Tytuvėnai () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the

Kelmė district municipality Kelmė (; is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality. History Kelmė's name may come from the Lithuanian ''kelmynės'' ...

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 ...

. It is located east of

Kelmė Kelmė (; is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality. History Kelmė's name may come from the Lithuanian ''kelmynės'', ...

. It is known for its Bernardine monastery.

History

The first church in the town was built in 1555. The construction of the monastery was initiated by Andrius Valavičius and his family, who returned to the Catholic faith after a wave of

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. The construction plans were prepared in 1614, but the construction started only after the death of Andrius Valavičius in 1618. Works were sponsored by Jeronimas Valavičius, the treasurer of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

. In 1633 the main part of monastery and church was completed. In 1772–1780 a courtyard was built, in which

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

were placed. Before World War II, Tytuvėnai was popular as a resort town due to its location among lakes and forests. In 1923, the town had 1164 inhabitants; 221 of them were Jews who made their living in agriculture and small trades. There was a synagogue and a Beth-Midrash in the town. Rabbi

Yaakov Kamenetsky Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891 – March 10, 1986), was a prominent rabbi, rosh yeshiva, ''posek'' and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community. Biography Yaakov Kamenetsky was born at a folwark called Kalyskovka owned b ...

was the rabbi of the Tytuvėnai Jewish community from 1926 until 1937, when he emigrated to America. Two mass executions in Tytuvėnai forest took place in August 1941, but before that, according to witnesses, about 30-40 Jews were taken by carts to

Raseiniai Raseiniai (; Samogitian: ''Raseinē'') is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway. History Grand Duchy of Lithuania Raseiniai is one of th ...

and never came back. 15 Jewish men were shot during the first execution in Tytuvėnai forest. The second one took place about a week later, when women, children and the elderly were assembled in the synagogue, then brought to the forest in several trips and shot. Victims had to undress before the execution, while local villagers who were requisitioned to dig waited nearby to cover the bodies. About 160 Jewish women, children and the elderly were shot that day. File:Tytuv%C4%97n%C5%B3_%C5%A0v%C4%8D._Mergel%C4%97s_Marijos_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_ir_bernardin%C5%B3_vienuolyno_ansamblio_%C5%A0v%C4%8D._Mergel%C4%97s_Marijos%2C_%C5%A0v%C4%8D._M._Marijos_Angel%C5%B3_Karalien%C4%97s_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dia_ir_vienuolyno_namas_-_panoramio.jpg, Tytuvėnai Monastery File:Tytuvėnai Monastery Church Interior, Tytuvėnai, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Tytuvėnai Monastery Church interior

References

Cities in Lithuania Cities in Šiauliai County Rossiyensky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania Kelmė District Municipality {{ŠiauliaiCounty-geo-stub