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49-563: The population in 1959 was 998; ca. 2,000 in 1939; 1,761 in 1897. The town has a secondary school and is a rural community centre. Under the prewar Republic of Lithuania, Kražiai was the township seat of the county of Raseiniai . After World War II it was assigned to the Soviet administrative district of Kelmė . Kražiai is one of the older settlements in Samogitia . Many barrow graves and fortress hills are located in its vicinity. The name of

98-569: A broken intonation ("laužtinė priegaidė", a variant of a start-firm accent ) similar to that of the Latvian language . In 2010, the Samogitian language was assigned with an ISO 639-3 standard language code ("sgs"), as some languages, that were considered by ISO 639-2 to be dialects of one language, are now in ISO 639-3 in certain contexts considered to be individual languages themselves. Žemaitija

147-802: A central role in Lithuania's wars against the crusading order of the Teutonic Knights (Knights of the Cross and Knights of the Sword). Invasions started in Lithuania in 1229. Combined military forces undertook numerous campaigns against Samogitians and Lithuanians. Saule (1236), Skuodas (1259), Durbe (1260), Lievarde (1261) are just a few of the battles that took place. Since Žemaitija was the last pagan region in Europe left to be invaded and christened,

196-599: A distinct Samogitian language . Famous landmarks include Tauragė Castle , Plungė Manor and Hill of Crosses . Ruthenian sources mentioned the region as жемотьская земля, Žemot'skaja zemlja ; this gave rise to its Polish form, Żmudź , and probably to the Middle High German Sameiten, Samaythen . In Latin texts, the name is usually written as Samogitia, Samogetia , etc. The area has long been known to its residents and to other Lithuanians exclusively as Žemaitija (the name Samogitia

245-569: A district capital. During World War II, Raseiniai was virtually ruined – approximately 90% of the buildings were destroyed. One survivor of the war is the Church of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary, which was built in 1782. The remains of the 17th–18th century monastery buildings also serve as a monument of Renaissance architecture . Tourists invariably pause at The Samogitian statue in

294-454: A higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves as Lithuanians and never as Samogitians, and because of such identity ( sic ) we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants." — Vytautas the Great , excerpt from his 11 March 1420 Latin letter sent to Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor , in which he described

343-663: Is a city in Lithuania . It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some 5 km (3.1 mi) north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway . Raseiniai is one of the oldest communities in Lithuania – the name of the settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1253. Its name was mentioned in Chronicles of the 13th and 14th centuries under various names, including Rushigen , Rossyen , and Rasseyne . In 1253 Grand Duke Mindaugas ceded one part of

392-520: Is no longer in use within Lithuania and has not been used for at least two centuries); Žemaitija means "lowlands" in Lithuanian. The region is also known in English as Lower Lithuania or, in reference to its Yiddish names, זאַמעט Zamet or זאַמוט Zamut . The largest city is Šiauliai ( Šiaulē ). Telšiai ( Telšē ) is the capital , although Medininkai (now Varniai ; Varnē )

441-570: Is now considered Aukštaitija and Suvalkija as well. The Duchy of Samogitia was an autonomous administrative unit in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with some similarities to a voivodeship . In contrast to some other aristocrats of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language was intensively used in the Duchy of Samogitia and its nobility throughout the early modern period . This

490-490: Is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania alongside Lithuania proper . Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania . Its capital city is Telšiai and the largest city is Šiauliai (located on the border between Samogitia and Aukštaitija ). Throughout centuries, Samogitia developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, songs, traditions, and

539-420: Is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions of the country, with an ethnic Lithuanian population exceeding 99.5% in some districts . During the first part of the 19th century, Žemaitija was a major center of Lithuanian culture (Žemaičiai traditionally tended to oppose any anti-Lithuanian restrictions). The local religion is predominantly Roman Catholic , although there are significant Lutheran minorities in

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588-575: Is one of two dialects, the other being the Aukštaitian dialect and that both of these dialects have subdialects each). Samogitian has northern and southern dialects, which are further subdivided. A western dialect once existed in the Klaipėda region , but it became extinct after World War II after its inhabitants fled the region as a result of being expelled or persecuted by the Soviet authorities. During

637-535: Is proven by the letter of Stanisław Radziwiłł to his brother Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł immediately after becoming the Elder of Samogitia that: "While learning various languages, I forgot Lithuanian , and now I see, I have to go to school again, because that language, as I see, God willing, will be needed." After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, Samogitia

686-464: Is represented by the Samogitian cultural society , a group interested in preserving Samogitian culture and language. The coat of arms depicts a black bear with silver claws and a collar on a red shield topped with a crown. The greater arms are supported by a knight with a sword and a woman with an anchor and has the motto Patria Una ( Latin : One Fatherland). The current emblazonment of the arms

735-497: The Duchy of Samogitia . These are the oldest symbols of the Lithuanian ethnographic regions. On 21 July 1994, these symbols were recognized by the government of Lithuania. Because Žemaitija (Samogitia) does not correspond to any current administrative division of Lithuania, these symbols are not officially used anymore. However, the Samogitian bear was used in the coats of arms of Šiauliai County and Telšiai County . It also appears on

784-539: The Kražiai Massacre of 1893. As part of its Russification campaign, the Russian government decided to tear down the local Catholic monastery church. After petitions to save the church were rejected, people began to gather at the church to prevent the removal of sacred objects. This alarmed Kaunas Governor Nikolai Klingenberg, who led a force of police and Don Cossacks that invaded the church and brutally drove out

833-606: The United Kingdom , Germany and Russia . Žemaičių Kalvarija (or New Jerusalem as it used to be called) is visited by pilgrims from all around the world, due to its annual The Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Church Festival (usually in June or July). Samogitia historically was an autonomous region in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , although it lost this status once Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire following

882-578: The 15th and 16th centuries, the Samogitians of the Klaipėda region called themselves " Lietuvininkai ", whereas at the end of the 19th century when the area, known in German as the Memelland , was part of Prussia (Germany), they were known as "Prūsai". After World War II , the territory of the western subdialect was resettled mainly by northern and southern Žemaičiai and by other Lithuanians. Samogitian has

931-469: The 19th century. In 1831, an insurrection against Tsarist oppression began in Raseiniai. On March 26, the rebels took Raseiniai and formed a provisional district government. Within a few days the insurrection spread throughout the entire country – and was later known as the 1831 Rebellion . The town long had a large Jewish presence. It was among the first Jewish communities established in Lithuania, and

980-583: The Jesuits established Kražiai College . With the transfer of the gymnasium to Kovno in 1848, and owing to a devastating fire the following year, the town lost its importance. After the construction of the Libau–Romny Railway in 1880, it became still poorer, and many families emigrated to the United States , Africa , and Australia . Today, the town is remembered in Lithuania as the site of

1029-560: The Samogitia territory, including some of the district around Raseiniai, to the Livonian Order , and the rest to the first bishop of Lithuania, Kristyan. In the 14th–18th centuries, Raseiniai was one of the most important towns in the Samogitia region. At the end of the 14th century, the town became important centre, and its representative participated with others from the region in signing the peace treaty of Königsberg in 1390. At

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1078-835: The Samogitians (Lithuanians) ). After World War I , Samogitia became a part of the newly re-established Lithuanian state. The Žemaičiai resisted the Bolsheviks and the Bermontians . During World War II, Lithuania was first occupied by the Stalinist Soviet Union in 1940, then in 1941 by Nazi Germany, and in 1944 again by the USSR. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania on 6 September 1991. The last Soviet troops withdrew in August 1993. In 1945,

1127-534: The Soviet 3rd Mechanized Corps met the assault of the 6th Panzer Division , with approximately 100 vehicles. A single KV-1 tank managed to hold off the German advance for a full day while being pummeled by a variety of antitank weapons, until finally the KV-1 ran out of ammunition and was knocked out. Raseiniai was captured on 23 June 1941 by troops of the German Army Group North . On 25 July 1941,

1176-549: The Soviets denied the existence of the Lithuania Minor ethnographic region, out of political advantage, and declared the Klaipėda region a part of Samogitia. Tourist destinations in Samogitia include Palanga , Kretinga and Žemaičių Kalvarija . The majority of tourists come from Latvia , Poland , Belarus , Russia , Germany , Spain , Finland and Sweden . Palanga is a tourist destination among tourists from

1225-480: The Teutonic Order and ended their crusading era. "We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced a decision about the land of Samogitia, which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of

1274-678: The Teutonic Order set their sights on this last mission. Between 1345 and 1382, the Knights of the Cross attacked from Prussia some 70 times, while the Livonian Knights of the Sword made 30 military forays. Year after year, fortresses were attacked, farms and crops were put to the torch, women and children enslaved and men killed. Despite all their effort, the Žemaičiai managed to defend their lands until 1410 decisive Battle of Grunwald or Žalgiris, where united Polish-Lithuanian forces defeated

1323-824: The Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 as a part of the Vilnius Governorate . In 1843, Samogitia was incorporated into the Kaunas Governorate , with a minor part attached to the Courland Governorate . Since then, Samogitia has not had a separate political status, but there were attempts to create a separate state during the uprising in February 1831 . Currently, Samogitia

1372-486: The ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there is one language and the same inhabitants . But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than the land of Lithuania , it is called as Samogitia, because in Lithuanian it is called lower land [ Žemaitija ]. And the Samogitians call Lithuania as Aukštaitija , that is, from the Samogitian point of view,

1421-487: The central town square. The sculpture serves as a symbol of the Samogitia ethnographical zone – a strong man resolutely stepping forward after having tamed a bear (an allusion to the 1831 Rebellion). On the sides of the base there are three bas-reliefs depicting the struggle against Tsarist oppression. The sculpture, which is the work of Vincas Grybas (1890–1941), was erected in Raseiniai in 1933–1934. In June 1941, near Raseiniai, roughly 20 Kliment Voroshilov tanks (KVs) of

1470-465: The core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , composed from Žemaitija (lowlands) and Aukštaitija (highlands). Term Aukštaitija has been known since the 13th century. In the 15th century, Samogitia was the last region in Core Europe to be converted to Christianity . During the 15–18th centuries, it was known as the Duchy or Eldership of Samogitia , which included some territories of what

1519-545: The county was in the Vilna Governorate , and from 1843 on it became part of the Kovno Governorate . Historically, the chief articles of commerce were wood and grain for export. Because of its geographic position and distance from the railroad and the main highways, it became economically isolated. A fire in 1865 which almost destroyed the town also contributed to the town's decline in the latter half of

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1568-590: The end of the 15th century, Raseiniai was granted Magdeburg Rights . In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth the town became important in the region. Government institutions were located there, and it served as a mercantile center for the area. In 1580 the local aristocrats met there in order to choose their representatives to the General Sejm (parliament) in Warsaw. From 1585 Raseiniai served as

1617-489: The expense of Žemaitija. Because during the 13th through 16th centuries the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order bordered Žemaitija, it was long threatened by their expansionist aims. As such, the Samogitian territory was offered to these orders, or exchanged in peace treaties, a number of times. Lithuania would then regain Žemaitija during subsequent conflicts. For more than two hundred years, old Samogitia played

1666-570: The locality is first mentioned (as Crase ) in a 1257 document of King Mindaugas , by which a part of Samogitia was assigned to the Teutonic Order . Vytautas the Great during his first years of rule ceded Samogitia to the Order; the regent he appointed lived in Kražiai. After the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, when Samogitia regained its freedom, Kražiai became the district centre. In the 15th century Kražiai

1715-516: The people. Afterwards, a number of Catholics were publicly flogged and about 71 were brought to trial. These events were exploited in anti-Russian and anti-Tsarist propaganda that enhanced the development of Lithuanian national consciousness . Known as "Krozh" in Yiddish , the town had a Jewish community dating back to the 15th century. Among the rabbis of Krozh in the 18th and 19th centuries were: Talmudic scholars and other prominent men of Krozh of

1764-552: The permanent location of the county parliament . In 1792 city Magdeburg rights were renewed. The 1st and 3rd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigades were stationed in the town in the 1790s. Following the third partition of the Commonwealth in 1795, Raseiniai was annexed by the Russian Empire and its town rights were annulled. In the Russian Empire, the town was the center of a Rossieny County . From 1801 to 1843,

1813-591: The same period were: Isaac ha-Levi Hurwitz; David, rabbi at Meretz; Zevulun ben Lipman, rabbi at Plungian ; and Rabbi Jacob Joseph , who died in New York in 1902, likewise were natives of Krozh. In 1897 the Jews of Krozh numbered 1,125 out of a total population of about 3,500. About 40% of the former were artisans, a few being farmers and gardeners. Besides the usual charitable institutions, Krozh had two synagogues, two prayer-houses, and about ten different circles for

1862-484: The south. The use of the Samogitian language is decreasing as more people tend to use Lithuanian, although there have been some minor attempts by local councils, especially in Telšiai , to write certain roadside information in Samogitian as well some schools teach children Samogitian in schools. The modern concept of " dialectological " Žemaitija appeared only by the end of the 19th century. The territory of ancient Samogitia

1911-534: The spring of 1915, the Germans concentrated Army Group Lauenstein in the area of Tilsit , with three infantry and three cavalry divisions opposing one infantry division and units of border police and Russian volunteers. The Bavarian cavalry division swept through Raseiniai on April 14 en route to Šiauliai . Refugees from Raseiniai appeared in Šiauliai on the morning of April 15 warning of the German advance. When Lithuania regained Independence in 1918, Raseiniai became

1960-520: The study of the Bible and the Talmud. In 1941, the Jews of the town were murdered in mass executions perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppe of Germans and Lithuanian nationalists. Three hundred Jews twelve years of age and older were massacred in a forest near Kuprė and 70 to 80 Jewish children were massacred near Medžiokalnis. Raseiniai Raseiniai ( pronunciation ; Samogitian : Raseinē )

2009-519: The town had 10,579 inhabitants, of whom 8,290 were Jews. In 1897 the population of the district, excluding the town, was 221,731, of whom about 17,000 were Jews. After World War I, however, the Jewish community was smaller. By 1926, 2,226 Jews lived in Raseiniai, and approximately 2,000 (40% of the general population) in 1939. During most of the World War I, the town was occupied by the German army. In

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2058-1256: The town was placed under the administration of the newly created Reichskommissariat Ostland . Raseiniai was recaptured on 9 August 1944 by Soviet troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front in the course of the Kaunas Offensive . Šiluva town. Where to find: John Paul II House, M. Jurgaitis a. 5, LT - 60433, Šiluva, Raseiniai district. Tel. 8 428 79200, 8 687 87124. Betygala town. Where to find: Dubysos st. 8, Betygala, Raseiniai district. Tel. 8 615 26162, 8 616 50 251. Raseiniai Region History Museum. Where to find: Muziejaus st. 3, Raseiniai. Tel./fax 8 428 51191, tel. 8,663,511. Raseiniai racetracks. Where to find: Paraseinio st. 16, Dumšiškių village, Raseiniai district. Tel. 8 674 96385. Eight-wheeled Museum. Where to find: Vyšnių st. 22, Nemakščiai, Raseiniai d. Tel. 8,687,49215. Daugėliškės cognitive trail. Where to find: Daugėliškės forest, Ariogala sen., Raseiniai district. Tel. 8,618,34611. Molavėnai mound complex. Kur rasti: Molavėnų k., Nemakščių sen., Raseinių r. Tel. 8 618 34611. Samogitia Samogitia , often known by its Lithuanian name Žemaitija ( Samogitian : Žemaitėjė ; see below for alternative and historical names)

2107-530: The town, which is known in Yiddish as Raseyn, became known as the "Jerusalem of Zamut." Jews continued to settle there in large numbers throughout the 17th century. During most of the 19th century, the greater proportion of the town's population was Jewish and it was a center of the Jewish Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement. In 1842 the city had 7,455 inhabitants, the majority of whom were Jews. In 1866

2156-438: Was created by artist Algis Kliševičius. The flag of Samogitia depicts the coat of arms on a white background. It is a swallowtail flag . A variant of the flag charged with the greater coat of arms additionally has a red border around the flag. Both symbols are assumed to have been used for centuries, especially the coat of arms (differing claims assert it was first used in the 14th or 16th centuries). The symbols were used by

2205-446: Was incorporated into the Russian Empire along with the rest of Lithuania. Samogitia was the main source of the Lithuanian cultural revival during the 19th century and was a focal point for the smuggling of books printed in the Lithuanian language, which was banned by the occupying Russians. In 1883, Edmund Veckenstedt published a book Die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten (Litauer) (English: The myths, sagas and legends of

2254-584: Was inhabited by southern Semigallians and southern Curonians ) became ethnically Lithuanian between the 13th and 16th centuries. The primal eastern boundary of historical Samogitia was the Šventoji River (a tributary of the Neris River ); in 1387, the Lithuanian ruler (regent of Lithuania for Jogaila) Skirgaila had expanded the territory of Grand Duke's domain in Aukštaitija along the Nevėžis River at

2303-552: Was much larger than current ethnographic or "dialectological" Žemaitija and embraced all of central and western Lithuania. The very term "Samogitians" is a Latinized form of the ancient Lithuanian name for the region's lowlanders, who dwelt in Central Lithuania's lowlands. The original subethnic Samogitia, i.e. Central Lithuania's flat burial grounds culture, was formed as early as the 5th-6th centuries. The western part of historical Žemaitija (before 12th–13th centuries it

2352-409: Was once the capital of the Duchy of Samogitia . The major cities are: Samogitia is bordered by Lithuania Minor in the south-west, Suvalkija in the south-east, Aukštaitija in the east, and Semigallia and Courland in the north. The people of Žemaitija speak Samogitian, a variety of Lithuanian that was previously considered one of three main dialects (modern linguists have determined that it

2401-486: Was the christening centre of Samogitia. The English Protestant, Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk , and her husband Richard Bertie , exiled during the reign of the staunchly Catholic Queen Mary I of England , resided for some years in Kražiai as administrators on behalf of King Sigismund II Augustus . In the 17th century Kražiai became one of the Catholic centres of the country. There were several monasteries, and

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