Liškiava is a historic village in the

Varėna district municipality Varėna (; pl, Orany; yi, אוראַן ''Oran'') is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania. History The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna (Old Varėna). At that time it was a small settleme ...

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 situated on the bank of

Nemunas River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

, near the Lake Liškiavis. In 2005 its population was 37. A leisure boat route connects Liškiava with the resort of Druskininkai, a few kilometres south along the river.

History

At the end of the 14th century Vytautas the Great erected a stone castle on the hill. Building lost its importance after the Battle of Grunwald and it was never completed; only the ruins of one tower remains today. Since the second half of 16th century until 1624 Liškiava church belonged to Protestants. In 1677 a wooden church was rebuilt, and in 1697 the entire town was donated to the Dominican Order. In 1699–1741 a Dominican monastery and in 1704–1720 a brick Holy Trinity church was built in the town. After the

partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for ...

in 1795, it was forbidden to accept new monks to the monastery. Since 1852 monastery was reconstructed into living quarters and

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

. After World War II the building became a school. 1947–1977 it was a recreational base of sartorial factory ''Lelija''. The Jewish population of Liškiava was 146 in 1923. The rabbi of Liškiava's Jews before World War II was Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Weinstein (later of London).

External links

JewishGen Locality Page - Liškiava, Lithuania
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Official site
Castles in Lithuania Villages in Alytus County Varėna District Municipality {{AlytusCounty-geo-stub