Šakiai () is a city in the

Marijampolė County Marijampolė County () is one of the ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the southwest of the country and roughly corresponds to the historical region of Suvalkija, Sudovia. Its Capital (political), capital and the largest ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It is located west of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

History

It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village, which was first mentioned in 1599. In 1719 Šakaičiai was renamed to Šakiai and in the same year a church was built. By the 19th century Šakiai already had city rights (since 1812); it also had a school,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches, a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, and a post office. In 1890–1894

Vincas Kudirka Vincas Kudirka (; – ) was a Lithuanian poet and physician, and the author of both the music and lyrics of the Lithuanian national anthem, "". He is regarded in Lithuania as a national hero. Kudirka used the pen names V. Kapsas, Paežerių Vi ...

, the author of ''

Tautiška giesmė "" (; 'National Song') or "" ('Anthem of Lithuania'), also known by its incipit "" ('Lithuania, Our Homeland'), is the national anthem of Lithuania. The music and lyrics were written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, when Lithuania was still part of th ...

'', lived in Šakiai. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the town was under Soviet occupation from 1940, and then under

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

from 1941 to 1944. The city was damaged by the bombardment of

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

, while the Nazi German Army has exploded many

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

buildings (only 70 homes out of 328 remained). Several massacres of Jewish people are alleged to have taken place in Šakiai in World War II, from July to September 1941. The killings are alleged to have committed by an

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...

of German SS troops. The involvement of a small number of Lithuanians is also alleged.

Demographics

As of the 2021 census, the town of Šakiai had a population of 5,462 residents. The town covers an area of 4.254 km², resulting in a population density of approximately 1,284 people per square kilometer. Over the past decade, Šakiai has experienced a slight decline in population, with an annual decrease of -1.1% from 2011 to 2021, reflecting a broader trend of population decline in Lithuania. In terms of gender distribution, Šakiai has a slightly higher proportion of females, who make up 54.8% (2,992 individuals) of the population, compared to males, who account for 45.2% (2,470 individuals). This gender imbalance is part of a national trend.

Gallery

File:Šakiai, merija.JPG, Town hall of Šakiai File:Šakių bažnyčia.JPG, Church of John the Baptist File:Šakių ev. liuteronų bažnyčia.JPG, Šakiai Evangelical Lutheran Church File:VincasKudirkaPamátníkŠakiai.JPG, Bust of

in Šakiai File:Šakiai, teismas.JPG, Court File:Šakių seniūnija, 2023.JPG, Šakiai Eldership File:La kariljono de Šakiai a.jpg,

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

Notable residents

Isaac Leib Goldberg Isaac Leib Goldberg (, 7 February 1860 – 14 September 1935) was a Zionist leader and philanthropist in both Ottoman Palestine and the Russian Empire, and one of the principal founders of Rishon LeZion, the first Zionist settlement founded in ...

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

(1860–)
* Zygmunt Kęstowicz (1921–2007), Polish actor * Gvidonas Markevičius (born 1969), basketball player *

Dainius Adomaitis Dainius Adomaitis (born 19 January 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...

(born 1974), basketball player and coach

Twin towns – sister cities

Šakiai is twinned with: *

Gołdap Gołdap ( or variant ''Goldapp''; ) is a spa town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie Hills, Gołdap Lake and th ...

, Poland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakiai Cities in Lithuania Cities in Marijampolė County Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania