 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Raseiniai" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Raseiniai | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Monument of Independence "Žemaitis"  Catholic church  Orthodox church  New business centre "Senasis Žemaitis"  Public library | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Raseiniai Location of Raseiniai | |
| Coordinates:55°22′N23°7′E / 55.367°N 23.117°E /55.367; 23.117 | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| Ethnographic region | Samogitia |
| County |  Kaunas County |
| Municipality | Raseiniai district municipality |
| Eldership | Raseiniai town eldership |
| Capital of | Raseiniai district municipality Raseiniai town eldership Raseiniai rural eldership |
| First mentioned | 1253 |
| Grantedtown rights | 1492–1506 |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 9,865 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Raseiniai (pronunciationⓘ;Samogitian:Raseinē) is a city inLithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of theSamogitians highland, some 5 km (3.1 mi) north from theKaunas–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, includingRushigen,Rossyen, andRasseyne. In 1253 Grand DukeMindaugas ceded one part of the Samogitia territory, including some of the district around Raseiniai, to theLivonian 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 the end of the 15th century, Raseiniai was grantedMagdeburg Rights.
In thePolish–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 theGeneral Sejm (parliament) in Warsaw. From 1585 Raseiniai served as the permanent location of thecounty parliament. In 1792 city Magdeburg rights were renewed. The1st and3rd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigades were stationed in the town in the 1790s.[1]
Following thethird partition of the Commonwealth in 1795, Raseiniai was annexed by theRussian Empire and its town rights were annulled. In the Russian Empire, the town was the center of aRossieny County. From 1801 to 1843, the county was in theVilna Governorate, and from 1843 on it became part of theKovno 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 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 the1831 Rebellion.
The town long had a large Jewish presence. It was among the first Jewish communities established in Lithuania, and 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 JewishHaskalah (Enlightenment) movement. In 1842 the city had 7,455 inhabitants, the majority of whom were Jews. In 1866 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 the spring of 1915, the Germans concentrated Army Group Lauenstein in the area ofTilsit, 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 toŠiauliai. Refugees from Raseiniai appeared in Šiauliai on the morning of April 15 warning of the German advance.
_in_Raseiniai%2c_1928.jpg)
When Lithuania regained Independence in 1918, Raseiniai became 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 ofRenaissance architecture.[2][3]
Tourists invariably pause atThe Samogitian statue in 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 ofVincas Grybas (1890–1941), was erected in Raseiniai in 1933–1934.
In June 1941, near Raseiniai, roughly 20Kliment Voroshilov tanks (KVs) of the Soviet3rd Mechanized Corps met the assault of the6th 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 theGermanArmy Group North. On 25 July 1941, the town was placed under the administration of the newly createdReichskommissariat Ostland. Raseiniai was recaptured on 9 August 1944 bySoviet troops of the3rd Belorussian Front in the course of theKaunas 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.
| Climate data for Raseiniai (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.0 (30.2) | 0.2 (32.4) | 4.4 (39.9) | 12.1 (53.8) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.0 (69.8) | 23.5 (74.3) | 22.8 (73.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 10.4 (50.7) | 4.4 (39.9) | 0.5 (32.9) | 11.1 (52.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.3 (26.1) | −2.8 (27.0) | 0.6 (33.1) | 6.9 (44.4) | 12.2 (54.0) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 17.1 (62.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 2.2 (36.0) | −1.5 (29.3) | 7.0 (44.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.6 (21.9) | −5.4 (22.3) | −2.5 (27.5) | 2.2 (36.0) | 6.6 (43.9) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12.8 (55.0) | 12.1 (53.8) | 8.3 (46.9) | 3.9 (39.0) | 0.3 (32.5) | −3.6 (25.5) | 3.3 (37.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 54 (2.1) | 40 (1.6) | 39 (1.5) | 32 (1.3) | 51 (2.0) | 66 (2.6) | 85 (3.3) | 73 (2.9) | 55 (2.2) | 68 (2.7) | 59 (2.3) | 54 (2.1) | 676 (26.6) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 88 | 86 | 80 | 71 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 77 | 82 | 87 | 91 | 91 | 81 |
| Source: Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service[4] | |||||||||||||
