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Kražiai Massacre
Kražiai massacre ( lt, Kražių skerdynės) was an attack by a Russian Don Cossack regiment on Lithuanians protesting the planned closure of a Roman Catholic church in Kražiai, then part of the Russian Empire, on 22 November 1893. As part of wider Russification efforts, the Tsarist government decided to close the women's Benedictine monastery in Kražiai. The locals petitioned to keep the monastery's Church of the Immaculate Conception open and transform it into a parish church. The Tsar ordered the monastery closed and demolished in June 1893. The locals started a constant vigil inside the church, protecting it from members of the clergy who tried to comply with the orders. On 21 November, Kovno Governorate, Governor of Kaunas personally arrived to the town to supervise the closure. Lithuanians resisted and overpowered 70 policemen that Klingenberg brought with him. The next morning, about 300 Don Cossacks arrived from Varniai and were given a free rein to loot and brutalize. Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kražiai Massacre Poster Published In US
Kražiai (Samogitian dialect, Samogitian: ''Kražē''; pl, Kroże) is a historic town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai (32 km) and Raseiniai (44 km), on the Kražantė River. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument. History The population in 1959 was 998; ca. 2,000 in 1939; 1,761 in 1897. The town has a secondary school and is a rural community centre. Under the prewar Republic of Lithuania, Kražiai was the township seat of the county of Raseiniai. After World War II it was assigned to the Soviet administrative district of Kelmė. Kražiai is one of the older settlements in Samogitia. Many barrow graves and fortress hills are located in its vicinity. The name of the locality is first mentioned (as ''Crase'') in a 1257 document of King Mindaugas, by which a part of Samogitia was assigned to the Teutonic Order. Vytautas the Great during his first years of rule ceded Samogitia to the Order; the regent he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
