Leipalingis is a
small town in
Alytus County
Alytus County ( lt, Alytaus apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its Capital (political), capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the Regions of Lithuania, et ...
in southern
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
. In 2011 it had a population of 1,552.
Etymology
Leipalingis is located in the ancient lands of Baltic tribe
Yotvingians, so the name contains Yotwingian form of word ''liepa'' - ''leipa'' (linden).
History
1.5 km south of Leipalingis is Černiauskas mound, 2 km southwest - Druskininkiai mound. In the western part of Leipalingis, to the west of Seira river right bank is archeological Leipalingis cemetery. Therefore, the area, which was destroyed by crusaders before the second half of the 13th century, could have a defensive meaning.
The
Leipalingis Manor is first mentioned in 1503, the town itself, later known for some time as Lepunikai - in 1516.
From the sixteenth century Leipalingis belonged to orthodox
Sapieha family, who in 1520 built an
orthodox church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (dis ...
. Later they became Catholics and built the first catholic church. After Sapiehas, Leipalingis belonged to Masalskiai and from the end of the 18th century - to Plateriai families.
During 1654-1667 war the town was burned down. In 1818-1950 it became a district of the municipality. Next to the
Leipalingis Manor operated an iron foundry. At the end of the 19th century, Leipalingis became an important junction between the roads connecting
Seinai
Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojezie ...
with
Seirijai
Seirijai is a small town in Alytus County in southern Lithuania. In 2011 it had a population of 788.
Etymology
Seirijai toponym came from the lake ''Seirijis'', which got its name from the creek ''Seira'' name of which is of Dainavian dielect o ...
and
Merkinė.
Around 1817 a parish school was established, and in 1906 a library. On 9 September 1941, on the orders of the Nazi occupation authorities, 155 people belonging to a local Jewish community were executed. The town suffered greatly during the
Second World War.
After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the Soviet authorities deported 51 inhabitants of the town to Siberia. Leipalingis and its surroundings was one of the centers of the
Lithuanian resistance movement against the Soviet occupation. Leipalingis belong to
Dainava military district, ''Šarūnas detachment. After restoring the independence of Lithuania, in 1991, bodies of 47 executed Lithuanian partisans were found in the yard of former NKVD headquarters of Leipalingis.
1950–1995 in Leipalingis operated a collective farm, a sewing workshop "Baltija", a rural outpatient center, a shopping center. In town currently operates a nursery-kindergarten "Liepaitė", a sewing workshop, a forest district.
Leipalingis coat of arms was approved in 2003.
References
Towns in Lithuania
Towns in Alytus County
Druskininkai Municipality
Holocaust locations in Lithuania
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