Vilkaviškis
Vilkaviškis | |
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Website | http://www.vilkaviskis.lt/ |
Vilkaviškis (ⓘ, German: Wilkowischken) is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located 25 km (16 mi) northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of Šeimena and Vilkauja rivers.
The city got its name from the Vilkauja River. Initially named Vilkaujiškis the name was later changed to an easier-to-pronounce form, Vilkaviškis.
Until 1941 the city had a large Jewish community, which was killed by the German military and their local collaborators.
This is the city from which the 2016 cost-of-living Cauliflower Revolution originated.
It is the capital of Vilkaviškis District Municipality, Vilkaviškis city eldership and Šeimena eldership.
Names
The names of the city as it is called or was formerly called in other languages spoken by non-Lithuanian ethnic groups which have lived or live in or around the town include:
History
The city was granted city rights in 1660 by the
During the
During World War I the city was captured by German forces and held until 1918, when the place became part of independent Lithuania. An American-Lithuanian wrote of his observations when returning to the city in 1919:
I saw that Lithuania is more devastated than Belgium. The Germans crossed through Belgium once only, while Lithuania had been the regular battlefield for the German and Russian armies. It was alternately captured and recaptured by the contending armies. When the Russian army was fleeing it destroyed whatever opportunity afforded, likewise the German army in its retreat carried everything in its wake, pillaged, burned and destroyed whatever it could not take. I noticed in particular one village which had been, only a few trees were visible. Numerous farm houses had been destroyed and burned to the ground. People now live in huts made partly of straw, old boards and clay. Not only the war, but nature has made changes in Lithuania. Rivers, such as the Šeimena and Širvinta, are only brooks. As we approached Vilkaviškis, my native city, the passengers called my attention to the station. My imagination failed to picture the rudely constructed hut as the same station of former years, which had been entirely destroyed by the invading army.[9]
During the interwar period a rail line was constructed running through nearby Marijampolė which caused that town to become the regional centre, replacing Vilkaviškis in its traditional role.[3]
Shortly after the outbreak of
The city was the scene of a successful counter-attack by the German
When Lithuania regained its independence in 1991, the city became the capital of the newly established
In 2020, Vilkaviškis won the Lithuania Village Flower Show, as voted by the board of Pakruojis Manor.[13]
Notable people
The town and the surrounding district.
- Aharon April (1932–2020), a distinguished Israeli artist and sculptor.
- Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927), an activist of the Lithuanian National Revival.
- Sonia Gaskell (1904–1974), dancer and choreographer.
- Leon Kamaiky (1864–1928), American newspaper owner and publisher.
- Vincas Kudirka (1858–1899), author of the Lithuanian National Anthem (born in nearby Paežeriai ).
- Marian Lalewicz (1876–1944), Polish architect.
- Miriam Markel-Mosessohn (1839–1920), Hebrew writer and translator.
- military dolphins.
References
- ^ Jewish Gen, ShtetLinks, "VILKOVISHK, Lithuania"
- ^ a b Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1895. p. 94.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Joseph Rosin, English edited by Sarah and Mordechai Kopfstein, "Vilkovishk (Vilkaviskis)", [1]
- ^ "Welcome to Panevėžys!". City of Panevėžys. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV. pp. 94–95.
- ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV. p. 95.
- ^ a b "The Jewish Community of Vilkaviskis". ANU Museum of the Jewish People. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ Zieliński, Stanisław (1913). Bitwy i potyczki 1863-1864. Na podstawie materyałów drukowanych i rękopiśmiennych Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu (in Polish). Rapperswil: Fundusz Wydawniczy Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu. p. 273.
- ^ SAURUSAITIS, Peter P. "Thirty days in Lithuania in 1919: Being an account of personal experiences and observations encountered in a trip extending from August 30, 1919, to February 16, 1920". Project Gutenberg. p. 9. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ Oleksy, Czesław (1983). "Homiletyczno-kaznodziejski dorobek księdza biskupa Czesława Falkowskiego". Studia Teologiczne (in Polish) (1): 131.
- ^ Spaeter, Helmuth History of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland Volume 3
- ^ "About Vilkaviškis". Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ https://welovelithuania.com/en/the-biggest-summer-event-in-pakruojis-manor/ Lithuania Village Flower Show
External links
- Short history (in Lithuanian)
- History of the Jewish shtetl in Vilkovishk, Lithuania
- The murder of the Jews of Vilkaviškis during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.