Skuodas (; Samogitian: ''Skouds'') is a city located 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 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 border with

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. The Bartuva river flows through the town.

History

Skuodas was first mentioned in written sources in 1253. At that time it belonged to Ceklis land. In 1572 city rights were granted to Skuodas thanks to

Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Chodkevičius, be, Ян Геранімавіч Хадкевіч) (1537 – 4 August 1579) was a 16th-century Polish-Lithuanian noble. He was Grand Pantler of Lithuania 1559, general starost of Samogi ...

who owned the city. The same year after the city rights were granted, a new part of the city started to settle on the right wing of Bartuva river. In the centre of this part there were built a new rectangular square, town hall, commercial buildings. After Chodkiewicz's era

Sapieha family The House of Sapieha (; be, Сапега, ''Sapieha''; lt, Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medi ...

got the city as a trousseau and became the owners of Skuodas. Sapieha family owned the city until 1832. In 1776 Skuodas lost city rights and became just a border city with a customs. In 1821 present masonry Evangelical Lutheran Church was built. In 1847 the current

Catholic Church 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 ...

was built using masonry of stone and bricks. It reflects features of

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

. This church was consecrated by bishop

Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius ( pl, , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Biogr ...

in 1850. In 1614 parish school was established. Railway branch line Priekule-

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...

was built in 1915 and printing house was established in 1911. The town had a Jewish community in the 19th century, with four synagogues. By 1897, almost 2,300 Jews formed 60% of the population and dominated commerce in the town. In 1941, following the German invasion, and the establishment of persecutions by Lithuanian nationalists, 500 Jews of the town were massacred. During the interwar period Skuodas had about 4410 inhabitants. It was known for its shoe factory ''Kontinent''. Skuodas also had a new cinema with modern equipment. The city suffered severely during World War II. After the war the ruined rectangular square was rebuilt. In 1992 the coat of arms of Skuodas was approved. Nowadays Skuodas has a gymnasium, a primary school, a secondary school and a high school. There is also a museum, post office, centre of the culture, central hospital of municipality, foster home and public library in the city.

History of the name

The city's name ''Skuodas'' originated from the surname, Skuodas. Germans called the city ''Schoden'', and ''Skudn''. At the end of the 16th century, the new part of the city was called ''Johanisberg'' or ''Johanisburg''. However these names did not catch on.

Famous residents

Eugenijus Gedgaudas Eugenijus may refer to: * Eugenijus Gentvilas (born 1960), Lithuanian politician *Eugenijus Riabovas (born 1951), Lithuanian football manager * Eugenijus Karpavičius (1953–2010), Lithuanian illustrator *Eugenijus Maldeikis (born 1958), Lithu ...

(1924-2006), Lithuanian born USA radiologist; *

Simonas Daukantas Simonas Daukantas ( pl, Szymon Dowkont; 28 October 1793 – 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book o ...

(1793-1864), famous Lithuanian historian, author of the first historical works in

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

; * Vaclovas Intas (1927-2007), doctor, founder of

Mosėdis Mosėdis is a small town in Samogitia, northwestern Lithuania in Klaipėda County, mostly known for its Museum of Rare Stones. The museum and impressive outdoor collection were initiated by Vaclovas Intas and have since expanded all over the town ...

Museum of Stones; * Vytautas Vaclovas Donėla (born 1930), Lithuanian philosopher; * Alvydas Duonėla (born 1976), retired Lithuanian canoeist, world champion; *

Vygaudas Ušackas Vygaudas Ušackas (born 16 December 1964 in Skuodas, Lithuania) is Member of the Board of Directors of a Lithuanian born European-American company Avia Solutions Group, which is a Leader in End-to-End Capacity Provider for Passenger and Cargo Ai ...

(born 1964), a Lithuanian diplomat, former Lithuania's Minister for Foreign Affairs, current

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

's special representative and the head of EU mission for

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

; * Remigijus Motuzas (born 1956), a Lithuanian diplomat, current ambassador of Lithuania to Russia; *

Zinaida Sendriūtė Zinaida Sendriūtė (born 20 December 1984) is a Lithuanian discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther di ...

(born 1984), a Lithuanian discus thrower, represented Lithuania in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Twin cities

Lindås Lindås is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality. The administrative centre of the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

References

External links

Official site

Travel guide to SkuodasThe murder of the Jews of Skuodas
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...