Šakiai (, pl, Szaki) is a city in the

Marijampolė County Marijampolė County ( lt, Marijampolės apskritis; pl, Okręg mariampolski) is one of the ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the south of the country in the historical Suvalkija region, and its capital is the town Marijampolė Marijampol� ...

, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village. By 1719 a church in Šakiai was built. By the 19th century Šakiai already had city rights; it also had a school,

Catholic 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 ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

churches, a synagogue, and a post office. 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 opposing ...

the city was destroyed by the German army.

History

Šakiai is the birthplace of early

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

philanthropist

Isaac Leib Goldberg Isaac Leib Goldberg ( he, יצחק לייב גולדברג, 7 February 1860 – 14 September 1935) was a Zionist leader and philanthropist in both Ottoman Palestine and the Russian Empire, and one of the principal founders of Rishon LeZion, the ...

in 1860.
Several massacres of Jewish people are alleged to have taken place in Šakiai in World War II, from July to September 1941. The killings are alleged to have committed by an Einsatzgruppen of German SS troops. The involvement of a small number of Lithuanians is also alleged.

Gallery

File:Šakiai, merija.JPG, Town hall of Šakiai File:Šakių bažnyčia.JPG, Church of John the Baptist File:Šakių ev. liuteronų bažnyčia.JPG, Šakiai Evangelical Lutheran Church File:VincasKudirkaPamátníkŠakiai.JPG, Bust of

Vincas Kudirka Vincas Kudirka (; – ) was a Lithuanian poet and physician, and the author of both the music and lyrics of the Lithuanian national anthem, "". He is regarded in Lithuania as a national hero. Kudirka used the pen names V. Kapsas, Paežeri ...

in Šakiai

Notable residents

* Zygmunt Kęstowicz (1921–2007), Polish actor *

Gvidonas Markevičius Gvidonas Markevičius (born November 22, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. National team career Markevičius was a member of the Lithuanian national team which won silver medals at the EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIB ...

(born 1969), basketball player *

Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan's B.League. Professional career He started his career in Statyba Vilnius. Later he moved to Žalgiris ...

(born 1974), basketball player and coach

Twin towns – sister cities

Šakiai is twinned with: *

Gołdap Gołdap ( or variant ''Goldapp''; lt, Geldupė, Geldapė, Galdapė) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie ...

, Poland

References

Cities in Lithuania Cities in Marijampolė County Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Suwałki Governorate Holocaust locations in Lithuania {{MarijampolėCounty-geo-stub