Žagarė (, see also other names) is a city located in the

Joniškis district Joniškis (; Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis is the municipal and ...

, northern

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 ...

, close to 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 ...

. It has a population of about 2,000, down from 14,000 in 1914, when it was the 7th largest city in Lithuania. Žagarė is famous for ''Žagarvyšnė'' - a cherry species originated in Žagarė.

Etymology

Žagarė's name is probably derived from the Lithuanian word ''žagaras,'' meaning "twig". Other renderings of the name include: lv, Žagare, pl, Żagory, yi, זאַגער, translit=Zager.

History

The foundation of Žagarė dates back to the 12th century. A settlement of the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

tribe Semigallians ''Sagera'' was mentioned for the first time in March 1254 in the documents of the partitioning of the

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

. In 13th century it was a Semigalian fortress ''Raktuvė'' (or ''Raktė'', first mentioned in 1272-1289 documents). It was an important centre of Semigallian warriors, who fought against the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderi ...

and the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after th ...

. The cult of

Barbora Žagarietė Barbora of Žagarė (1628 – ) was a Roman Catholic Servant of God from Žagarė, then Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to oral history, Barbora distinguished herself by her Christian virtues and died young under obscure circumstances. Her r ...

servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

, originated in the town in mid-1600s. It long had a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population that contributed to its culture.

Yisroel Salanter Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin, also known as "Israel Salanter" or "Yisroel Salanter" (November 3, 1809, Zhagory – February 2, 1883, Königsberg), was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist. ...

(1810–1883), the father of the 19th-century Mussar movement in

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses o ...

, was born there.

Isaak Kikoin Isaak Konstantinovich (Kushelevich) Kikoin (; 28 March 1908 – 28 December 28, 1984), , was a Soviet physicist of Lithuanian origin and an author of physics textbooks in Russian language who played an important role in the former Soviet program ...

(1908–1984), a renowned

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, was also born there. The Jewish quarter in Žagarė was among those damaged in 1881 as part of the violence against Jews that occurred during the pogroms in southern Russia. On 22 August 1941, on the orders of the Šiauliai Gebietskommissar

Hans Gewecke Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

, all half-Jews and Jews in the district were to be moved to Žagarė ghetto. The Jews were allowed only to take clothing and at most 200 Reichsmark. Many Jews were shot on the spot instead of being sent to the ghetto.Shafir, Michael. "Ideology, memory and religion in post-communist East Central Europe: a comparative study focused on post-Holocaust." Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 15.44 (2016): 52-110
/ref> In a massacre committed by Einsatzgruppe A on 2 October 1941, the date of

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

that year, all Jews were killed at the marketplace and buried in Naryshkin Park. Today Žagarė is the administrative centre of the Žagarė Regional Park, known for its valuable urban and natural heritage. Once one of the largest cities in Lithuania (in the 1900s the number of city inhabitants exceeded 10 thousand), it preserved valuable urban complexes – trade square, side street network with early 20th century brick buildings, two churches,

Žagarė manor Žagarė Manor is a former residence of Prince Platon Zubov in Žagarė, Joniškis district, in Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Balt ...

with park, former early 20 c. cinema building and other valuable urban artefacts.

Notable residents

* Juozas Žlabys-Žengė, Lithuanian poet * Vaclovas Daunoras, prominent Lithuanian opera soloist. *

Louis Bookman Louis "Abraham" Bookman (6 November 1890 – 10 June 1943) was an Irish sportsman of Lithuanian Jewish origin who represented Ireland in both football and cricket. Born the son of a rabbi in Lithuania, he arrived in Ireland in 1895 when his famil ...

Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor' ...

* Phoebus Levene * Paul Mandelstamm *

*Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky. Founder of

Wissotzky Tea Wissotzky Tea ( he, תה ויסוצקי) is an international, family-owned tea company based in Israel with offices in London and the United States. It is the leading tea distributor in Israel. Founded in 1849 in Moscow, Russia, it became the large ...

* Sarah Millin, South African author

Twin towns – sister cities

Žagarė is a member of the ''Charter of European Rural Communities'', a

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

association across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, alongside with: * Bienvenida, Spain * Bièvre, Belgium *

Bucine Bucine is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about west of Arezzo. Subdivision Bucine borders the following municipalities: Castelnuovo Berardenga, Civit ...

, Italy * Cashel, Ireland * Cissé, France * Desborough, England, United Kingdom * Esch, Netherlands * Hepstedt, Germany * Ibănești, Romania * Kandava, Latvia * Kannus, Finland *

Kolindros Kolindros ( el, Κολινδρός) is a town and a former municipality in Pieria regional unit, in Central Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Pydna-Kolindros, of which it is a municipal ...

, Greece *

Lassee Lassee is a town in the district of Gänserndorf in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the no ...

, Austria * Medzev, Slovakia * Moravče, Slovenia *

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the fou ...

, Denmark *

Nagycenk Nagycenk is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, ...

, Hungary * Nadur, Malta *

Ockelbo Ockelbo is a locality and the seat of Ockelbo Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 2,724 inhabitants in 2010. The name Ockelbo, spelled ''De oklabo'' in 1314, contains an old marine name ''*Ukle'', referring to modern-day Lake Bysjön. T ...

, Sweden * Pano Lefkara, Cyprus *

Põlva Põlva () is a town in southeastern Estonia, the capital of Põlva County, and the centre of Põlva Parish. Põlva is home for the Intsikurmu Song Festival Grounds, which regularly hosts concerts and summer activities, situated in a small f ...

, Estonia *

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

, Portugal * Slivo Pole, Bulgaria * Starý Poddvorov, Czech Republic *

Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzesz ...

, Poland * Tisno, Croatia * Troisvierges, Luxembourg

References

External links