Žasliai is a small town in

Kaunas County Kaunas County ( lt, Kauno apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania The territory of Lithuania is divided into 10 counties ( Lithuanian: singular ''apskritis'', plural ''apskritys''), all named after their capitals. The counties are ...

in central

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. In 2011, it had a population of 644. The town was first mentioned in written sources in 1457 and was granted the

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

and its own coat of arms in 1792.

History

Žasliai were first mentioned on 28 February in 1457. During the reign of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, Žasliai belonged to Lithuanian nobleman Jaunius Valimantaitis from Valimantas family and later to noblemen from Goštautas family. In 1522 Žasliai was a town. In 16th century Žasliai were a property of Grand Duke of Lithuania

Žygimantas Augustas Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

who later donated it to his wife Barbora Radvilaitė. In the map ''Magni Ducatus Lituaniae caeterarumque regionum illi adiacentium exacta descriptio'' issued in 1613 by Radvila Našlaitėlis, Žasliai was marked as a

rural town In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

. In 1777 operating parish school was mentioned. On 12 January 1792 Žasliai got Magdeburgian rights and the coat of arms with the inscription ''EX MANCIPIO LIBERTAS'' (''Freedom comes from property''). Žasliai were mentioned in the Lithuanian legend about

Palemonids The Palemonids were a legendary dynasty of Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The legend was born in the 15th or 16th century as proof that Lithuanians and the Grand Duchy are of Ancient Rome, Roman origins. Already Jan Długosz (1415� ...

. After the death of Pajauta, mother of the Duke Kukovaitis, he created an idol for her an erected it near the lake of Žasliai. Inhabitants believed Pajauta was a goddess and worshiped her. After the idol perished, the place was worshipped. During the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles ( lt, Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Berm ...

on 2–8 April 1919 the Žasliai battle was fought between Lithuanian and Soviet Russian armies. 1400 Lithuanian soldiers commanded by officers Stasys Nastopka,

Kazys Škirpa Kazys Škirpa (18 February 1895 – 18 August 1979) was a Lithuanian military officer and diplomat. He is best known as the founder of the Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF) and his involvement in the attempt to establish Lithuanian independen ...

, Jurgis Butkus fought in the battle. In the middle of the nineteenth century, approximately 650 Jews resided in Žasliai. On the eve of the Soviet annexation of Lithuania in 1940, the roughly 1000 Jewish inhabitants of the town made up half of the total population, making a living from commerce, artisanship and agriculture. On June 22, 1941, the German army invaded Lithuania, entering Žasliai within days thereafter. On August 17 of 1941, most of the town’s Jewish inhabitants were driven out to

Kaišiadorys Kaišiadorys () is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ built in 1932. The Lithuanian Veterinar ...

. Ten days later they were killed, along with Jews from Kaišiadorys and

Žiežmariai Žiežmariai () is a city in the Kaišiadorys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south of Kaišiadorys. The center of Žiežmariai is a state-protected urbanistic monument. History Žiežmariai were mentioned for the first time in ...

. Soviet occupants in 1941, 1948, 1949 deported 27 inhabitants of Žasliai.

Lithuanian partisans The Lithuanian partisans () were partisans who waged a guerrilla warfare in Lithuania against the Soviet Union in 1944–1953. Similar anti-Soviet resistance groups, also known as Forest Brothers and cursed soldiers, fought against Soviet rule ...

from the

Didžioji Kova military district Didžioji Kova military district (''The Great Fight partisan military district'') - is a military district of Lithuanian partisans which operated in 1945 - 1950 in the counties of Vilnius, Kaunas and Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmerg� ...

(''The Great Fight partisan military district'') were active in Žasliai district. In 1975 in Žasliai train station the biggest railroad catastrophe in the history of Lithuania happened -

Žasliai railway disaster Žasliai railway disaster occurred on 4 April 1975 near Žasliai, Lithuanian SSR. A passenger train on Vilnius–Kaunas Railway hit a tank car carrying fuel. The passenger train derailed and caught fire. Soviet authorities suppressed the news of ...

Notable people

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concernin ...

Pranas Gudynas In yoga, Indian medicine and Indian martial arts, prana ( sa2, प्राण, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is so ...

– Lithuanian painter, restaurator, art critic. * Balys Mastauskas – lawyer. * Vidas Petkevičius – theater and film actor. * Edmundas Arbas-Arbačiauskas – Lithuanian architect. *

Vincentas Sladkevičius Vincentas Sladkevičius, M.I.C. (20 August 1920 – 28 May 2000) was a Lithuanian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Kaunas from 1989 to 1996, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Biography Vincenta ...

– Lithuanian Cardinal

References

*''This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia.''

External links

Žasliai
(in Lithuanian)
Žaslių kautynės
Žasliai battle (in Lithuanian)
The murder of the Jews of Žasliai
during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website. Towns in Lithuania Towns in Kaunas County Trakai Voivodeship Troksky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania {{KaunasCounty-geo-stub