Saldutiškis is a small town in northeastern

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 ...

. According to the Lithuanian census of 2011, it had 343 residents. Its alternate names include Syłgudyszki (

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

), Saldutishkis, Trunkuny, and Saldatiškio.

History

The village was first mentioned in the late 18th century, when the property and manor of the Jałowiecki (Jaloveckis) family were recorded. Two of its most famous members were General Bolesław Jałowiecki (Boleslovas Jaloveckis; August 10, 1846 - July 10, 1918) and his son

Mieczysław Mieczysław () or Mečislovas (Lithuanian) is a Slavic name of Polish origin and consists of two parts: miecz "sword", and sław "glory, famous". Feminine form: Mieczysława. Alternate form: Mieszko. This name may refer to: People Mečislovas * ...

(December 2, 1876– March 10, 1962), a diplomat for the interwar Polish government of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

and a known

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

. Bolesław established a park, rich in tree variety. The settlement began to grow after a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway between

Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...

and

Švenčionėliai Švenčionėliai () is a city in Švenčionys district municipality, Lithuania. It is 10 km west of Švenčionys Švenčionys (, known also by several alternative names) is a town located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital ...

was built in 1899. Its train station was built in the traditional

Zakopane Style of Architecture Zakopane Style (or Witkiewicz Style) is an art style, most visible in architecture, but also found in furniture and related objects, inspired by the regional art of Poland's highland regions, most notably Podhale. Drawing on the motifs and tradi ...

. The Panevėžys-Saldutiškis railway was the object of the 1938–1939 ''Panevezys-Saldutiskis Railway Case'' of the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cen ...

between

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and Lithuania. During World War I, the manor was abandoned and looted. In the

aftermath of World War I The aftermath of World War I saw drastic political, cultural, economic, and social change across Eurasia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to the war, old countries were abolished, ne ...

, the village became part of the independent

n state. In the independent

, Jałowiecki family was unable to regain their estates, and Mieczysław settled in Poland. In the 1920s the former Jałowiecki's manor was converted into administrative offices and a primary school while the former barn was converted into a parish church. According to the 1923 census, there were 79 residents in Saldutiškis. As the settlement grew, an agricultural school and foresters office was moved into the town. A sawmill provided electricity for the town and surrounding settlements. On July 3 and August 4, 1941, an

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...

of Germans and Lithuanians nationalists executed the Jews from Saldutiškis. The remaining Jews from the city were shot at the military training grounds in Švenčionėliai. After World War II, several collective farms (''

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

y'') were established and primary school was converted into secondary. Saldutiškis had 309 residents in 1957, 388 in 1970, and 434 in 1979. On July 30, 2002, the

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority tha ...

confirmed coat of arms of the town. The arms depict silver deer with two pine branches with golden cones instead of antlers. These are symbols of the nearby Labanoras Forest, the largest forest in Lithuania.

References

External links

*
Photo of the old train station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saldutiskis Towns in Utena County Towns in Lithuania Sventsyansky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania