Šakiai

Šakiai
Town

Aerial Šakiai view, featuring the Town hall of Šakiai

Coat of arms
Šakiai

Location of Šakiai

Coordinates: 54°57′N 23°3′E / 54.950°N 23.050°E / 54.950; 23.050Coordinates: 54°57′N 23°3′E / 54.950°N 23.050°E / 54.950; 23.050
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Suvalkija
County Marijampolė County
Municipality Šakiai district municipality
Eldership Šakiai eldership
Capital of Šakiai district municipality
Šakiai eldership
First mentioned 1599
Granted city rights 1776
Government
  Mayor Juozas Bertašius (LVŽS)
  Mayor deputy Edgaras Pilypaitis
Population (2011)
  Total 6,051
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Šakiai ( pronunciation ) is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located 65 km (40 mi) west of Kaunas. It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from Šakaičai village. By 1719 a church in Šakiai was built. By the 19th century Šakiai already had city rights; it also had a school, Catholic and Lutheran churches, a synagogue, and a post office. During World War II the city was destroyed by the German army.

History

Šakiai is the birthplace of early Zionist philanthropist Isaac Leib Goldberg in 1860.[1]

Several massacres of Jewish people are alleged to have taken place in Šakiai in World War II, from July to September 1941. The killings are alleged to have committed by an Einsatzgruppen of German SS troops. Involvement of a small number of Lithuanians is also alleged.[2]

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Šakiai is twinned with:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Šakiai.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.