Nemėžis is a village in the

Vilnius district municipality Vilnius District Municipality ( lt, Vilniaus rajono savivaldybė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It surrounds the capital city of Vilnius on 3 sides, while the rest borders the Trakai District Municipality. At the 2011 Census, Poles a ...

, Lithuania, it is located only about east of

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 urb ...

. It is located south-east of

along a railway.

History

It is believed that there was a castle in Nemėžis during the reign of

Vytautas the Great 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 ...

(1392–1430). The settlement was first mentioned in written sources in 1496 when

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jag ...

welcomed his future wife

Helena of Moscow Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (russian: Елена Ивановна; lt, Elena; pl, Helena Moskiewska; 19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was daughter of Ivan III the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow, and an uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Quee ...

here. On 3 November 1656, the

Truce of Vilna Truce/Treaty of Vilna Robert I. Frost, ''After the deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660'', Cambridge University Press, 2004, Google Print, p. 81-82/ref> or Truce/Treaty of Niemieża ( pl, Rozejm w Niemieży) Edward Henr ...

between

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...

and 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 Poland and Lithuania ru ...

was signed in the Nemėžis estate, then owned by

Lew Sapieha Lew Sapieha ( lt, Leonas Sapiega; be, Леў Сапега or Lieŭ Sapieha; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Gr ...

Lipka Tatars

Nemėžis is one of several Lithuanian settlements where Lipka Tatars live. Brought as prisoners of war, Tatars were allowed to settle here in 1397 after Vytautas' expeditions against the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...

(see the Battle of Blue Waters). Up until this day they have preserved their traditions and Islamic religion. At first Tatars served as personal guards for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, but later took up more civil professions: breeding horses,

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

, gardening. Eventually Tatars became known as excellent gardeners, growing eggplants,

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es, and other vegetables. Even today Nemėžis is known for its numerous greenhouses. The first wooden

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Nemėžis was built in 1684. It burned down but a new one was built in 1909. During the

Soviet times The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

it was turned into a warehouse. After Lithuania declared independence, the mosque was returned to the community and it continues to be used for religious services. In 1993 it was restored. It is used for prayer only on Fridays, young moon. On that occasion a mullah comes from

. Nemėžis mosque is one of four operational mosques in Lithuania. Nemėžis also has an operational Tatar cemetery and a Tatar school. The other locality in

with sizeable Lithuanian Tatars presence is

Keturiasdešimt Totorių Keturiasdešimt Totorių (literally: ''Forty Tatars'', tt-Cyrl, Кырык Татар, ''Kyryk Tatar'') is a village in Vilnius District Municipality, Pagiriai Eldership, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 451. There ...

village. The village is home to about 400 Tatars as of 2017.

Nemėžis estate

The Nemėžis estate, located approximately 1 km outside the village, was established in the 16th century. At first it belonged to the

Pac family The House of Pac or Pacowie ( pl, Pacowie, lt, Pacai, be, Па́цы) was one of the most influential noble families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high-ranking officials of ...

, but changed hands frequently. Its owners at different times were the Radziwiłł family,

Jan Kazimierz Sapieha Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Elder ( lt, Jonas Kazimieras Sapiega vyresnysis) (?–1730) was a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since 1708 to 1709. He was the son of Franciszek Stefan Sapieha, father of Piotr Paweł Sapieha and Paweł Sapieha. A suppor ...

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius, be, Ян Караль Хадкевіч ; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1 ...

, and the Ogiński family. Until the 19th century the manor was of a wooden construction. Around 1830 the place was bought by the

Tyszkiewicz family Tyszkiewicz is the name of the Tyszkiewicz family, a Polish–Lithuanian magnate noble family of Ruthenian origin. The Lithuanian equivalent is Tiškevičius; it is frequently transliterated from Russian and Belarusian as Tyshkevich. Other peopl ...

and rebuilt the manor in bricks in 1836–1856. The park of the estate was destroyed while building a road connecting Vilnius with

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Demographics

According to 2021 National Census, the ethnographic composition of the Nemėžis Eldership is diverse. Out of 8950 inhabitants: *

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

- 4477 (50.0%) * Lithuanians - 2604 (29.1%) *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

- 899 (10.0%) * Belarusians - 429 (4.8%) *

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

- 119 (1.3%) * Other - 322 (3.6%)

References

External links

*
Nemėžis village
*
Nemėžis manor and the park
*
Nemėžis tatar community website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemezis Lipka Tatars Villages in Vilnius County Vilnius District Municipality