Kalvarija () is a city in southwestern

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 ...

, located 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� ...

, close to the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Etymology and names

Variants of the name include Kalvarijos, Kalvariya, Kalwarja, Kalvarye (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

), Kalwaria ( Polish), Kalvarien (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

), Calvaria, Kalvaria, Kalwariya, and Kalwarya. The town is named so because it was established in the 17th century as a shrine commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus.

History

In 1705 the first wooden church was built. In 1713, local Jews received permission from King August II to build a synagogue and Jewish craftsmen were first permitted to practice their crafts without having to be members of the craft guilds. In 1791

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarc ...

recognized that Kalvarija had the right to call itself a town and confirmed the municipality's coat of arms. 1840 saw the construction of a new Catholic church, which still stands today. Kalvarija developed rapidly when the new St. Petersburg–

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

road was constructed toward the end of the 19th century. By the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Kalvarija had over 10,000 inhabitants; the destruction of two-thirds of the town during the war caused the

population decline A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...

. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Kalvarija was under

occupation from 22 June 1941 until 1 August 1944. It was administered as a part of the ''

Generalbezirk Litauen Generalbezirk Litauen ( lt, Lietuvos generalinė sritis, ) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the 1941-1945 civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany for the administration of the three ...

'' of ''

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initi ...

''. In 1941, a mass execution of 38 Jews of the city was perpetrated by Gestapo soldiers and Lithuanian policemen.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kalvarija is twinned with: *

Alpago Alpago is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto. It is located about north of Venice and about east of Belluno. Lago di Santa Croce is located near Alpago. It was established on 23 February 201 ...

(formerly Pieve D’Alpago) in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Kalwaria Zebrzydowska () is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants (2007 estimate). As of 1999, it is situated in Lesser Poland or Małopolska (in Polish). Previously, the town was administered within the Voivodeship of Bielsko-Biała ( ...

References

;Notes

External links