Mažeikiai (;
Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; lv, Mažeiķi) is a city in northwestern
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 ...
, on the
Venta River. It has a population of around 43,547, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of
Mažeikiai district municipality in
Telšiai County
Telšiai County ( lt, Telšių apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capit ...
. It is the largest city that does not have its own
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
.
History
Mažeikiai was first mentioned in written sources in 1335. A chronicler of the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after th ...
wrote about a campaign of the Order, during which the land of
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
Mažeika was devastated. The town started growing rapidly in 1869 when the
Libau–Romny Railway
Libau–Romny Railway was a railway company that built a railway line in the Russian Empire in 1871–74 to connect Romny in Ukraine with the port in Libau (Liepāja) in present-day Latvia. To do so it passed through Minsk The objective of the r ...
connecting
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...
and
Liepāja
Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...
was constructed. In 1893, the town had 13 shops and 5 alehouses. In 1894 an
Eastern Orthodox church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
was built, and a
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...
had been founded several years earlier. In 1902 a
Catholic church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
was established, followed by an
Evangelical-Lutheran church in 1906. From 1899 to 1918 the town was called Muravyov.
In 1919 Mažeikiai became the county centre and received the rights of self-government. During the first years of independence, Mažeikiai was subject to a
territorial dispute
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...
between Lithuania and Latvia because of its importance as a railway hub between the Latvian cities of
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...
,
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Du ...
and
Liepaja. In 1921 Latvian claims for the town were rejected by an international commission.
A hospital and a library were opened in 1922 and a museum in 1928. In 1939 the population of the town was recorded as 5,618. In 1940 26 industrial companies, 4 banks and a credit union operated in Mažeikiai.
In 1940 the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
occupied the town and it was annexed to the Soviet Union on 3 August 1940 as a part of the
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...
. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Mažeikiai was under
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
occupation from 26 June 1941 until 31 October 1944. It was administered as a part of the ''
Generalbezirk Litauen'' of ''
Reichskommissariat Ostland
The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initi ...
''. In August 1941 a mass killing occurred in which 4,000 Jews from the Mažeikiai district were killed.
In 1950 Mažeikiai became the district centre.
Origins of the name
The name of the town is undoubtedly given after a person. In history, there are mentions of a person named Mažeika.
Economy
In 1980 an
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...
plant "
Mažeikių Nafta
Orlen Lietuva (former Mažeikių Nafta) is a subsidiary of the Polish PKN Orlen and it owns the Mažeikiai oil refinery as well as the oil-processing plant in Lithuania. It is the only oil refinery in the Baltic States.
Refinery
The Mažeik ...
" was opened. Today it is one of the largest industrial plants in Lithuania. Its
privatisation
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
to
Williams, an American energy company, caused many scandals and major disturbances in the Lithuanian government. Williams International, facing financial problems, sold Mažeikių Nafta to
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkov ...
. After Yukos' bankruptcy, the Lithuanian government and Polish company
PKN Orlen signed a sale agreement of Mažeikių Nafta in 2006. Also
Yukos International UK B.V. signed a sale agreement with PKN Orlen, selling its
Mažeikių Nafta
Orlen Lietuva (former Mažeikių Nafta) is a subsidiary of the Polish PKN Orlen and it owns the Mažeikiai oil refinery as well as the oil-processing plant in Lithuania. It is the only oil refinery in the Baltic States.
Refinery
The Mažeik ...
shares to the Polish company. The buyout was finalized on 15 December 2006, with US$1,492,000,000 being paid by PKN Orlen to Yukos International, and US$851,828,900.31 to the Lithuanian Government.
PKN Orlen Acquired Mazeikiu Nafta
'', Mažeikių Nafta company website (news, 15 December 2006) In 2004,
Mažeikių Nafta
Orlen Lietuva (former Mažeikių Nafta) is a subsidiary of the Polish PKN Orlen and it owns the Mažeikiai oil refinery as well as the oil-processing plant in Lithuania. It is the only oil refinery in the Baltic States.
Refinery
The Mažeik ...
financed the construction of the
New Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, which cost 650,000
LTL.
ORLEN Lietuva oil refinery plant
Culture
In 1928 the Mažeikiai Museum was founded by teacher Stasys Ličkūnas. According to the official website of the Mažeikiai district municipality, the museum preserves and exhibits archaeological, historical, ethnographic, and folk art collections of the
Samogitia
Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
region.
[ mazeikiai.lt.]
Mažeikiai has one of the largest cultural centres in Lithuania. It was established in 1946 as a ''culture house''. In 2005 it moved to a new building which has three halls: the great hall contains 750 seats, the small hall has 250 seats, while the entertainment hall has up to 500 seats. The centre has 20 amateur art collectives.
In 1922 a public library was founded in the city. In 1975 it moved to a new three-story building. In 1976 it became a central library in the district with 21 rural and 2 urban branches.
Twin towns – sister cities
Mažeikiai is
twinned with:
*
Havířov
Havířov (; pl, ) is a city in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 69,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the region. Havířov lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia ...
, Czech Republic
*
Lebedyn
Lebedyn ( uk, Лебеди́н, ) is a city in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Lebedyn is located in Sumy Raion. Before July 2020, Lebedyn served as the administrative center of Lebedyn Raion; it was administratively incorporated as a city of oblast si ...
, Ukraine
*
Liezen
Liezen (Central Bavarian: ''Liezn'') is a municipality in the Austrian federal state of Styria, district capital of the district of the same name and economic center on the River Enns.
Population
Politics
Since 1995, the left-wing SPÖ party ...
, Austria
*
Paide
Paide is a town in Estonia and the capital of Järva County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia.
Etymology
Paide's German name ''Weißenstein'' (originally ''Wittenstein'' or ''Wittensten'' in Low German) means "white stone". This name was de ...
, Estonia
*
Płock
Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...
, Poland
*
Saldus, Latvia
*
Stendal
The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region.
Geography
Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...
, Germany
See also
* Asteroid
248839 Mazeikiai named in honor of the city
References
External links
*http://www.mazeikiai.lt/
*http://www.mazeikiu.info Information about Mazeikiai city
*https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Mazeikiai/introduction.html Memorial website to the Jewish Shtetl Mazheik (Mažeikiai)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazeikiai
Cities in Telšiai County
Cities in Lithuania
Holocaust locations in Lithuania
Mažeikiai District Municipality
Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania
Telshevsky Uyezd
Territorial disputes of Lithuania