Darsūniškis ( pl, Dorsuniszki, yi, דאַרשונישאָק, ''Darshonishok'') is a settlement on the

Nemunas River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

Kaišiadorys District Municipality Kaišiadorys District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Elderships Kaišiadorys District Municipality is divided into 11 elderships: References External links Žasliai Web PageŽasliai is in Kaišiadorys District ...

, western Lithuania. The village is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania and dates back to the 14th century. Three wooden entrance gates to the town with chapels and the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary (1848) are the most interesting monuments still preserved.

History

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- ...

of Darsūniškis was part of the defense system against the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. It was located on the crusaders' path from

Įsrutis Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German language, German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Kaliningrad Ob ...

in Prussia (today

Chernyakhovsk Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of ...

) to

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

. Mentioned in German sources as ''Dirsunen'', the hill fort was burned by the Teutonic Knights in 1372 and in the following years.

15th-17th centuries

The rebuilt castle was a favored hunting location of Grand Duke

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great (Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', Ol ...

, to whom the founding of the first church at the beginning of the 15th century is attributed. In the 15th century, Darsūniškis was already a town with a parochial church endowed by the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

in 1473 and 1492. The town with near estates (Polish: ''starostwo dorsuńskie'') was granted to

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł ( pl, Barbara Radziwiłłówna, lt, Barbora Radvilaitė; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon d ...

Queen of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

and

Grand Duchess of Lithuania The Queen consort, consort (or spouse) of the Monarchy, royal rulers of Lithuania and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was in all cases a woman and nearly all took the title of Grand Duchess. Queen consort of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithua ...

. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was a center of trade and crafts, especially wood trade. It had a pier for the trade of boats on the Nemunas River."Darsūniškis." Mūsų Lietuva, T. 1. – Bostonas: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla, 1964. p.487,

18th century

On the beginning of the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

, Swedish regiments were defeated in the

Battle of Darsūniškis The Battle of Darsūniškis took place on March 24, 1702 near the town of Darsūniškis (Polish: Dorsuniszki) during the Swedish invasion of Poland in the Great Northern War. The Swedish army of about 240 men under the command of Alexander Humm ...

on March 24, 1702 by the Lithuanian Army. Soon

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line o ...

came with main forces and ordered to burn the town in revenge on 12 April 1702 - only the church was spared. On 7 December 1791, Darsūniškis received the privilege approving its

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

(i.e. status of a city). The coat of arms was also confirmed.

19th century

From the beginning of the 16th century to the 19th century, Darsūniškis was in the possession of the

Ogiński family The House of Ogiński, feminine form: Ogińska, plural: Ogińscy ( lt, Oginskiai, be, Агінскія, Ahinskija) was a noble family of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland (later, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), member of the Princely H ...

. The property was confiscated by the Russian government after the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in ...

of 1831. Local census of 1890 counted 737 inhabitants of Darsūniškis (540 Lithuanians, 102 Jews, 90 Poles, 5 Russians).Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne, Kraków 1896, T.1-3 p.3

/ref>

20th century

The Jewish citizens (about 15% of the general population in 1923) were killed during

the Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust in Lithuania resulted in the near total destruction of Lithuanian (Litvaks) and Polish Jews, living in ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' within the Nazi-controlled Lithuanian SSR. Out of approximately 208, ...

in August and September 1941 by the Lithuanians collaborating with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darsuniskis Villages in Kaunas County Holocaust locations in Lithuania