Varniai (; Samogitian: ''Varnē''; pl, Wornie) is a city in the

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 is Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is ...

, western

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 ...

. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai ( Samogitian: ''Medėninkā''). It was established in the 14th century, on the bank of the Varnelė River, near an important

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 ...

n castle. It was the center of Samogitian Catholic church: after the

baptism of Samogitia The Christianization of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos krikštas) occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity ...

, the Samogitian Bishop resided in the town. Around 1414–1416 the first church was built, and c. 1464 the first cathedral. Varniai was the center of Samogitian

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

until the middle of the 19th century, when authorities of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

moved it to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. With support of

Merkelis Giedraitis Merkelis Giedraitis ( pl, Melchior Giedroyć; – 6 April 1609) was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of t ...

Mikalojus Daukša Mikalojus Daukša (other possible spellings include ''Mikalojus Daugsza'', pl, Mikołaj Dauksza and ''Mikolay Dowksza''; after 1527 – February 16, 1613 in Medininkai) was a Lithuanian and Latin religious writer, translator and a Catholic churc ...

translated and made ready for publication '' Katechizmas'', the first

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 millio ...

book printed in 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 ...

, then part of 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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. It was also residence of

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 ...

Gallery

1539-Samogethia-and-Lituania.jpg, Varniai as depicted in

Carta marina ''Carta marina et descriptio septentrionalium terrarum'' (Latin for ''Marine map and description of the Northern lands''; commonly abbreviated ''Carta marina'') is the first map of the Nordic countries to give details and place names, created by S ...

2015-09 Varniai 12.jpg, One of the Varniai streets Varnių muziejus3.JPG,

Samogitian Diocese The Archdiocese of Kaunas ( la, Archidioecesis Kaunensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. The episcopal see is in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. The archdiocese's ...

seat in Varniai Varniukatedra8.jpg, Church of St. Peter and St. Paul Varniukatedra2.JPG, Interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul GiedraitisMerkelis3.JPG,

Bishops of Samogitia Bishops of Samogitia, Samogitian diocese (now a part of Lithuania) from 1417 to 1926. The seat of the diocese was in Varniai/Medininkai until 1864, when it was moved to Kaunas. It was liquidated in 1926 by Pope Pius XI when the archdiocese of Ka ...

sarcophagus in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul basement Varniai, šv. Aleksandro bažnyčia.JPG, St. Alexander's Church Varniai, kultūros centras.JPG, Varniai Centre of Culture 2015-09 Varniai 24.jpg, Varniai eldership building GiedraitisMerkelis.JPG,

Monument DauksaMikalojus.JPG,

Monument ValanciusVarniai.JPG,

Monument ValanciusVarniai2.JPG, Former house of Motiejus Valančius Varniai. Gimnazija.JPG, Varniai Motiejus Valančius Gymnasium

Notable residents

Boris Schatz Boris Schatz ( he, בוריס שץ; 23 December 1866 – 23 March 1932) was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Israel. Schatz, who became known as the "father of Israeli art," founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. After S ...

External links

Varniai – A Resourceful Renaissance Center of 16th Century Cultural and National Ideology

Park of Varniai and history of Varniai

Museum of Samogitian episcopate

Website of Varniai
Cities in Telšiai County Cities in Lithuania Telšiai District Municipality Telshevsky Uyezd {{TelšiaiCounty-geo-stub