Samogitia
Samogitia
Žemaitija Žemaitėjė | |
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UTC2 (CET (GMT +2)) |
Samogitia or Žemaitija (
Etymology and alternative names
Geography
The largest city is
The major cities are (the Samogitian language name, if different, is provided after slash):
- Šiauliai (Šiaulē) (99,462 inhabitants)
- Mažeikiai (Mažeikē) (32,477 inhabitants)
- Tauragė (Tauragie) (21,516 inhabitants)
- Telšiai (Telšē) (21,294 inhabitants) – considered capital
- Plungė (Plongė) (16,750 inhabitants)
- Kretinga (Kretinga) (16,580 inhabitants)
- Palanga (Palonga) (16,046 inhabitants)
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.
Subdivisions
Subdivision | Note |
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Telšiai County | entire county |
Akmenė District Municipality | entire municipality |
Skuodas District Municipality | entire municipality |
Kretinga District Municipality | entire municipality |
Kretinga District Municipality | entire municipality |
Palanga City Municipality | entire municipality |
Šilalė District Municipality | entire municipality |
Kelmė District Municipality | entire municipality |
Raseiniai District Municipality | entire municipality |
Tauragė District Municipality | excluding Lauksargiai Eldership |
Jurbarkas District Municipality | excluding Smalininkai Eldership and Viešvilė Eldership |
Šiauliai District Municipality | excluding Meškuičiai Eldership, Ginkūnai Eldership and Kairiai Eldership |
Šilutė District Municipality | Vainutas Eldership, Žemaičių Naumiestis Eldership, Gardamas Eldership and Švėkšna Eldership |
Klaipėda District Municipality | Judrėnai Eldership, Veiviržėnai Eldership, Endriejavas Eldership, Vėžaičiai Eldership and Gargždai |
Demographics and language
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 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
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the
Žemaitija is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions of the country, with an ethnic Lithuanian population exceeding 99.5% in some
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.
History
The modern concept of "dialectological" Žemaitija appeared only by the end of the 19th century. The territory of ancient Samogitia 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 was inhabited by southern
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 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, 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 the Teutonic Order and ended their crusading era.[11]
"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 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, 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."
—
In the 15th century, Samogitia was the last region in Core Europe to be
In 1883, Edmund Veckenstedt published a book Die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten (Litauer) (English: The myths, sagas and legends of the Samogitians (Lithuanians)).[16]
After
In 1945, the Soviets denied the existence of the Lithuania Minor ethnographic region, out of political advantage, and declared the Klaipėda region a part of Samogitia.
Tourism
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.[citation needed]
Palanga is a tourist destination among tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia.[citation needed]
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).
Politics
Samogitia historically was an autonomous region in the
Currently, Samogitia is represented by the Samogitian cultural society, a group interested in preserving Samogitian culture and language.
Symbols
The coat of arms depicts a black bear with silver claws and 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 was created by artist Algis Kliševičius.[17]
The flag of Samogitia depicts the coat of arms on a white background. It is a swallowtail flag.[18] A variant of the flag charged with the greater coat of arms additionally has a red border around the flag.[19]
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 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 the arms of the city of Šiauliai.
Emblem of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Motorized Infantry Brigade Žemaitija (Samogitia) is the griffin with a sword in his right hand and a shield, which features the Samogitian bear, in his left hand.[20]
Gallery
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Coat of arms of Samogitia on a commemorative 2 euro coin released in 2019
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Coat of arms of Šiauliai County
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Coat of arms of Telšiai County
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Coat of arms of Šiauliai
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Emblem of the Samogitian Infantry Brigade
See also
References
- ^ "Nuolatinių gyventojų skaičius liepos 1 d.", osp.stat.gov.lt
- Vle.lt(in Lithuanian). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Mikašytė, Vilma (October 2017). "Is the Samogitian language going to die out? Implications of showing pride in being a Samogitian and attitudes towards Samogitianness on Samogitian Facebook pages" (PDF). KTU. Kaunas University of Technology. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-272-3057-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7536-4.
- ISBN 978-0-313-33125-1. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8143-2497-4. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-56821-993-6.
- ^ "Standard Lithuanian and its Dialects". Lituanus.org. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "sgs – ISO 639-3". Sil.org. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Samogitia (History)". Samogitia.mch.mii.lt. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- Vytautas the Great; Valkūnas, Leonas (translation from Latin). Vytauto laiškai [ Letters of Vytautas the Great ] (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius University, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- DELFI(in Lithuanian). Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Aukštaitija". Ekgt.lt (in Lithuanian). Etninės kultūros globos taryba (Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture). Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Drungila 2019, p. 131.
- ^ Veckenstedt, Edmund (1883). Die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten (in German). Heidelberg: C. Winter. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ "Žemaitijos herbas ir vėliava". The Council for the Safeguarding of Ethnic Culture. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- DELFI. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Žemaitijos herbas ir vėliava". The Council for the Safeguarding of Ethnic Culture. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Dėl krašto apsaugos ministro 2012 m. birželio 13 d. įsakymo Nr. V-630 "Dėl Krašto apsaugos sistemos medalių ir pasižymėjimo ženklų nuostatų patvirtinimo" pakeitimo". e-seimas.lrs.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
Sources
- Drungila, Jonas (2019). Erelis lokio guolyje (in Lithuanian).