''Lietuvininkų prietelis'' (original spelling: ''Lietuwininku Prietelis''; ) was a short-lived Lithuanian-language political newspaper published in Memel (now Klaipėda) by Lutheran priest

Rudolf Andreas Zippel Rudolf Andreas Zippel ( lt, Rudolfas Andrius Cipelis; 1813–1894) was a Lutheran priest from East Prussia. He is best remembered as the editor of the first "true" Lithuanian periodical '' Lietuvininkų prietelis'' published in 1849. Biography Zi ...

(Rudolfas Endrius Cipelis) in 1849. It was published for less than a year, but it is considered the first "true" Lithuanian periodical (earlier '' Nusidavimai Dievo karalystėje'' contained mostly translated religious texts). It was also the first Lithuanian periodical published in the territory of present-day

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 ...

History

During the German revolutions of 1848–1849, many activists tried to publish political proclamations and periodicals for Lithuanian-speaking Prussian Lithuanians. The first issue of ''Lietuvininkų prietelis'' was published on 5 April 1849 by publisher . It was edited by

(Rudolfas Endrius Cipelis), deacon of the Lithuanian parish in Memel. It was published weekly on Thursdays until 28 December 1849. In total, 38 issues were published. The newspaper used Fraktur typeface and had four pages that measured . Its circulation probably did not exceed 200 copies. A full set of the newspaper issues was kept in the library of the University of Königsberg, but it was lost during World War II. Only in 1991 Lithuanian researcher Domas Kaunas discovered a copy of the first issue in the in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

. What is known about content of the newspaper is known from this one issue. It started with a letter from the editor and devoted most of the content to European political news from Germany, Hungary, and the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...

. It described the proceedings of the Frankfurt Parliament and how Russia stationed 150,000 troops near the Prussian border. Little remaining space was devoted to local issues – commemoration of the first anniversary of the German revolutions, new constitutional rights, and the importance of education. Zippel supported the German revolutions and the new Constitution of Prussia which guaranteed some freedoms. At the same time, he promised to print articles supporting

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

. This is interpreted by Lithuanian researchers as Zippel's caution in post-revolutionary Prussia. The newspaper ceased publication when Zippel was assigned to Darkehmen (now Ozyorsk) much further south where there were very few Lithuanian-speaking residents. Lithuanian researchers believe that the reassignment was politically motivated to force the newspaper to close. Three months after the first issue of ''Lietuvininkų prietelis'', a much more conservative ''

Keleivis ''Keleivis iš Karaliaučiaus broliams Lietuvininkams žinias parnešas'' (original spelling: ''Keleiwis isz Karaliaucziaus Broliams Lietuwininkams Žines parnesząs'', ) was a Lithuanian-language weekly periodical published in Königsberg, East ...

'' was published with government assistance by

Friedrich Kurschat Friedrich Kurschat ( lt, Frydrichas Kuršaitis; 1806–1884) was a Prussian Lithuanian linguist and professor at the University of Königsberg. He studied the Lithuanian language and published its grammar in 1876 in which he was the first to descr ...

in Königsberg.

References

{{Italic title Lithuanian-language newspapers Lithuania Minor Newspapers published in Klaipėda 1849 establishments in Germany Newspapers established in 1849 1849 disestablishments in Germany Publications disestablished in 1849