Leipalingis (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: לײפּון) is a

small town "Small Town" is a 1985 song written by John Mellencamp and released on his eighth album ''Scarecrow (John Mellencamp album), Scarecrow''. The song reached #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #13 on the Adult Contempo ...

Alytus County Alytus County () 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, ethnographic region of Dz� ...

in southern

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 ...

. In 2011 it had a population of 1,552.

Etymology

Leipalingis is located in the ancient lands of Baltic tribe

Yotvingians Yotvingians, also called Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians, were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed ...

, 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 The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...

, who in 1520 built an

orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

. 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 (; ) 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 (), on the Marycha river ...

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 Merkinė (also known by #Etymology, several other names) is a small town in Alytus County, which is located at the confluence of the Neman and Merkys rivers. The town belongs to the Varėna District Municipality and is located about 26 kilometers ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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 Dainava military district (also Dainava partisans military district) is a military district of Lithuanian partisans which operated in 1945–1951 in the counties of Alytus, Lazdijai and Varėna in Dainava (Dzūkija). The most significant battles ...

, ''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 {{AlytusCounty-geo-stub