Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė''; ) is a city in

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 ...

with 17,252 inhabitants. Plunge is the capital of the

Plungė District Municipality Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė''; ) is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plunge is the capital of the Plungė District Municipality which has 33,251 inhabitants (2022). Two parts of the city are separated by the Babrungas River and ...

which has 33,251 inhabitants (2022). Two parts of the city are separated by the Babrungas River and two bridges are built over it. Plungė is known for Plungė Manor and its park, where the Samogitian Art Museum is located. In the Oginskiai manor park stands the Perkūnas oak natural monument. The

Lourdes grotto A Lourdes grotto is a replica of the grotto where the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, in the town of Lourdes in France, now part of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Some Lourdes grottos are almost identical reproductions of the scene o ...

of Plungė was created in 1905 and attracts visitors. In the center of Plungė stands a monument for the 10th anniversary of regaining the independence of Lithuania and a sculpture of

Saint Florian Florian (; AD 250 – 304) was a Christian holy man and the patron saint of chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighters. His feast day is 4 May. Florian is also the patron saint of Poland, the city of Linz, Austria, and Upper Austria, jointl ...

built by the Lithuanian book carrier Kazys Barzdys. The city has a

crab stick Crab sticks, krab sticks, snow legs, imitation crab meat, or seafood sticks are a Japanese seafood product made of ''surimi'' (pulverized white fish) and starch, then shaped and cured to resemble the leg meat of snow crab or Japanese spider c ...

factory which exports to many countries in Europe.

History

It is thought that the territory in which Plungė is situated was inhabited in 5th–1st centuries BC. After the Treaty of Melno, county seats were established in the forests of

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

. From the 14th century to the middle of the 16th century, Plungė was part of the Gandinga

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

as an ordinary settlement. Later, the population of Plungė started to grow faster and surpassed the population of Gandinga. In 1567 Plungė was first mentioned as a town. It was located in the

Duchy of Samogitia The Duchy of Samogitia (, , ) was an administrative unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1422 (and from 1569, a member country of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). Between 1422 and 1441 it was known as the Eldership of Samogitia. Si ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

within the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. On January 13, 1792, Plungė was granted

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

. From 1806 to 1873 Plungė belonged to Platon Zubov, and later – to the Ogiński family, who built a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

here in 1879. During the interwar period a gymnasium was established in 1925, and a railway branch-line was built in 1932. In 1933, the current Catholic Church was consecrated. Since the private hospital was founded in 1939, maternity and surgical sections started operations in the city.

Lithuanian Jews {{Jews and Judaism sidebar , Population Litvaks ({{Langx, yi, ליטװאַקעס) or Lita'im ({{Langx, he, לִיטָאִים) are Jews who historically resided in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuan ...

were active in the town's government and comprised around half of Plungė's inhabitants leading up to

The Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian (Litvaks) and History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in the Occupation of Lithuania by Na ...

. During the 1941 June Uprising in Lithuania and the German invasion as part of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, Plungė was captured by German forces on 25 June 1941. Lithuanian nationalists, led by

Jonas Noreika Jonas Noreika (8 October 1910 – 26 February 1947), also known by his post-war nom de guerre Generolas Vėtra (), was a Lithuanian anti-Soviet partisan, military officer, and Nazi collaborator. In July 1941, he was the leader of the Lithuan ...

,„Die Mörder werden noch gebraucht“
Der Spiegel, Von Leonid Olschwang, 23 April 1984
Chicago Tribune, Ron Grossman, 14 January 2019 seized control and formed a town administration and police force. German forces killed 60 young Jewish men, accused by the Lithuanians of being a rear guard for the Red Army, shortly after the town's capture. On 26 June 1941, the day after the Germans' arrival in Plungė, Lithuanian forces moved the town's Jews into a makeshift

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

, while carrying out beatings, torture, murders and forcing Jews to perform heavy labor. On 13 or 15 July in the Plungė massacre, the Lithuanian nationalists transported Jewish men, women and children to ditches near the village of Kausenai where they were shot. Of the 1,700 Jews living in Plungė in 1939, very few survived and often those who were victims of the Soviet deportations from Lithuania prior to the Holocaust.The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 ''Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945'' is a seven-part encyclopedia series that explores the history of the concentration camps, ghettos, forced-labor camps, and other sites of detention, persecution, or state-sponsored murder ru ...

, Geoffrey P. Megargee, Martin C. Dean, and Mel Hecker, Volume II, part B, pages 1105. Remembrance sites for the events of 1941 exist in and around the town. The Jewish holocaust survivor and sculptor Jacob Bunka was one of the town's few Jews to survive the war. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

years of the independence of Lithuania Plungė's economic was based on the factory of fibre flax and cotton ''Kučiskis – Pabedinskiai'' and also on the activities of Jewish businessmen and agricultural products made by Samogitian farmers. After World War II and the Soviet occupation, Plungė started to grow rapidly – the city had 7,400 inhabitants in 1950, and by 1990 it had around 23,300 inhabitants. During the years of Soviet occupation, Lithuanians became the majority of the city's inhabitants. According to the Government's Resolution of 1963, Plungė was to become a regional centre with a strong industry. However, these plans didn't come to fruition as it became obvious that the city did not have enough water resources, although some companies were established in Plungė. However, most of these companies bankrupted after the independence of Lithuania was announced. The coat of arms of Plungė was affirmed by the decree of the President on June 6, 1997. In 2009 Plungė was elected Lithuanian Capital of Culture. Nowadays Plungė is the sixteenth largest city of

having 22,287 inhabitants.

Name

The origin of the name ''Plungė'' is not clear. The most likely theory is that its name comes from the river ''Paplunga'' which flowed through the city. The city's name is Płungiany in Polish, Plongė in Samogitian, and Plungyan (פלונגיאן) in Yiddish. It was also known as Плунгяны (Plungyany) in Russian in the past.

Main sights

* Plungė Manor * Plungė District Municipal Public Library * Plungė park * St. John the Baptist Church * St. Florian's sculpture * Plokštinė missile base (Cold War Museum) near the city

Gallery

File:1-Plungė, varpinė.JPG, Bell tower File:The horse stable - panoramio.jpg, Stables of the Plungė Manor File:Plunge Manor park.JPG, Fountain File:Park of the Plungė Manor in Plungė, Lithuania in 2011.jpg, Park File:Plungė, lurdas.JPG,

File:Monument with the Columns of Gediminas, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Independence of Lithuania in Plungė, Lithuania.jpg, Monument "Freedom" (1928) destroyed during the Soviet occupation, restored in 1992 File:1.Plungės kapinių koplyčia.JPG, Plungė Cemetery Chapel

Transport

Highways near the city are: *Highway A11

Šiauliai 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 ...

– Palanga *Highway 164 Mažeikiai–Plungė–

Tauragė Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...

*Highway 166 Plungė– Vėžaičiai Plungė has a railway station. Trains going by the route

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

–

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

and

Radviliškis Radviliškis () (; ; , ''Radvilishok'') is a city in the Radviliškis district municipality, Šiauliai County, Lithuania. Radviliškis has been the administrative center of the district since 1950, and is an important railway junction. History ...

–

stop there.

Sports

Football club "FK Babrungas Plungė" plays in Lithuanian Football Federation's 2 League's Western Zone. The team plays in the Central Stadium of Plungė. Basketball club " Olimpas Plungė" plays in National Basketball League. The team was established in 1989. In 1997, BC Olimpas played in the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

finals, where they lost to BC Žalgiris Kaunas. Afterwards, the team did not appear in national competitions until 2011. Olimpas Plungė started to play in Regional Basketball League and won gold medals in 2012 and qualified to the National Basketball League. In 2012-2013 National Basketball League's regular season team finished 3rd amongst 18 teams, however it lost the quarter-finals series 2-0 to BC Žalgiris Kaunas 2. Team plays in "SS Žemaitijos Suvenyras" arena, which has a capacity of 200 people.

Twin towns – sister cities

Plungė is twinned with: * Bjerkreim, Norway * Boxholm, Sweden *

Bruntál Bruntál (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

, Czech Republic * Golub-Dobrzyń, Poland * Konotop, Ukraine * Kvareli, Georgia * Menden, Germany *

Tukums Tukums (; ; ) is a town in Latvia and serves as the administrative center of Tukums Municipality. It is located in the eastern part of the historical region of Courland, and with more than 16,000 inhabitants Tukums is the 13th largest settlem ...

, Latvia *

Viljandi County Viljandi County ( or ''Viljandimaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties as well as Latvia. History Viljandimaa, under the German name of ''Krei ...

, Estonia Former twin towns (until 2022): * Krasnogorsky District, Russia

Famous residents

* Chaim Yitzchak Bloch Hacohen was born there and later served as Rosh Yeshivah. * Jacob Bunka, folk artist and creator of Holocaust memorials.Around the Jewish World Lone Jew in Lithuanian Town Spends Life Preserving the Past

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

, 13 June 2002 *

M. K. Čiurlionis M, or m, is the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet. M may also refer to: Companies and products * M (fragrance), a 2008 fragrance by Mariah Carey * M-series rangefinder, a series of List of Leica Camera models#M-series rangefinder, Leic ...

(1875–1911), Lithuanian composer and artist, lived there * Lazarus Goldschmidt (Plungė, 1871–1950), translator of the Talmud * Historian Zenonas Ivinskis (Plungė, 1908–1971) was born there * Jurgita Jurkutė (Plungė, 1985),

Miss Lithuania Miss Lithuania () is a national Beauty pageant in Lithuania. History Miss Lithuania began in 1993 and debuted at the Miss World competition. The pageant traditionally broadcast live on "Lietuvos rytas TV". Since 2012, the Miss Lithuania Organi ...

2007, was born there * Bronislovas Lubys (1938–2011), entrepreneur, former

Prime Minister of Lithuania The prime minister of Lithuania (, , colloquially also referred to as the premier ) is the head of government of Lithuania. The prime minister is appointed by the President of Lithuania, president with the assent of the Lithuanian parliament, th ...

, signatory of the

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of 11 March () was an Declaration of independence, independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on 11 March 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Se ...

, and businessman * , former Lithuanian ambassador to the United Kingdom. * Wanda Rutkiewicz (1943–1992), a mountaineer, the first European woman to reach the summit of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

and the first female climber to reach K2 * Aistė Smilgevičiūtė (Plungė, 1977), singer, was born there * Petras Vyšniauskas, Jazz saxophonist, was born and grew up there

References

External links

The murder of the Jews of Plungė
during

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 ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Plunge Cities in Telšiai County Cities in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Plungė District Municipality Telshevsky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania