Kuršėnai
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Kuršėnai (; Samogitian: ''Koršienā'') is a city in northwestern
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
,
Šiauliai County Šiauliai County () is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Šiauliai. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Šiauliai County remains as a territorial a ...
,
Šiauliai district municipality Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
. It is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2023 estimate, it had 10,651 residents.


Etymology

The city's name was first documented in the 16th century. According to historian , its name is derived from the word ''kuršis'' ( Curonian). However, according to
folk legend Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material ...
, the city didn't have a name for a long time. But, one summer day the river Venta flooded and washed all hay bales which were standing at the river banks. People started questioning each other: where is the hay? where is the hay? („Kur šienai? Kur šienai?“). Since then, the city name stayed as Kuršėnai. In other languages the town is referred to as: ''Kurshon''; ; ; .


History


Early history

The town and its surroundings fall within the boundaries of the territory inhabited by the ancient Samogitian tribe. According to historian S. Zajančiovskis, Kuršėnai was first mentioned in the 12th century. Since the 14th century, Kuršėnai village and
Kuršėnai Manor Kuršėnai (; Samogitian: ''Koršienā'') is a city in northwestern Lithuania, Šiauliai County, Šiauliai district municipality. It is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2023 estimate, it had 10,651 residents. Etymolog ...
was the personal property of the Lithuanian Grand Duke. A wooden church was built in 1523. From 1561-1563 Kuršėnai was already referred to as a town. In 1564, King and Grand Duke
Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...
gave Kuršėnai with 162 valakas of land, on the advice of the Samogitian Elder Jonas Chodkevičius, to the Despot-Zenavičiai family. Kuršenai was later the property of
Pac family The House of Pac or Pacowie (, , ) was one of the most influential noble families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high-ranking Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officials of the Commonwealth came from their ra ...
and after them a property of
Gruževskiai Gruszecki (; , sometimes anglicized as Grushetsky) is the name of a Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Russian noble family. History The name originates from the knight Maciej, Chorąży of the King of Poland and Lithuanian Grand Duke, Jog ...
family, who ruled the town with the manor until
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Under George Despot-Zenevičius, the
Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
of
Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...
, the town began to expand in the manor lands on the other side of the Venta River. In 1621, the estate was acquired by
Steponas Pacas Stefan Pac (; 1587–17 November 1640) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, politician and magnate. He was the private secretary of King Sigismund III of Poland since 1611, Grand Clerk of Lithuania since 1615, Recorder of Lithuania since 1626, ...
, the Grand Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and
Great Scribe of Lithuania Great Scribe of Lithuania (; ) was a central, though non- Senatorial, office in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Great Scribe served as an adviser to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and his chancellor. History of the office The office was created ...
. In 1631, by a decree of the King
Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...
, the manor of Kuršėnai was given to George Gruževskis (1591-1651) as a perpetual right for his merits in the
Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...
.


18th-early 20th century

At the end of the 18th century, Kuršėnai were inherited by Stephen Gruzewski. Having brought in the artist J. Rilke with the apprentice team, he built a new (current) manor house and a chapel and renovated other buildings in 1811. The estate flourished still further under the rule of his younger son Edward who took it over in 1846. Kuršėnai Manor has the most valuable heritage of wooden manorial architecture in Šiauliai District. The original staircase, window frames, and wooden front doors have survived. After the Third Partition of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the estate of Kuršėnai was under Russian rule from 1795 to 1914, first in the
Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...
and from 1843 in the Kovno Governorate. The town itself began to flourish after 1873 when a railway station of Libau–Romny Railway was built here. During the years of Lithuanian press ban, the banned press was spread by A. Kairys, P. Milašauskas, S. Rupšys and other Lithuanian book smugglers, book smugglers. In 1899, a secret Lithuanian language school by Eleonora Karaveckaitė was opened. During Russian Revolution of 1905 strikes and demonstrations took place in Kuršėnai and the local Russian administration was expelled. During World War I the manor and the park were severely damaged by the occupying German army who stole the manor's valuables. In 1914 the town's Jewish population was expelled by the Russian army, who accused them of collaborating with the Germans.Josef Rosin,
Protecting Our Litvak Heritage > Kuršėnai (Kurshan)
', accessed 2016-01-02
The fire of 1915 destroyed the peasant farms, barns, and sheds. The manor belonged to George Gruzewski at that time. Owing to advanced farming, the estate was flourishing during the interwar period. The manor was nationalized in 1940.


World War II and later

In 1939 there were around 900 Litvaks, Jews living in the town (out of the total population of around 3000). Their persecution began in July, 1941. Immediately following the arrival of the Nazi Germany , Nazis a Hilfswilliger, Lithuanian squad was formed in Kuršėnai. They arrested supporters of the Soviet regime and assigned the Jews to various forced labor tasks. When a ghetto was set up in Kuršėnai by an order of Generalbezirk Litauen, Nazi authorities many Jews were housed in the two synagogues. At the end of July Nazis and a group of Lithuanian nationalists (white armbanders) together with police seized approximately 150 to 168 Jewish men and murdered them in a mass execution in a nearby forest, about three kilometers from the city. After World War II, during the Baltic states under Soviet rule (1944–1991), Soviet occupation, Lithuanian partisans of the Kęstutis military district, later the Voverė and Kunigaikštis Žvelgaitis detachments of Prisikėlimas military district, were active in the area. The town was home to the Pavenčiai Sugar Factory, the Daugėliai Building Materials Company, and the Jiesia ceramics factory. Currently Agrokoncerno grupė agricultural company established a Grain Processing Plant in the territory of the former sugar factory. 24 October 1994. The coat of arms of Kuršėnai was adopted by the Decree of the President of Lithuania. In 2014, the settlement of Ringuvėnai was incorporated into the town.


Economy

Since clay deposits that were ideal for making fine ceramics were discovered near Kuršėnai, pottery has long been thriving in the city. In the last century, Kuršėnai became famous for fairs abundant in earthenware. Kuršėnai is called the “Capital of Potters” not only due to the abundance of such handicraftsmen in the city but also because the All-Time Potter's Crown has been solely won by the folk artists from Kuršėnai such as J. Paulauskas, V. Damkus, B. Radeckas, and J. Vertelis. It clearly is no coincidence that a pitcher is one of the elements of the coat of arms of the city.


Famous dishes

Kuršėnų vyniotinis, a type of sweet rolled pastry with cheese curd filling, was named after the city. The dessert was created by Eugenija Dragūnienė, a gulag survivor who opened a local confectionery store after her release.


Famous people

* Stasys Raštikis, Lithuanian army general * Donald Kagan, Yale Classics professor * Vacys Reimeris, poet * Stasys Lipskis * Arieh Kubovy, chairman of Yad Vashem
Arjeh Kubovy, Head of Yad Vashem,dead; Was Israeli Career Diplomat
', Jewish Telegraphic Agency archive, accessed 2016-01-02
* Kazimiera Kymantaitė (1909-1999), Lithuanian film and actress and stage director


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kursenai Kuršėnai, Cities in Šiauliai County Cities in Lithuania Shavelsky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania Šiauliai District Municipality