Plateliai
Encyclopedia
Samogitia
Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. It is situated on the west bank of Lake Plateliai
Lake Plateliai
Lake Plateliai is the biggest lake in Samogitia and 9th biggest in Lithuania. It is the central attraction in the Žemaitija National Park. It covers about 12 km² and reaches up to 47 m in depth. It has seven islands, one of them housed a castle and now is called Castle Island...
, the largest lake in Samogitia. The town with the population of about 1,100 people is the center of an elderate in Plungė district municipality
Plunge district municipality
Plungė district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.-Tourism and pilgrimage:Major tourist attraction is Lake Plateliai and nearby town Plateliai...
. It is the administrative center of the Žemaitija National Park
Žemaitija National Park
Žemaitija National Park is a national park in Lithuania. It is situated on Žemaičių Highlands, 45 km from the Baltic Sea. Lakes cover more than 7% of its territory. Lake Plateliai is the largest lake. The town of Plateliai, situated on the shore of the lake, is the seat of the park's...
. The town is popular resort in Samogitia and attracts many tourists.
The wooden St. Peter and Paul church of Plateliai was built in 1744 by Jan Wojtkiewicz. The Choiseul de Gouffier palace was destroyed at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but the 40 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
park remained.