Varniai (; Samogitian: ''Varnē'') is a city in the

Telšiai County Telšiai County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its Capital (political), capital is Telšiai. There are Lithuanians (98.7%), Latvians (0.1%), Russians (0.9%), and others (0.3%) ...

, western

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 the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai ( Samogitian: ''Medėninkā'').

Etymology

''Medininkai'' or ''Medenike'' was first mentioned in 1320. This town existed until the end of the 16th century, when the town of ''Varniai'' was founded in the 15th century north of Medininkai, on the left bank of the Varnelė river. The latter name is derived from the Varnelė River, which flows through the town. As early as 1904, Vaižgantas mentions its name as ''Varnė''. In other languages the town is known by: , . In 1491, the

Kulm law Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (; ; ) was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities in the Middle Ages and early modern period. It was initiated on 28 December 1233 in the Monastic State o ...

was granted to Medininkai, and in 1635, the

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; 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 cities and villages gr ...

were granted to the renamed Varniai. Eventually, the name of Medininkai disappeared from common usage altogether.

History

Town established in the 14th century, on the bank of the Varnelė River, near an important

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

n castle. It was the center of the Samogitian Catholic church: after the baptism of Samogitia, the Samogitian Bishop resided in the town. In 1320, it was the site of the Battle of Medininkai, in which the Samogitians defeated the invading

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

. Afterwards, it was invaded by the Teutonic Knights in 1329, and by the

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 thei ...

in 1377. In 1413, the Supreme Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

ordered the demolition of the pagan temple and Christianized the population. Around 1414–1416 the first church was built, and c. 1464 the first cathedral. In 1425, a third of the population died due to an epidemic. It was granted Chełmno municipal rights in 1491. During the Swedish invasion, the town was plundered by the Swedes in 1655 and 1656. Five diocesan synods were held in the town between 1656 and 1752. Varniai was the center of the Diocese of Samogitia until the middle of the 19th century when after the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

in 1863 the

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

authorities of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

moved it to

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 ...

. With support of

Merkelis Giedraitis Merkelis Giedraitis (; – 6 April 1609) was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of the Council of Trent in ...

Mikalojus Daukša Mikalojus Daukša (other possible spellings include ''Mikalojus Daugsza'', and ''Mikolay Dowksza''; after 1527 – 16 February 1613 in Varniai, Medininkai) was a Lithuanian language, Lithuanian and Latin language, Latin religious writer, transla ...

translated and made ready for publication '' Katechizmas'', the first

Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

book printed in the

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, ...

, then part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Varniai also was the residence of Samogitian bishop Motiejus Valančius.

Gallery

Varniai1.2009-05-21.jpg, View of Varniai from the tower of the Samogitian Diocese Museum 2015-09 Varniai 12.jpg, One of streets in Varniai Varniukatedra2.JPG, Interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul GiedraitisMerkelis3.JPG, Bishops of Samogitia sarcophagus in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul basement Varniai, kultūros centras.JPG, Varniai Centre of Culture GiedraitisMerkelis.JPG,

Monument DauksaMikalojus.JPG,

Monument ValanciusVarniai.JPG, Motiejus Valančius Monument ValanciusVarniai2.JPG, Former house of Motiejus Valančius Varniai. Gimnazija.JPG, Varniai Motiejus Valančius Gymnasium

Notable residents

* Boris Schatz *

* Motiejus Valančius

References

External links

Varniai – A Resourceful Renaissance Center of 16th Century Cultural and National Ideology

Park of Varniai and history of Varniai

Museum of Samogitian episcopate

Website of Varniai
{{Authority control Cities in Telšiai County Cities in Lithuania Telšiai District Municipality Telshevsky Uyezd