dairy, three mills, two wool-carding shops, and a number of other economic and cultural institutions.

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TAURAGE. In Lithuania’s southwest, on the bank of the Jura river, a tributary of the Nemunas, and by the Konigsberg-Riga highway already for several centuries there have lain a town nicely called by our ancestors Taurage.
The name of Taurage is composed of two words: tauras (buffalo) and ragas (horn). It poetically reminds of this land’s olden times.
Old burial grounds, ancient settlements, mounds and archeological findings discovever in them reveal that people have already inhabited these places since the time of Christ. In historical turns Taurage found itself between two taurage found itself between two worlds: historical ethnic lands, different dialects, the teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Catholicism and Reformation, and Prussia and the Russian Empire. Sometimes this land had to serve as a frontier dividing these worlds and at other times as a bridge uniting them. Consequently, this beautiful land, like a weather-beaten but unbroken pine by a big road, has acquired its singular and peculiar tinge.
The Taurage land covers the area of 1,179 square kilometers. Its inhabitans number 55,860. Eight municipalities have been established there. The excellent geographical position of Taurage creates favorable conditions for businessmen, traders and holidaymakers, cince there are only 120 km to the sea port of Klaipeda, 100 km to the Siauliai airport, 230 km ti Riga and 180 km to Kaliningrad.
A wonderful landscape, light and rich forests and rivers abounding in fich give many pleasant impressions to travellers and holidaymakers.
Traditionally formed relations of friendship, businesslike coopertion and family lead to Germany, the United States, Canada and other countries. Such experience has also developed Taurage’s partner ties with the communities of the towns of Riedstadt of Germany and Sokoldal of Norway.
Taurage and its community were greatly devastated by the Soviet occupation and World War II. The majority of its educated people were deported to Siberia, while the rest, trying to escape the alike fate, withdrew to the West. Genocide and repatriation destroyed numerous Jewish and German communities that had lived there for centuries.

Currently, with 35,000 inhabitants, Taurage is the center of region and district. Not only administrative but also cultural and scientific establishments and industrial and trade enterprises are concentrated there. Believers of various denominations get on well and live in ecumenicial concord.
The people of Taurage are patiently overcoming the difficulties of historical changes and building their future with hope.
You ere welcome to visit the hospitable land of Taurage.

TELSIAI (town). Telsiai is the administrative centre of the region, a town „on seven hills”, the ancient capital of Zemaitija. Telsiai is famous for its rich museum of local lore. The region stretches in the North West of Lithuania, in the Zemaitija (Samogitia) and covers area 1439 km². The population of it is 61.5 thousand. About 31 % of the territory is covered by forests. The lakes and water depositories cover 2800 ha (1,9% of the total area). The biggest lakes out of 47 ones are Lukstas, Mastis, Tausalas, Germantas, Birzulis. The beautiful river Virvyte with its tributaries flows through the region. Lots of wonderful nature and historic values are girdled by Varniai Region Park. There are over 300 cultural monuments in the region.
Telsiai, town 75 km east of Palanga and the Baltic coast, a town „on seven hills”, the ancient capital of Zemaitija (West Lithuania, Samogitia). Telsiai is famous for its rich museum of local lore.
Its population in 1970 was 20200 (4690 in 1923; 5800 in 1939; 13500 in 1959). Stretched out on the hilly bank Lake Mastis, the town began to develop in the 15th century alongside an estate governed by elder of Samogitia. In the 16th-17th centuries the eldership was held by such illustrious magnates as Jerome and John Carol Sapieha, and Michael Casimir Radvilas. Under their governance the town grew to become district centre and the seat of the diets of the Samogitian gentry as well as a centre of culture and trade (with Baltic ports). In 1614 Paul Sapieha invited the Franciscans and helped them build a friar and church. In 1765 a new church, that of St. Anthony, was constructed in baroque style; it became a cathedral in 1926. A secondary school founded by the Franciscans in 1793 had around 300 students at the beginning of the 19th century, including Kazimieras Jaunius, the future philologist, and Silvestras Baltramaitis, the future bibliographer. It was closed by the Russians after the 1831 revolt; the friary met the same fate after 1863, being transformed into a prison. Towards the end of the century there were more than 6000 inhabitants. The town had two leather tanneries, two mills, a brewery, and a distillery, and regular fairs. Following the 1907 fire, which destroyed more than half of the town, new brick buildings and schools appeared. The Jewish theological school yeshiva, established in 1873, was one of the world’s largest, attracting students from many foreign lands, including the United States and Palestine. In 1938 it was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio.
During the period of national independence Telsiai became a lively cultural and religious centre. In conjunction with the establishment of the Lithuanian church province (1926) the diocese of Telsiai was formed, resulting in the construction of diocesan administrative facilities and a theological seminary. Five men’s and eleven women’s congregations and a number of religious social service agencies were active within the confines of the diocese. Chorus, orchestras, theatrical and sports clubs, several newspapers and two publishing houses contributed to the town’s cultural life. New facilities were constructed to house municipal and county offices, the high school, and the ethnographic-historical museum organised by Pranas Genys. Railway lines linking Telsiai with the lines Siauliai-Kaunas and Kretinga-Klaipeda were laid in 1926 and 1932, respectively. A large textile factory was established in 1932; after World War II it was reorganised into a major knitwear plant employing over 3000 workers. Presently there are factories producing construction materials, canned and dairy goods. Other institutions include a hospital, several secondary schools, a music school, a theatre, a branch of the Vilnius Art Institute. To accommodate the increase in population, new residential and administrative buildings have been constructed. A summer resort area is being developed 4 miles west of the town, near Lake Germantas. Since 1950 Telsiai has been the centre of administrative District.

TELSIAI (county). In this county is and Varniai - a ancient capital of the bishop of Zemaitija.
From the point of ethnographic view all the county is in Zemaitija and in every day’s life till nowadays people speak in Zemaiciai dialect. The centre of the county Telsiai is called the capital of Zemaitija from ancient times.
From ancient times Zemaiciai were brave defenders of their land, who had courage, persistence and respect to their ancestors. Today all speak in Zemaiciai dialect, live under that cultural spirit, which was given by history, they like the old dishes of Zemaiciai.
Telsiai county joining three regions Telsiai, Plunge, Mazeikiai, is active in republic’s economical and cultural life.
Telsiai county is the land of agriculture and cattle-breeding. There are 217,3 thousand ha soil suitable for cultivator and 172,9 thousand ha of it is being plugged. The land of private husbandry covers 109 thousand ha.
In the county as everywhere in Lithuania, predominate private husbandry and agriculture companies, accordingly 7762 and 60. The farmers grow cattle and traditional crops as ryes, wheat’s, barley, potatoes.
People in the county begin growing non traditional agriculture crops and cattle. Some of them start other business as growing berries, mushrooms, medical herbs, fish and other water fauna. They wattle of thin twigs, make handicrafts, process agriculture production and develop country tourism.
There are 199 educational institutions in the county: 4 gymnasiums, 41 secondary schools, 32 pre-school institutions, 16 extra training, 3 special schools, 2 children houses, 7 manual training schools.
Telsiai higher school of applied art, priests’ seminary, Rietavas higher agriculture school make Telsiai county more known.
The children of the county attend supplementary schools as music, sports, art and take part in various extra-curricular activities (clubs, societies). They learn folk songs and dances, ball-room dances, parachute-jumping. The children take part in republic contests of exact sciences and the humanities where they take prizes and make our county famous.
The county has and its cultural life. There are a lot of international festivals as folklore one Er paauga zale leipa, comedies festival Cha-cha-cha, children’s folklore festival As pasiejau veina popa in Telsiai, brass band festival, folklore festival Saulele raudona in Plunge, brass band, songs and dances, trade festival in Mazeikiai. A lot of festivals are organized not only by urban people but by country people too.
Such monuments as Telsiai old city, Cathedral, Varniai St. Alexander and St. Peter and Paul churches, Telsiai Bernardin’s monastery, Plunge and Rietavas, Renavas and Plinkses estates-steeds ensembles, Seda, Berzoras churches’ ensembles, Small Bazilika of Zemaiciu Kalvarija, with statues of much troubles amaze us with their historic value, beauty and majesty.
Tourists are interested in Zemaiciai museum Alka, countryside museum, Zemaiciai art museum, Mazeikiai museum of regional study, exposition of Lithuanian Art museum in Renavas estate, Militaristic museum in the territory where was a secret base of thermonuclear rockets, writers’ Zemaite, Satrijos Ragana, poet Vytautas Macernis, Juozas Vaickus, the theatre founder, memorial museums.
We hope that such museums as bishop history which are being established in Lithuania will attract people’s attention.
We are rich in our history, cultural values and ancestors customs.
You are welcome to us, you are welcome in all spheres-business, culture, sports. We want to make you as rich as we are.

TYTUVENAI, town in western Lithuania, 27 km north of Raseiniai, near the Siauliai-Taurage railroad. The population in 1970 was 3,161 (1,164 in1923, ca 1,200in1939, 2,206 in 1959). Situated along the Tytuva river between Lakes Bridvaisis and Gilius, the town borders on a large forest (4,032 ha) in the west and on a peat bog (2,610 ha) in the north. There is a 50-bed hospital, a secondary school, and an agricultural technical high school.The town developed around an estate mentioned in the 16 century. The firs Roman Catholic church was built in 1555, at which time there were 112 farmsteads. Landlord Andrew Wollowicz (Valavicius) invited the Franciscans to settle in the town in 1614 and began building a new church and friary. Construction was not entirely finished until the end of the 18th century, when the estate had long been under the rule of the Radvilas family (1616-1808). In 1736 a grammar school was established alongside the friary, followed by a separator seminary in 1746. In addition, a Franciscan noviciate was operative from 1763. In 1843 the friary housed 14 priests, 6 brothers, and 14 novices. After the 1863 insurrection the friars were accured of having had ties with the rebels and the friary was shut down in 1864; its prior, Father Andrius Petravicius, was exiled to Siberia. It was decided to assign the church to the Russian Orthodox, who numbered no more than 300 in the vicinity, but local protests and the intersection to bishop Motiejus Valancius compelled Tsar Alexander II to revoke the decision. A separate church was constructed for Russian use. In 1897 the town had 1,302 inhabitants. Under Russian rule and later in independent Lithuania, Tytuvenai served as the seat of a township whose inhabitants numbered 5,243 in 1923 and around 7,000 in 1939. The town had a number of commercial, educational and cultural establishments. The pine grove at the urge of town became the site of a siring of summer villas, while the market square near the church was turned into a garden. after World War II the town was made the centre of a Soviet administrative district (1950), but later it was assigned to that of Kelme (1959).
The Church of St. Mary of the Angels and the former Franciscan friary, situated on the shores of Lake Bridvaisis, were built in two phases (1614-39 and 1759-93). The Bazilika type brick church has three naves and two towers flanking the main facade. In front of the church there are arcade cloister which surrounds a Holy Stairs chapel similar to the Scala Santa at the Lateral Palace in Rome. On the south side of the church, an arcade passageway gives access to the monastic buildings. The high roof and pointed-arch windows are Gothic in style: the western pediment and frieze are Renaissance; while the front facade, chapel and cloister with its decorative gate are Baroque. Renaissance cross-vaulting, rococo altars, and a Baroque monument to the founder, Andrew Wollowich, (Valavicius), distinguish the interior of the church. Of interest is the vaulted ceiling of the refectory, the only one of this tie in Lithuania. By their formal diversity and richness the church and friary recommend themselves as two of Lithuania’s outstanding architectural monuments.

U

UPYNA. Further down the road towards the Baltic Sea, signposts point to Upyna. A village was recorded at Upyna in 1566; by the 17th century it was already a town.
Nor it is a quiet town with an early -19th-century wooden church. The expressive wooden sculptures of saints were made by local carvers in the late 19th century.
The first church in Upyna was built in the 17th century. Legend has it that Swedish troops marched through the village carrying a portrait of St. Mary. When they reached the spot where the church is now, the horses balked and refused to move. The picture couldn’t be taken away. After some hesitation, the Swedes made a wooden roof it and left it there. Shortly afterwards a church was built, and the miraculous picture was installed in it
close to the church is the Craft Museum, founded by the ethnographer Klemensas Lovcikas, who is also the museum’s curator. He has amassed a large collection of household utensils made by local craftsmen, figures of Christ and early-20th-century farming equipment.

UZVENTIS, town in western Lithuania, 40 km Southwest of Siauliai, located on the right bank of the Venta; its population in 1970 was 1,406 (887 in 1923, ca 900 in 1939, 1,704 in 1959). A secondary school, a 50-bed hospital, and a textile mill operate in the town. During the period of independence, Uzventis was township seat in the county of Siauliai. It had a six-grade elementary school, craftsmen’s shops,and a distillery. Objects from the Stone Age have been found in the vicinity of the town. Historical sources mention Uzventis in the 15th-16th century as one of the district centre of Samogitia. The first wooden church of St.Mary Magdalen was built in the beginning of the 17th century; the present church dates from 1825. In 1804 there was a parochial school with 30 students. The town grew mostly in the 19th century, reacting a population of 927 in 1897. The writer Marija Peckauskaite lived at the Uzventis estate. She described her parents’ home, which now has been converted into a memorial for her, in the work Sename dvare (On the Old Estate).

 V

VARDUVA (town) (Gardai, Zemaiciu Kalvarija), small town in the Northwest Lithuania, 24 km Northwest of Tulsa. The Varduva river and its tributary, the Pagardenis, flow through the town. The population in 1970 was 668 (712 in 1923, 628). After World War II, under the Soviet system, the town was made a collective farm centre.
The oldest historical (1253) designation for the locality was Gardai (q. v. ). It was donated to the bishop when the diocese of Samogitia was created (1417). In 1637 Bishop George Tyszkiewicz (Tiskevicius) established the Dominican Friars there; for them he built a monastery, a church, and along the banks of the Varduva 19 chapels, each of them representing a particular stage of the Passion of Christ. Because of the Station of the Cross, completed in 1642, the locality came to be known as Zemaiciu Kalvarija (The Calvary of Samogitia). At about the same period a painting of the Madona and Child, brought from Rome and held to be miraculous, was installed over the main altar of the church. In a short while, the Calvary of Samogitia became a widely known shrine, attracting numerous visitors. In the annual feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (July 2), several tens of thousands made the pilgrimage to the shrine. The present brick church, built in 1824 and renovated after a fire in 1896, can hold up to 2,500 people. In the 19th century an 8-class gymnasium (high school), maintained by the Dominicans, was in operation; Simonas Daukantas and Bishop Motiejus Valancius studied there. The school was shut down by the Russian in 1836, the monastery in 1889. The Marians (q. v.), founded in 1927, continued the Dominican tradition during the independence period, until the Soviet occupation (1940). Following the second Soviet occupation the name Zemaiciu Kalvarija was changed to Varduva (1964).

VARDUVA (river), in the Northwest Lithuania, left tributary of the Venta. It is 96 km long and drains an area of 590 sq. km. The river originates near the village of Paparciai, and flowing south-Southeast passes the village of Varduva (Zemaiciu Kalvarija until 1964), then turn north near Seda and merges with the Venta near Leckava, at the Lithuanian-Latvian border. Of its tributaries, the longest is the Sruoja (33 km). The average rate of fall is 88 cm/km; discharge near the mouth averages 5. 6 cu. m/sec. The stream supplies the power for a hydroelectric station at Dimgailiai and four mills.

VARNIAI, town in mid-western Lithuania (Samogitia), situated between two lakes: Lukstas to the south and Birzulis to the north. The population in 1970 was 2 027 (1983 in 1923; 1 902 in 1959) There is a secondary school.
During the period independence, it was the township seat; the township population exceeded 12 000. After World War II, in accord with the soviet system, it was made the district administrative centre and assigned to the Telsiai region. Varniai lies 28 km to the south of Telsiai.
Until the 16th century Varniai was known as Medininkai, mentioned in historical sources from the 13th century onwards (Medeniken, Medniki, Miedniki, et al.). That was the general name used to designate the central portion of Samogitia. When the Samogitians began to be baptised (1413), is situated was closed as the seat of the diocese then being forms. It is thought that at that time there were two settlements divided by the Varnele, a small stream which flows into Lake Birzulis. One of them was called Medininkai, the other Varniai. In Medininkai the first church erected was that of St. Alexander (blessed in 1417), then the cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul (1421, but the residence for the bishop and his curia was built in Varniai, which in the long run superseded the name of Medininkai. Both churches were erected by Vytautas the Magnus. St. Alexander’s Church was rebuilt in 1779, and later (1864) it became the parish church of Old Varniai. The cathedral, a new brick edifice built by Bishop Casimir Pac in 1694, became the parish church of new Varniai when the diocesan centre was transferred to Kaunas (1864).
With the establishment of the Medininkai Diocese (1417), which in time acquired a second name, that of Diocese of Samogitia, Varniai became not only the religious but also the cultural centre of western Lithuania. Bishop Merkelis Giedraitis (1576-1609) especially concerned himself with the printing of Lithuanian books. Among his colleagues was Canon Mikalojus Dauksa, who in 1595 published a catechism, the first Lithuanian book to be printed in Lithuania proper. Another well known canon of Varniai was the historian Matthew Stryjkowski, who in his Cronicle glorified the heroic deeds of Lithuania’s past. King Ladislas Vasa in 1635 granted the town the Magdeburg Charter and permitted the use of a coat of arms: St. George astride a white steed fighting the dragon. During the 16th-19th centuries, Jesuits, Rochites, Piarists and Vincentians were engaged in religious, charitable and educational work. The cathedral school, founded in 1469, had an enrolment of 150 students at the end of the 18th century. In 1740, the priests’ seminary of Kraziai was transferred of Varniai. Here the writer-poets Antanas Baranauskas, Antanas Stazdas, Motiejus Valancius, Antanas Vienazindys completed theological studies. In 1833, the population of Varniai numbered 1 155. There were two copper foundries and many shops were clock makers, goldsmiths, leather workers, carpenters, and tailors practised their trade. The annual town fair attracted up to 20 000 people, among whom were traders also from neighbouring countries (Prussia, Latvia); over 3 000 horses would be brought for sale. Through the efforts of bishop Motiejus Valancius, who lived in Varniai from 1850-1864, a post office, a pharmacy, and a book store were established in the town. In his time, 120 young men were studying at the priests’ seminary. After the anti-Russian uprising of 1863, in which the townspeople took an active part, the Episcopal residence for the Diocese of Samogitia and the seminary were transferred to Kaunas. The seminary buildings were converted to soldiers’ barracks, while Russian officers took over the chancery quarters. Varniai lost the basis in needed for cultural work and progress; with the passage of time it became a neglected provincial town, even though in 1897 it had 3 121 inhabitants.

 VENTA (town) Is in the Akmene area. With a population of 4500, Venta wards is situated by the Venta River and Siauliai-Mazeikiai Highway. Venta settlement, the center of the ward, has Akmene Railway Station, companies „Ventos Arklas” and „Ventos Meistrai”, a bakery and other enterprises. Folk Music Company „Ventukai” is known throughout Lithuania.

VIEKSNIAI. This town in the Akmene area. The area of Vieksniai situated in the west of the region is 164 sq. m, with the population of 5400.
The center of the ward - Vieksniai - was awarded the Magdeburg (town) rights and coat of arms in 1792. It has a surviving 18th -century wooden house that since 1860 houses a pharmacy which also has a museum.
In the mid 19th century airman Aleksandras Grikevicius who constructed self-prolelled flying machines resides in Vieksniai. His house of residence now houses a museum.
The town center boasts a monument to the Birzisku family. Three brothers Birziskos - Mykolas (1882-1962), Vaclovas (1884-1956) and Viktoras (1885-1964) - professors at Vilnius and Kaunas Universities were born here. Mykolas Birziska was the signatory of the Lithuanian Independence Act (1918 02 16). Antanas Birziska, father of the professors, worked as a doctor in Vieksniai for 42 years.
Vieksniai Ward abounds in historical and natural monuments. A huge Meiles (Love) Boulder, otherwise called the Black Boulder, lies in the Zibikai forest. According to the legend, the devil carried the boulder with the intention of dropping it on the Vieksniai Church, but a cock crowed, and the boulderfell into the forest.

VYTOGALA

Vytogala is the native village of Stasys Girenas (1893-1933), an aviator and transatlantic flight pioneer.
Stasys Girenas and Steponas Darius, both born in Zemaitija, met in the USA, where they had the idea of flying non-stop from new York to Kaunas, then the capital of Lithuania.
On 15 July 1933 they left new York, but were killed in a crash in strange circumstances only 650 kilometres short of Kaunas, on the territory of nazi Germany (now Soldin, Poland).
The distance (6411 km) they flew was the world’s second longest distance non-stop. They crossed the Atlantic under adverse conditions. With only primitive navigation equipment, they flew very precisely. In the history of aviation their flight ranks among the most precise by navigation standards.
Girenas was the 16th child in a poor farmer’s family. Orphaned in their childhood, he and his brother emigrated to the USA where he became a qualified pilot.
His parents’ house has been restored and is now a museum. One end houses an exhibition devoted to the pilot and his village; in the other is a rich ethnographic exhibition.

© Samogitian Cultural Association Editorial  Board, 1998-2000 Page updated 2003.05.15 . Comments to: samogit@delfi.lt