Raseiniai

Raseiniai (pronunciation (help·info)) is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some 5 kilometers from the Kaunas-Klaipėda highway.

[edit] History

The history of Raseiniai is quite old - the name of the settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1253. In the 14th-18th centuries, Raseiniai was one of the most important towns in the Samogitia region.

In 1831, an insurrection against Tsarist oppression began in Raseiniai. On March 26, the rebels occupied Raseiniai and formed a provisional district government. Within a few days the insurrection spread throughout the entire country - and was later known as the 1831 Rebellion.

Raseiniai was virtually ruined during the World War II - approximately 90 percent of the buildings were destroyed. One survivor of the war is the Church of the Ascension of the Holy Virgin Mary, which was built in 1782. The remains of the 17th-18th century monastery buildings also serve as a monument of Renaissance architecture.

Tourists invariably pause at the "Samogitian" statue in the central town square. The sculpture serves as a symbol of the Samogitia ethnographical zone - a strong man resolutely stepping forward after having tamed a bear (an allusion to the 1831 Rebellion). On the sides of the base there are three bas-reliefs depicting the struggle with Tsarist oppression. The sculpture, which is the work of Vincas Grybas (1890-1941), was erected in Raseiniai in 1933-1934.

Many famous professors came from here.