Seda
Encyclopedia
Seda is a city in Mažeikiai district municipality
, Lithuania
. It is located 24 km (14.9 mi) south-west of Mažeikiai
on the Varduva River. There are two churches in the town.
, the name of Seda is of hydronym
ic origin and was derived from the name of nearby Lake Seda also known as Sedula.
Seda was first mentioned in written sources in the 13th century. From the 15th century Seda was famous as a busy trade settlement with Livonia
. The town of Seda was established in 1500 and in 1508 the parish was founded. In the middle of 17th century, Seda suffered great losses during the Second Northern War
, but recovered in the 18th century. In 1770, ciwun Vaclovas Bartoškevičius and his wife Elžbieta Juškaitėthe sponsored construction of the Catholic Church of the Assumption. The town belonged to the Sapieha family, but their possessions were confiscated by the authorities of the Russian Empire
for their participation the Uprising of 1831. Town residents also were active in Uprising of 1863 and book smuggling during the Lithuanian press ban
. Poet and bishop Antanas Baranauskas
worked in the town in 1855. The central town square is named in his honor and the monument was erected in 2000. In 1886, the western part of the town burnt down. During World War II, on October 6–7, 1944, a battle took place between Lithuanian Homeland Defense Detachment (Tevynės apsaugos rinktinė) and the Russian Red Army
. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the battle, a monument was erected to the fallen soldiers in the square near the Church of the Assumption. In 1950 Seda was granted city rights.
On July 16, 2004, the coat of arms of Seda town was approved by the presidential decree.
, five altars, double-sided paintings Christ between instruments of torture and Pietà
, three other paintings.
The second church is the church of Saint John of Nepomuk
which was consecrated in 1793. Before the Holocaust
, the town also had a Jewish synagogue
, first mentioned in 1657. The wooden building survived World War II and was re-purposed as living quarters and school gym before collapsing in 2005.
The gymnasium's students have two kinds of uniforms. One for holidays and special occasions, which consists a white blouse, a black jacket with the emblem of their school, and a plaited skirt. On regular days, the students wear a white shirt and a black jacket with the emblem.
History of the school in Seda:
Mažeikiai district municipality
Mažeikiai district municipality is in north-west Lithuania, on the Venta River . The administrative center of Mažeikiai district is the town of Mažeikiai...
, 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 located 24 km (14.9 mi) south-west of Mažeikiai
Mažeikiai
Mažeikiai is a city in the north-western Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 45,300, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of Mažeikiai district municipality in Telšiai County. It is the largest city that does not have its...
on the Varduva River. There are two churches in the town.
History
According to Kazimieras BūgaKazimieras Buga
Kazimieras Būga was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language.He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russian Empire...
, the name of Seda is of hydronym
Hydronym
A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...
ic origin and was derived from the name of nearby Lake Seda also known as Sedula.
Seda was first mentioned in written sources in the 13th century. From the 15th century Seda was famous as a busy trade settlement with Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
. The town of Seda was established in 1500 and in 1508 the parish was founded. In the middle of 17th century, Seda suffered great losses during the Second Northern War
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Habsburg Monarchy and Denmark–Norway...
, but recovered in the 18th century. In 1770, ciwun Vaclovas Bartoškevičius and his wife Elžbieta Juškaitėthe sponsored construction of the Catholic Church of the Assumption. The town belonged to the Sapieha family, but their possessions were confiscated by the authorities of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
for their participation the Uprising of 1831. Town residents also were active in Uprising of 1863 and book smuggling during the Lithuanian press ban
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...
. Poet and bishop Antanas Baranauskas
Antanas Baranauskas
Antanas Baranauskas was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and a catholic bishop of Polish town Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian language poem Anykščių šilelis. He used various pseudonyms, including A.B., Bangputys, Jurksztas Smalaūsis, Jurkštas Smalaūsis, and Baronas...
worked in the town in 1855. The central town square is named in his honor and the monument was erected in 2000. In 1886, the western part of the town burnt down. During World War II, on October 6–7, 1944, a battle took place between Lithuanian Homeland Defense Detachment (Tevynės apsaugos rinktinė) and the Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the battle, a monument was erected to the fallen soldiers in the square near the Church of the Assumption. In 1950 Seda was granted city rights.
On July 16, 2004, the coat of arms of Seda town was approved by the presidential decree.
Religion
Seda, like almost all Lithuania, is a Catholic village. There are two wooden churches in Seda. One of them is the Church of the Assumption which was first built in 1508. The Baroque church has several objects included in the Lithuanian heritage list – two bells, four ornamented crosses, fourteen stations of the crossStations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
, five altars, double-sided paintings Christ between instruments of torture and Pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
, three other paintings.
The second church is the church of Saint John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional...
which was consecrated in 1793. Before the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, the town also had a Jewish synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, first mentioned in 1657. The wooden building survived World War II and was re-purposed as living quarters and school gym before collapsing in 2005.
Education
Seda has a secondary school (gymnasium), which has approximately 500 students and 40 teachers.The gymnasium's students have two kinds of uniforms. One for holidays and special occasions, which consists a white blouse, a black jacket with the emblem of their school, and a plaited skirt. On regular days, the students wear a white shirt and a black jacket with the emblem.
History of the school in Seda:
- 1538 - a parish school was established in Seda
- 1803 - Russian school was opened
- 1865 - a department for girls was set up.
- 1903 - a school for girls was opened
- 1915 - both Russian schools were closed because of the World War II.
- 1921 - a secondary school was opened in Seda
- 1935 - secondary school was closed.
- 1939 - a secondary school was opened with two sections.
- 1947 - the first graduated students of the school after the World War II.
- 1961 - school moves to the current premises.
- 2001 - LV of graduated students was released after the war
- 2004 - school was named after Vytautas MačernisVytautas MacernisVytautas Mačernis was a Lithuanian existentialist poet.- Biography :He was born in the village of Šarnelė , where he wrote most of his poems. His grandmother, who died in 1934, appears in most of his poems as a warm and pleasant memory...
- 2007 - Seda Vytautas Mačernis School became a gymnasium