Tauragė
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
Tauragė | |
---|---|
City | |
UTC+3 (EEST) | |
Postal code | 72001 |
Website | taurage |
Tauragė (ⓘ; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far from the Baltic Sea coast.
Although first mentioned in 1507, Tauragė received its city charter only in 1924 and its coat of arms (a silver hunting horn in a red field) in 1997. Notable buildings in the city include the castle (19th century Russian Empire customs) (currently housing the Tauragė Region Museum and the Tourism Information Centre), 19th century Post office, buildings from the 20th century inter-war period, several churches: the Lutheran (built in 1843), the Catholic (1904) and Orthodox (1933). Lithuanian, Swedish and Danish factories operate in the city. Nowadays Tauragė is famous for its car markets and adventure parks.
Names and etymology
Tauragė is a conjunction of two
.History
Tauragė is situated between two Baltic tribes and at the edge of two historical regions. In 13th c. donations written by
When the war with Teutonic Order broke out, ethnic and administrative borders started to change rapidly. It is possible that in the end of the 13th c. and the start of 14th c., when Skalva suffered heavy casualties, Samogitians, supported by the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, tried to push to the southwest. But due to non-stopping attacks by the Teutonic Order in the 14th c. they had to retreat. Only in the 15-16th c. when the wars were over, Samogitians came back to their former lands. At that time northern parts of Skalva, which were left for Lithuania, was inhabited by Samogitians, because most of the Scalovians were killed or fled during the attacks of the Order.[3]
First mentioned in 1507, the town has been a center of Lutheranism in Lithuania. Although it belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, there was a period when the land of Tauragė belonged to East Prussian rulers in economic terms. From 1691 until 1793, Tauragė belonged to Brandenburg-Prussia (the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701), after the marriage of Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg to Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł. In 1793 it was ceded, along with Seirijai (Serrey), to Poland-Lithuania as "compensation" for the territories annexed in the Second Partition of Poland. In 1795, as with almost all of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the town became part of the Russian Empire in the Third Partition.
In 1915, a significant part of the city's infrastructure was destroyed by German troops during
Demography
Population
According to the 2021 census, the city population was 21,203 people, of which:[5]
- Lithuanians – 97.5% (20,672)
- Russians – 0.75% (159)
- Ukrainians – 0.20% (43)
- Poles – 0.08% (18)
- Belarusians – 0.08% (18)
- Others / did not specify – 1.41% (300)
Sport
Tauragė is known for having one main football club FK Tauras Tauragė which was founded in 1922.
Notable people
- Ernestas Šetkus - Lithuanian footballer
- Rokas Baciuška - Lithuanian professional rally driver
- Jurgis Baltrušaitis - Poet
- Jacob Epstein - art collector
- Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky - Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, China
- Tauras Jogėla - Lithuanian basketball player
- Svajūnas Adomaitis - Lithuanian Greco-Roman wrestler
- Edgaras Venckaitis - Lithuanian wrestler
- Rokas Giedraitis - Lithuanian basketball player
- Remigijus Šimašius - Lithuanian politician and lawyer
- Solomon Levitan - American politician
- Nerija Putinaitė - Lithuanian philosopher and politician
Twin towns – sister cities
Gallery
-
Tauragė Castle, built in 1847, enlarged in 1866
-
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tauragė, built in 1843
-
Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Tauragė, consecrated in 1904
-
Orthodox Church in Tauragė
-
Taurage Palace of Culture
-
Post Office
-
Historic bank building, built in 1936
-
Versmė Gymnasium
-
Railway station, built in 1927
-
Fire station
References
- ^ "GYVENTOJAI GYVENAMOSIOSE VIETOVĖSE" (XLSX). Osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Lietuvos miestų pavadinimų kilmė – tik upės ir pavardės?" [The origin of Lithuanian city names - only rivers and surnames?]. Delfi (in Lithuanian). 28 January 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Almonaitis V., Vakarų Lietuva XIII-XV amžiuje, Kaunas, 2013, p. 106-110
- ^ Mažrimas, Edmundas (26 June 2008). "Prancūzų rašytojas Onorė de Balzakas ir Tauragė". Tauragės kurjeris. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
- State Data Agency of Lithuania. Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Tauragės rajono savivaldybės partneriai". taurage.lt (in Lithuanian). Tauragės rajono savivaldybė. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
External links
- Municipal website Archived 2021-05-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Lithuanian)
- Randburg.com
- Aerial photo from January 1945
- The murder of the Jews of Tauragė during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.