Jašiūnai () is a town in

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 situated on the Merkys River and an edge of the Rūdninkai Forest. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 1,879. The town's population is primarily

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

(74.5%), with

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

(12.4%) and

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

(8.4%).

History

The town was first mentioned in written sources in 1402. From the 15th to 18th century, the town belonged to the

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...

19th century

In 1811 it was bought by Ignacy Baliński, father of historian Michał Baliński. His wife from the Śniadecki family initiated construction of the neoclassical Jašiūnai Manor, designed by architect Karol Podczaszyński. The construction was undertaken between 1824 and 1828. The manor became a cultural center: it was a residence of Jan Śniadecki and Juliusz Słowacki frequently visited by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, Tomasz Zan, Stanisław Bonifacy Jundziłł, Józef Mianowski. This generation of Polish Romantics studied and idealized the history and culture of the former

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. These studies had great influence on the worldview of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

of the

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...

: they would identify themselves as Poles while remaining loyal to the Grand Duchy. Alongside cultural life, the manor owners encouraged small industry: a ceramics workshop (still operating as of 2009), a factory of

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

and

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

, brickyard, paper factory. After the Uprising of 1863 and Baliński's death, Jašiūnai lost its position as a cultural center. The valuable library collection was transported to Poland or lost during the wars.

20th century

As part of the Wilno Voivodeship, Jašiūnai belonged to the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

World War II

During World War II, Jews were assembled in a building in the Jašiūnai manor and locked there. On September 25, 1941, the Jews of Jašiūnai were shot, together with those from other villages by the Special Squad of the German Security Police and SD. According to the Jäger Report, 575 Jews were murdered that day: 215 men, 229 women and 131 children. Three

Roma people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...

were shot and buried together with the Jews.

Religion

The first church, named after St. Anna, was built in 1515. When the Radziwiłłs converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, the church was also transformed from a Catholic to a Protestant church. The church was destroyed during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

with Sweden (1700–1721). For a long time the town had only a chapel. The current church was built in 1929. It is half-brick, half-wooden church with a single rectangular tower. Its central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is separated from the aisles by wooden pillars. The wooden ceiling attempts to imitate vaults. The main altar is decorated with a copy of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn. There was 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 ...

in Jašiūnai containing 800 books in the Jewish language.

Symbols

In 2001 the town received its

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

, designed by Arvydas Každailis. The coat of arms depict a silver column in a red shield with two golden stars on each side. The column represents classical architecture and the manor. It also carries symbolical meaning of strength and power. The two stars are dedicated to the two families prominent in town's history – Balińskis and Śniadeckis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasiunai Towns in Lithuania Towns in Vilnius County Šalčininkai District Municipality Holocaust locations in Lithuania