Punsk
Encyclopedia
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, Poland. Over 80% of the population of Puńsk is Lithuanian
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
. It lies in the northeastern part of Poland, only 5 km (3.1 mi) from the border with 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...
.
Puńsk has belonged to Poland since 1920. Until 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...
the majority of its population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
were Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, today only a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
remains of them. With Lithuanian Culture House, Lithuanian high school and print house, Puńsk is the main centre of the Lithuanian minority in Poland
Lithuanian minority in Poland
Lithuanian minority in Poland consists of 5,639 people living chiefly in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the north-eastern part of Poland...
.
Early history
The oldest traces of human being in Puńsk territory date back to about 10 000 years BC. In the early medieval ages it was inhabited by Yatvingians and Sudovians. They did not have a country or a language that could have been written. In the 13th century, the Teutonic KnightsTeutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
exterminated them and only few of them survived. Nowadays only some castle hills (e.g. in Szurpiły), mounds (e.g. in Eglinė), cemeteries (e.g. in Szwajcaria), names of some villages (e.g. Zervynai, Krosna) and archaeological excavations remind us about their existence.
Later on Sudovia
Suvalkija
Suvalkija or Sudovia is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija are called suvalkiečiai or suvalkietis . It is located south of the Neman River, in the former territory of Vilkaviškis bishopric...
became overgrown with forests. Lithuanian Grand Dukes
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
hunted there. In the early 15th century the people from Merkinė
Merkine
Merkinė is a town in Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys and Neman Rivers.First mentioned in 1359, Merkinė is one of the oldest Lithuanian settlements. It received the Magdeburg rights in 1569. The town is the location of The Mount of Queen Bona, a mound...
and Punia
Punia
Punia can refer to:*Punia, Lithuania, town in Lithuania*Punia , gotra or clan of Jat people in India...
started to colonize this territory again. They gave the name Punia to the lake, so the village was called Puńsk after it. It was one of the first settlements in this territory. At the same time the other ones were created, such us: Beržninkai (now Berżniki), Seinai (now Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
) or Kreivėnai (now Krejwiany).
In 1597 the forester of Sejwy, Stanisław Zaliwski built the church in Puńsk, and the parish has been established here. Later on the chancellery of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
published the document of the king Sigismund the Old. It was written in it that the parish priest in Puńsk can be only a person who speaks Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
. In 1647 the king Władysław IV Waza approved the civic rights of Puńsk according to the Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
and gave it the coat of arms with St Peter’s image. At that time the parish of Puńsk belonged to the Diocese of Vilnius, and later (from 1795) to the bishopric of Wigry. There was a school and a hospital by the church.
In 1795, there lived 583 people in Puńsk and in 1827 more – 748. But in 1852 Puńsk lost its civic rights. In 1881, there lived 1200 people in the whole parish. Then the parish of Puńsk was divided into three separate units: in Smolany, Becejły and Puńsk. In 1910 there were 74 villages with 7044 people that belonged to the parish of Puńsk.
From the 15th century till 1795 this land called Sudovia belonged to the Great Duchy of Lithuania. From 1815 it belonged to the zone of Russian authority. People of Puńsk area suffered from the tsar’s repressions. There were secret schools. The forbidden, illegal Lithuanian press
Lithuanian press ban
The Lithuanian press ban was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania at the time. Lithuanian-language publications that used the Cyrillic alphabet were allowed and even encouraged...
and books were secretly transferred across the German-Russian border by the book-hawkers (knygnešiai
Knygnešiai
Book smugglers were people who transported Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ban on such materials in force from 1866 to 1904...
). Povilas Matulevičius was the most famous book-hawker in the region.
Modern history
After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
there were fights for Sudovia, namely the Suvalkai Region
Suvalkai region
Suwałki Region is a small region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. The territory was disputed between Poland and Lithuania after World War I. This dispute was the main cause of the brief Polish-Lithuanian War and the Sejny Uprising...
, between 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...
and Poland, a part of the Polish-Lithuanian War
Polish-Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
.
Not considering the opinion of the locals, in April 1919 Puńsk and its territory became a part of Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. A new border was establish which has remained unchanged till now. Through 8 decades the language situation has changed to the advantage of Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. As part of Poland, new local regulations were introduced by the government, and Lithuanians were repressed by them. During the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, there were several active societies, for example “Šv. Kazimiero Draugija”(St Casimir’s Society), which dealt with the matters of church, “Rytas” – took care about schools or “Talka”, co-operative society. The vast majority of commerce and business belonged to Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. They made up the greater part of Puńsk inhabitants at that time. Some extant old houses, the building of synagogue and a big cemetery nearby Puńsk remind of their former presence.
Anti-Semitism was rampant, and many of the Jewish resident fled Polish rule. One such family was Rafalin. David Rafalin, a graduate of the Slobodka Yeshiva, became a rabbi in Cuba in 1929, then in 1933 he moved to Mexico where he was a rabbi for 46 years. In 1931 most of the Jewish section of Punsk was destroyed by a fire.
During 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...
, Lithuania belonged to the zone of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
authority and Sudovia belonged to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Later on the northern part of Sudovia was bought by Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
for 7.5 million dollars. During 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...
this territory was occupied by the Germans and incorporated into Eastern Prussia. The invaders started to introduce a new order. It was decided to make a clean sweep of undesirable people in Suwałki area. The unsuitable ones for germanization were killed and the favourable ones had been left to become assimilated. It was also decided to colonize this area and populate it with Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, and resettle many indigenous Lithuanians to Lithuania, which was at those days occupied by the Russians. Germans didn’t want the territory formerly inhabited by Yatvingians, which was incorporated into Eastern Prussia, to be settled by the Lithuanians. According to the agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union on 10 January 1941 about 70% of people were expelled from the territory. Most of them returned home when the political situation changed.
After 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...
the territory of Puńsk became again a part of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and remains so.
When after war regime diminished Lithuanian social and cultural life in this region became more active again. In 1956 there was established LVKD (The Social and Cultural Association of Lithuanians). Its task was to weld Lithuanians who were scattered not only in Sudowia but all over Poland. Lithuanian schools and cultural centre were established. The ensembles of the Lithuanian Culture Centre in Puńsk perform in Poland and abroad. These are: choreographic ensemble “Jotva” (established in 1951), folk band “Klumpė” (functioning from 1956), choir “Dzūkija” (1957) and barn theatre group. The important role in propagation of national awareness is played by the Publishing House and its periodical “Aušra”. In 1993 LLB (Lithuanian Society in Poland) was established. One year later its offshoot - Lithuanian Youth Society was created. These organizations connect all of Lithuanians and represent their interests in and out of country.
In 1994 Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and 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...
signed an agreement about friendship and neighbourly cooperation. New possibilities have appeared in order to communicate with Lithuania.