Taurage
Encyclopedia
Tauragė is an industrial city in Lithuania
, and the capital of Tauragė County
. In 2011, its population was 26,444. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River
, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast
, and not far from the Baltic Sea
coast.
Tauragė received its city charter
in 1932, and its coat of arms
(a silver hunting horn in a red field) in 1997. Notable buildings in the city include the neo-Gothic Radziwiłł palace - "the castle" (currently housing a school and regional museum Santaka) and several churches: the Lutheran (built in 1843), the Orthodox (1853) and the Catholic churches (1904). A ceramics manufacturing plant operates in the city.
, Tauragė is a conjunction of two words: Tauras which means aurochs
, and ragas which means horn
, hence its coat of arms. The city is known as Tauroggen in German
, as Taurogi in Polish
, and טאווריק/Tovrik in Yiddish
.
in Lithuania. From 1691 until 1795, Tauragė belonged to Brandenburg-Prussia
, after the marriage of Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg
with Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł. Afterwards, the city became part of the Russian Empire
.
Tsar
Alexander I of Russia
, signed an armistice
with Napoleon I
in Tauragė on June 21, 1807, that was soon to be followed with the Treaties of Tilsit
. On December 30, 1812, the Prussian General Yorck, signed the Convention of Tauroggen
, declaring his troops neutral, that effectively ended the fragile Franco-Prussian alliance during the French invasion of Russia. In 1836, much of the city was destroyed by a fire. Honoré de Balzac
stayed in Tauragė in 1843.
In 1915, a significant part of the city's infrastructure was destroyed by German troops during World War I
. On September 9, 1927, there was a rebellion against the rule of President Antanas Smetona
, but the revolt was quickly suppressed. After the Soviet
annexation of Lithuania in 1940, the "Tauragė Castle" was a place of imprisonment for Lithuanian political dissidents and Polish POWs. Many local inhabitants, including the parents and relatives of Roman Abramovich
, were exiled to Siberia
during the Soviet occupation in 1940. This saved the family from the Holocaust
. When Operation Barbarossa
commenced on June 22, 1941, the Soviets retreated, and Tauragė was captured by the German
Wehrmacht
on the same day. About 4,000 Jews were murdered in Tauragė and nearby villages. In the autumn of 1944, the German occupation ended with the Soviets replacing them with a renewed occupation lasting until 1990.
with: Bełchatów, Poland
Kutno
, Poland
Riedstadt
, Germany
Sovetsk
, Russia
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 the capital of Tauragė County
Taurage County
Tauragė County is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė...
. In 2011, its population was 26,444. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River
Jura
-Mountains:*Jura mountains, on the French-Swiss-German border, the namesake of the Jurassic period of geology*Franconian Jura, a mountain range in southeastern Germany*Bernese Jura, a region in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland...
, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
, and not far from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast.
Tauragė received its city charter
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
in 1932, and its coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
(a silver hunting horn in a red field) in 1997. Notable buildings in the city include the neo-Gothic Radziwiłł palace - "the castle" (currently housing a school and regional museum Santaka) and several churches: the Lutheran (built in 1843), the Orthodox (1853) and the Catholic churches (1904). A ceramics manufacturing plant operates in the city.
Etymology
In LithuanianLithuanian 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...
, Tauragė is a conjunction of two words: Tauras which means aurochs
Aurochs
The aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
, and ragas which means horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
, hence its coat of arms. The city is known as Tauroggen in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, as Taurogi in 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...
, and טאווריק/Tovrik in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
.
History
One of the major residences of the Radziwiłł family since 1655, the city has been a center of LutheranismLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in Lithuania. From 1691 until 1795, Tauragė belonged to Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
, after the marriage of Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
with Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł. Afterwards, the city became part 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...
.
Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, signed an armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
with Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in Tauragė on June 21, 1807, that was soon to be followed with the Treaties of Tilsit
Treaties of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman...
. On December 30, 1812, the Prussian General Yorck, signed the Convention of Tauroggen
Convention of Tauroggen
The Convention of Tauroggen was a truce signed 30 December 1812 at Tauroggen , between Generalleutnant Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg on behalf of his Prussian troops, and by General Hans Karl von Diebitsch of the Russian Army...
, declaring his troops neutral, that effectively ended the fragile Franco-Prussian alliance during the French invasion of Russia. In 1836, much of the city was destroyed by a fire. Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
stayed in Tauragė in 1843.
In 1915, a significant part of the city's infrastructure was destroyed by German troops during World War I
World 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...
. On September 9, 1927, there was a rebellion against the rule of President Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...
, but the revolt was quickly suppressed. After the Soviet
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....
annexation of Lithuania in 1940, the "Tauragė Castle" was a place of imprisonment for Lithuanian political dissidents and Polish POWs. Many local inhabitants, including the parents and relatives of Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
, were exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
during the Soviet occupation in 1940. This saved the family from 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...
. When Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
commenced on June 22, 1941, the Soviets retreated, and Tauragė was captured by the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
on the same day. About 4,000 Jews were murdered in Tauragė and nearby villages. In the autumn of 1944, the German occupation ended with the Soviets replacing them with a renewed occupation lasting until 1990.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Tauragė is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Bełchatów, 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...
Kutno
Kutno
Kutno is a town in central Poland with 48,000 inhabitants and an area of 33,6 km2. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , previously in Płock Voivodeship . It is the capital of Kutno County....
, 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...
Riedstadt
Riedstadt
Riedstadt, with its municipal area of 73.76 km² is Groß-Gerau district's biggest town by land area. It lies in Hesse, Germany, about 12 km southwest of Darmstadt.-Location:...
, 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...
Sovetsk
Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
Sovetsk , known by its historical German name of Tilsit in East Prussia before 1946, is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River. Population: -History of Tilsit:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...