Liškiava is a historic

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Varėna district municipality Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Varėna district municipality, district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested Municipalities of Lithu ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the bank of

Nemunas River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains ...

, near the Lake Liškiavis. In 2005 its population was 37. A leisure boat route connects Liškiava with the resort of

Druskininkai Druskininkai (; also see other names) is a spa city on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai is known for being a spa resort since the 19th century. Name The exact origi ...

, a few kilometres south along the river.

History

At the end of the 14th century,

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

ordered the construction of a stone castle on the hill. The building lost its importance after the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

and was never completed; only the ruins of one tower remain 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 The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. In 1699–1741 a Dominican monastery and in 1704–1720 a brick Holy Trinity church were 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 between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

in 1795, it was forbidden to accept new monks into the monastery. In 1852, the 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 a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

. After

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 ...

, the building became a school. 1947–1977 it was a recreational base of the sartorial factory ''Lelija''. The Jewish population of Liškiava was 146 in 1923. The rabbi of Liškiava's

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 {{Varėna-geo-stub