Šiauliai

Šiauliai (pronunciation (help·info), approximate English transcription: ʃəʊ.ˈleı is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 129,075. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania. It is served by Siauliai International Airport.

1 History
2 Tourist attractions
3 People
4 See also
5 External links
- 5.1 General
- 5.2 City resources

[edit] History

The city was first mentioned in written sources as Soule in Livonian Order cronicles describing the battle of the Sun. Thus the city's founding date is now considered to be September 22, 1236, the same date when the battle took place, not far from Šiauliai. At first developed as a defence post against the raids by the Teutonic and Livonian Orders. After the battle of Grunwald in 1410, the raids stopped and Šiauliai started to develop as an agricultural settlement. In 1445, a wooden church was built. It was replaced in 1634 with the brick church which can be seen in the city center today.

Šiauliai Cathedral standing in the place of the wooden church built in 1445

Šiauliai was granted Magdeburg city rights in 1589. In the 16th century it became an administrative center of the area. However, in the 17th and 18th centuries the city was devastated by The Deluge and epidemics of the Bubonic plague.

The credit for the city's rebirth goes to Antoni Tyzenhaus (1733-1785) who after a violent revolt of peasants of the Crown properties in the Northern Lithuania (so-called in Polish: Powstanie Szawelskie), started the radical economic and urban reforms. He decided to rebuilt the city according to the Classicism ideas: at first houses were built randomly in a radial shape, and Tyzenhaus decided to build the city in an orderly rectangular. Šiauliai grew to become a well-developed city with several prominent brick buildings. In 1791 Stanisław August Poniatowski, king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, confirmed once again that Šiauliai's city rights and granted it the coat of arm. It depicted a bear, the symbol of Samogitia, the Eye of Providence, and a red bull, the symbol of Poniatowski family. The modern coat of arms was modelled after this version.

After the Partitions of Poland, Šiauliai got a new coat of arms. The city grew and became an important educational and cultural center. Also, infrastructure was rapidly developing: in 1836-1858 a road connecting Riga and Sovetsk was built, in 1871 a railroad connecting Liepaja with Romny was built. Šiauliai, being in a crossroad of important merchant routes, started to develop as an industrial town. Already in 1897 it was the third largest city in Lithuania with population of about 16,000. The demographics changed also, as in 1909 56.4% of the inhabitants were Jewish. Šiauliai was known for its leather industry. Chaim Frenkel owned the biggest leather factory in the Russian Empire.

During World War I, about 65% of the buildings were burned down and the city center was destroyed. After the war, Lithuania lost its capital Vilnius to Poland and importance of Šiauliai city grew. Before Klaipėda was attached to Lithuania, the city was second after Kaunas by population size. By 1929 the city center was rebuilt. Modern utilities were also included: streets were lighted, it had public transportation, telephone and telegraph lines, water supply network and sewer.

The first independence years were difficult because industrial city lost its markets in Russia. It needed to find new clients in the Western Europe. In 1932 a railroad to Klaipėda was built and it connected the city to the western markets. In 1938 the city produced about 85% of Lithuania's leather, 60% of footwear, 75% of flax fiber, 35% of candies. Culture also flourished as many new periodicals were printed, new schools and universities opened, a library, theater, museum, and normal school were opened.

In 1939, one quarter of the city's population was Jewish (source). German Nazis entered Šiauliai on Thursday, June 26, 1941. There were two ghetto areas, one in the Kaukas suburb, and one in Traku. During World War II, the Jewish population was reduced from 8,000 to 500. About 80% of the buildings were destroyed.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Perhaps one of Šiauliai's biggest tourist attractions is its famous Hill of Crosses.

There is an arch at the intersection of Vilniaus Str. and Vasario 16-osios str. Legend tells that if one thinks of a wish and passes under the arch, the wish will come true. But, if one forgets about it and walks back under the arch, the wish will vanish into thin air.

Zubov's Palace, located at Ausros Alley 50, was constructed in the 17th century. The exterior has remained unchanged since 1875. Today the palace houses the Faculty of Arts of Šiauliai University.

Šiauliai is:

214 km from Vilnius.
142 km from Kaunas.
165 km from Klaipėda.
128 km from Riga.
250 km from Kaliningrad.

[edit] People

Regimantas Adomaitis, movie and stage actor, born here
André Andrejew, a classic Russian and French movie art director, born here
Šarūnas Bartas, film director, born here
Virgilijus Noreika, opera singer, born here
Yosef Shalom Eliashiv (image), rabbi, and grandson of a kabbalist Rabbi Shalom Ben Hayim Haikel Eliashiv zt"l (Leshem), a native of this city
Chmouel (Samuel) Kessel, father of Joseph Kessel, French writer, was born here
Mindaugas Murza, member of Šiauliai city council
Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł, Polish magnate, noble, a duke and a politician. He held the post of Starosta (city foreman) of this city.
Meyer Schapiro, born here
Mindaugas Žukauskas, professional basketball player
Antanas Sireika, Born near Šiauliai was a coach for a hometown basketball team for many seasons.
Robertas Javtokas, professional basketball player