Kintai
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Kintai is a small town in
Klaipėda County Klaipėda County ( lt, Klaipėdos apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania, bordering Tauragė County to the southeast, Telšiai County to the northeast, Kurzeme in Latvia to the north, and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia to the south. To the ...
, in
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 ...
. It is the center of the Eldership (Seniūnija) Kintai and is part of the
Šilutė District Municipality Šilutė (, previously ''Šilokarčiama'', german: link=no, Heydekrug), is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar period, inter ...
. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 616 people.


Geography

Kintai is located in western
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 the historic region of
Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor ( lt, Mažoji Lietuva; german: Kleinlitauen; pl, Litwa Mniejsza; russian: Ма́лая Литва́), or Prussian Lithuania ( lt, Prūsų Lietuva; german: Preußisch-Litauen, pl, Litwa Pruska), is a historical ethnographic re ...
, at the
Curonian Lagoon The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; russian: Куршский залив, lt, Kuršių marios, pl, Zalew Kuroński, german: Kurisches Haff, lv, Kuršu joma) is a freshwater lagoon separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surfac ...
. There are three roads to Kintai, coming from Šilutė, Vent

and Priekulė, Lithuania, Priekulė. To the north of Kintai is the 800 ha wide forest of Kinta

To the southeast is the
Nemunas Delta Regional Park Nemunas Delta Regional Park, established in 1994, is located in Lithuania within the Nemunas Delta where the Nemunas flows into the Baltic Sea. The park covers 29,013 ha. The park, a Ramsar Convention site, lies on the East Atlantic Flyway, a majo ...
. Europes second highest Giant Cedar, with a height of 18m, is located in Kintai.


History

The towns name originates from the words ''Kintas, Kìnta''. Kintai began to appear in the 16th century, when it was located within the
Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian ...
, soon elevated to the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, as a
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
held by
Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...
. The settlement really started to grow in the beginning of the 18th century. In 1705 the Kintai Lutheran Churc

was built. In 1962 the church of Kintai was included in the Lithuanian list of protected architectural monuments. The church suffered severely during Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Rule. It was not protected and unattended by local authorities several years and in 1948 it was repurposed as a warehouse for grains. 1987-1982 some restoration work was done, adjusted to host koncerts and exhibitions. In 1990 the church was given to the
catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
community. Next to the church the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
primary school of Kintai was founded, where 1888-1892
Vydūnas Wilhelm Storost, artistic name Vilius Storostas-Vydūnas (22 March 1868 – 20 February 1953), mostly known as Vydūnas, was a Prussian-Lithuanian teacher, poet, humanist, philosopher and Lithuanian writer, a leader of the Prussian Lithuani ...
was working as a teacher. From the 18th century, it was part of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
, and from 1871 it was also part of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, within which it was administratively part of the province of
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
, and was officially referred to by its
Germanized Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
name ''Kinten''. In 1820 a state owned
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
was founded and in 1850 a postal office. Between the 18th and 19th century there was a big fish and cattle market, where even fishers from the
Curonian Spit The Curonian (Courish) Spit ( lt, Kuršių nerija; russian: Ку́ршская коса́ (Kurshskaya kosa); german: Kurische Nehrung, ; lv, Kuršu kāpas) is a long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Balti ...
went to, to sell their goods. In the late 19th century, the village had an almost exclusively Lithuanian population of 494. In the second half of the 19th century books and periodicals were published in Lithuanian. In Kintai, Lithuanian activity started actively occurring after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Near the end of 1922 the eldest minor Prussian-Lithuanian rescue committee was founded and in 1923 the "Ruta" Society; together they had 20 members. They had a library, organized lectures and art evenings. The choir of the Lithuanian Singer Society in Kintai participated in the II. song festival in Kaunas, 1928. Before the state owned school in Kintai was built, there was a private Lithuanian school (22 students in 1937). In the 1920s an obelisk in memory of Parishioners during the First World War was built, next to the church. In the 1970s, after most of the German population fled west to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the obelisk was torn down by the
Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...
. Kintai suffered badly during the
Second World War 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 ...
and during Soviet rule (about 75% of the building's were destroyed). The population changed as well, the
Lietuvininkai The Prussian Lithuanians, or Lietuvininkai (singular: ''Lietuvininkas'', plural: ''Lietuvininkai''), are Lithuanians, originally Lithuanian language speakers, who formerly inhabited a territory in northeastern East Prussia called Prussian Lithu ...
and Germans that moved to the west, made room for people from all over Lithuania. 1951 the Kintai
Hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
was dug off. After the war the primary school of Kintai opened again, 1949-1960 they started to teach students up to seventh grade, 1960-1969 up to eighth grade and 1969 they became a middle school. There was a cheese factory, a forestry, an ambulatory care clinic, a pharmacy, a cultural centre (since 1957) and a library (since 1949). There was a hospital in Kintai for a little while in 1953. After the restoration of Lithuanias Independence the Kintai Lutheran Church was rebuilt and given to the catholic community (1990), the Kintai art school for children (a branch of the
Šilutė Šilutė (, previously ''Šilokarčiama'', german: link=no, Heydekrug), is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Š ...
art school) was founded (1994), the Vydunas museum opened (1994), the Kintai Charity Organization "SOS vaikai ir neturtingieji" (1996) was established and the Vydunas culture centre opened (1997), which was reopened in 2002 as a public institution. 2011 the seal of Kintai was approved as the official seal.


Notable Places


Notable people

Between 1888 and 1892 in Kintai worked
Vydūnas Wilhelm Storost, artistic name Vilius Storostas-Vydūnas (22 March 1868 – 20 February 1953), mostly known as Vydūnas, was a Prussian-Lithuanian teacher, poet, humanist, philosopher and Lithuanian writer, a leader of the Prussian Lithuani ...
(1868–1953). He was primary school teacher. In 1988 at the church of Kintai he was unveiled a memorial stone. Born in Kintai: * Arūnas Acus, * Martynas Anysas, * Albertas Fiulhazė


References

{{Klaipeda County Towns in Lithuania Towns in Klaipėda County