Samogitians ( Samogitian: ''žemaitē'', lt, žemaičiai, lv, žemaiši) are an ethnographic group of

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

of the

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

region, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly considered a dialect of the Lithuanian language together with the

Aukštaitian dialect Aukštaitian ( lt, Aukštaičių tarmė) is one of the dialects of the Lithuanian language, spoken in the ethnographic regions of Aukštaitija, Dzūkija and Suvalkija. It became the basis for the standard Lithuanian language. Classification ...

. The Samogitian language differs the most from the standard Lithuanian language. Even though Samogitians are politically not considered to be an ethnic group, 2,169 people declared their ethnicity as Samogitian during the Lithuanian census of 2011, of whom 53.9% live in Telšiai County. The political recognition and cultural understanding of the Samogitian ethnicity has, however, changed drastically throughout the last few centuries as 448,022 people declared themselves Samogitians, not Lithuanians, in the

1897 Russian Empire census The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 ( pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland was excluded). It recorded demographic data as ...

History

On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians decisively defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after t ...

from

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

in the Battle of Durbe. Some 150 knights were killed, including Livonian Master

Burchard von Hornhausen Burkhard von Hornhausen (* before 1252; † July 13 1260 in the Battle of Durbe The Battle of Durbe ( lv, Durbes kauja, lt, Durbės mūšis, german: Schlacht an der Durbe) was a medieval battle fought near Durbe, east of Liepāja, in pres ...

and Prussian Land Marshal Henrik Botel. 1662 Samogetia is Lithuania

Samogitians lived in western Lithuania and were closely related to Semigallians and Curonians. In 1413, they became the last group of Europeans to convert to Christianity. Samogitians were one of the three main nations of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

, Ruthenia, and Samogitia. In 1857, there were 418,824 people of Samogitian roots and 444,921 persons declared the Samogitian language as their mother tongue in 1897 in Kovno Governorate. Currently Lithuania does not allow for declaration of Samogitian nationality in passports as it is not a recognized ethnicity. In list of ethnic groups of Russia there is one person who declared himself with "Zhemaijty".Perepis.ru
(in Russian)

Exonyms

Samogitians call themselves ''žemaitē'', although exonyms are used in different languages.

References

External links

Short history of Samogitia
{{InterWiki, code=bat-smg Ethnic groups in Lithuania Samogitia