Seredžius

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Seredžius
Town
Seredžius20101017.jpg
Coat of arms of Seredžius
Coat of arms
Seredžius is located in Lithuania
Seredžius
Seredžius
Location of Seredžius
Coordinates: 55°5′N 23°25′E / 55.083°N 23.417°E / 55.083; 23.417Coordinates: 55°5′N 23°25′E / 55.083°N 23.417°E / 55.083; 23.417
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionSamogitia
CountyTauragė County
MunicipalityJurbarkas district municipality
EldershipSeredžius eldership
Capital ofSeredžius eldership
Population
 (2011)
 • Total590
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Seredžius is a town in Lithuania on the right bank of the Nemunas River near its confluence with the Dubysa River. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 590.[1]

Names[]

The Yiddish name for the city was סרעדניק (Srednik), corresponding to the Polish Średniki and Russian Средники (Sredniki). In local Samogitian dialect the town is known as Seredius, in Lithuanian - Seredžius. Other recorded forms of the town's name include Srednike, Seredzhyus, Seredzhus and Seredius. The name Seredžius is believed to be derived from середа (sereda), a word meaning "Wednesday" in many Slavic languages. This is probably because of the markets held there on Wednesday.

History[]

View of Seredžius with Palemon Hill (hillfort) in the background

Southeast of the town, archaeologists discovered graves from the 3rd–4th centuries.[2] According to the Palemonids legend, noble refugees from the Roman Empire settled on the hill, now named after Palemon, and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[3] The town has a large hillfort where Lithuanian Pieštvė fortress stood during the Lithuanian Crusade. It was attacked by the Teutonic Knights numerous times in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.[2] After the Battle of Grunwald, the location lost its military purpose and became private property of the Sapieha family.

The Sapiehas built a residential palace, which did not survive. The town's first Catholic church was built around 1608–12.[2] The church was destroyed in 1829 after a landslide caused by extensive flooding. The residents built a wooden church, which was replaced by a Neo-Renaissance church dedicated to John the Baptist in 1913.

The town had a large Jewish population prior to World War II. In 1900 (when part of the Russian Empire) the town's Jewish population numbered 1,174.[4] The town's Jews were killed on September 4, 1941. On that day, 193 people were shot near the village of Skrebėnai: 6 men, 61 women and 126 children.[5]

Notable people[]

  • Pranas Virakas (1871–1966), ethnographer, folklore collector.
  • Jonas Virakas (1905 – 1988), architect.
  • Stasys Santvaras (1902 – 1991), poet, playwright.
  • Stasys Šimkus (1887 – 1943), composer.
  • , organist, choirmaster, singer, composer.
  • Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson), singer, comedian, and actor, dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer" at the peak of his career.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "2011 census". Statistikos Departamentas (Lithuania). Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kviklys, Bronius (1965). Mūsų Lietuva (in Lithuanian). II. Boston: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 333–336. OCLC 3303503.
  3. ^ Ivinskis, Zenonas (1953–1966). "Palemonas". Lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). 21. Boston: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 400–401. LCC 55020366.
  4. ^ "Technical Problem Form". data.jewishgen.org.
  5. ^ www.atease.lt, Created atEase. "Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania". www.holocaustatlas.lt.
  6. ^ "Paminklo Alui Jolsonui atidaryme – įkvepiantys JAV ambasados atstovės žodžiai Seredžiui". mlaikas.lt (in Lithuanian). 17 October 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

External links[]

Media related to Seredžius at Wikimedia Commons

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