Seredžius
Seredžius | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| Ethnographic region | Samogitia |
| County | Tauragė County |
| Municipality | Jurbarkas district municipality |
| Eldership | Seredžius eldership |
| Capital of | Seredžius eldership |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 749 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Seredžius (Template:Lang-yi) is a town in Lithuania, situated on the right bank of the Neman River near its confluence with Dubysa River. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 749.[1]
Name
The town had a large Jewish population prior to the World War II. In 1900 (when part of the Russian Empire) the town's Jewish population numbered 1,174.[2] The Yiddish name for the city was סרעדניק (Srednik), corresponding to the Polish and Russian names Średniki and Средники (Sredniki).[3]
History
Southeast of the town, archaeologists discovered graves from the 3rd–4th centuries.[4] The town also has a large hillfort, identified by historian Zenonas Ivinskis as Pieštvė, which was attacked by the Teutonic Knights numerous times in late 13th and early 14th centuries.[4] According to the Palemonids legend, noble refugees from the Roman Empire settled on the hill, now named after Palemon, and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[5] After the Battle of Grunwald, the location lost its military purpose and became a private property of the Sapieha family. The Sapiehas built a residential palace, which did not survive. The town's first Catholic church was built around 1608–1612.[4] The church was destroyed in 1829 after a landslide caused a by large flooding. The residents built a wooden church, which was replaced by a Neo-Renaissance John the Baptist church in 1913.
Seredžius was the birthplace of the American singer, comedian, and actor Al Jolson, born into the town's Jewish community in 1886 as Asa Yoelson.[6]
References
- ^ Template:Lt icon Tauragės apskrities kaimo gyvenamosios vietovės ir jų gyventojai (PDF). Vilnius: Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2003. p. 33. ISBN 9986-589-95-9.
- ^ JewishGen Seredžius page
- ^ Other recorded forms of the town's name include Srednike, Seredžiaūs, Seredzhyus, Seredzhus and Seredius. See previous reference.
- ^ a b c Template:Lt icon Kviklys, Bronius (1965). Mūsų Lietuva. Vol. II. Boston: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 333–336. OCLC 3303503.
- ^ Template:Lt icon Ivinskis, Zenonas (1953–1966). "Palemonas". Lietuvių enciklopedija. Vol. 21. Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 400–401. LCC 55020366.
- ^ David Spiller, "Great Singers of the Twentieth Century", Lulu.com, 2008
