In the South west of Lithuania, Žematija region there Tauragė city is located. The city occupies a territory of 15,7 sq. kilometers and there live approximately 27 700 inhabitants. Tauragė stretches on the valley of Jūra (Sea) river. It is the center of Tauragė district including many interesting sightseeing places, culture monuments and picturesque bottoms of Jūra, Šešuvis and Akmena rivers.
History
Tauragė name is combined of two Lithuanian words – “tauras” (bull) and ragas (horn). The name reminds about huge bulls that used to live in forests of these surroundings and about craftsmen who used to make trumpets of horns of these kingly animals.
Tauragė city was mentioned in written sources in 1507 for the first time, but according to historical researches, the city was established long time before the first official mentioning. It was 13-14th centuries when crusaders used to cross the place while travelling a road extending here. In addition, archeologists have found here small tools of stone age proving that this place has been settled for a very long time already. So, it was mentioned when the first church here was built. In these times there also a manor house called “Pajūris“ stood. Since 1567 a custom house there operated. In the 17th century Tauragė was the most important residence of Radvilai family and one of the biggest centers of Lutheran church in Lithuania. in 1836 a big fire broke out in the city which burnt almost all the city, only 8 homesteads left undamaged. Then the fire and the newly built high-way connecting Riga in Latvia and Tilžė in Minor Lithuania started the new period of Tauragė history. The city a bit changed its location, it started developing as trades and businesses got more active. During the press ban (1864 - 1901) when it was forbidden to print Lithuanian language publications in Latin alphabet as Lithuania then was ruled by Russian Empire, Tauragė became an important intermediate point of secret carry of Lithuanian prints. The First World War damaged the city very badly. Tauragė was all demolished and burnt. After the First World War, when Lithuania was independent (1918-1939), Tauragė became an important administrative, economical and cultural centre of Lithuanian Republic. But the Second World War again turned the city into a pile of debris – 80% of building there were demolished. It required much work and struggle to rebuild Tauragė during the Soviet period.Nowadays
Tauragė city suffered several tough periods in the 20th century when it was destroyed and burnt. Luckily, nowadays the city is one of the biggest in Lithuania where local infrastructure for inhabitants and city guests is well developed despite the fact that Tauragė faced many difficulties not more than just a hundred years ago. One of the most meaningful architectural objects there remained is the Tauragė manor house, the same “Pajūris“ mansion built here in 15th century. The mansion house surrounded by picturesque park stands on the coast of Jūra river. There is a Tauragė history museum established in this historical building. Tauragė city also includes a few objects of churchy heritage. That is an evangelical church of Martynas Mažvydas (an author of first Lithuanian book )and a catholic church of Blessed Trinity. In addition, an architectural ensemble built by Russian Empire in 19th century as a custom house is also worth attention. The building is called Tauragė palace and is located in the very centre of Tauragė city. The palace was used for many purposes during its` history. Despite being a custom house it was also a guardhouse, a hospital, a gymnasium. Nowadays it serves as a photo gallery, as a regional museum “Santaka”, children library and an archeological institute. Tauragė city was also beautified by local craftsmen who created an ensemble of carved sculptures on the valleys of Jūra river. The main accent of the ensemble is a summer stage including sculptures reminding elements of Lithuanian fairytales. Tauragė inhabitants like playing football (there are 2 football clubs established), singing (several very famous Lithuanian singers (opera, pop) grew in this city). Tauragė city is also a homeland for grandparents of Russian billionaire R. Abramovič.
As a centre of Tauragė district, Tauragė city is the main hub of action in its` locality. Around the city there are various activities (the best developed is kayaking) and cognitive excursions available. National Viešvilė nature reserve, collection of exotic animals in Stribaičiai village, Pragramantis regional park ir Alijošiškės village, beautifully equipted homesteads of rural tourism, many mounds and old cemeteries – all these sights combine a distinguishing path which is also called the Old path of Žemaitija (Samogitia).
Tauragė received its city charter in 1932, and its coat of arms (a silver hunting horn in a red field) in 1997. Notable buildings in the city include the neo-Gothic Radziwiłł palace - "the castle" (currently housing a school and regional museum Santaka) and several churches: the Lutheran (built in 1843), the Orthodox (1853) and the Catholic churches (1904). A ceramics manufacturing plant operates in the city.
In Lithuanian, Tauragė is a conjunction of two words: Tauras which means aurochs, and ragas which means horn, hence its coat of arms. The city is known as Tauroggen in German, as Taurogi in Polish, טאווריג/Tovrig in Yiddish, and Тауроген, Тауроги/Taurogen, Taurogi in Russian.
Taurage History
One of the major residences of the Radziwiłł family since 1655, the city has been a center of Lutheranism in Lithuania. From 1691 until 1795, Tauragė belonged to Brandenburg-Prussia, after the marriage of Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg with Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł. Afterwards, the city became part of the Russian Empire.
Tsar Alexander I of Russia, signed an armistice with Napoleon I in Tauragė on June 21, 1807, that was soon to be followed with the Treaties of Tilsit. On December 30, 1812, the Prussian General Yorck, signed the Convention of Tauroggen, declaring his troops neutral, that effectively ended the fragile Franco-Prussian alliance during the French invasion of Russia. In 1836, much of the city was destroyed by a fire. Honoré de Balzac stayed in Tauragė in 1843.[1]
Convention of Tauroggen
The Convention of Tauroggen was an armistice signed 30 December 1812 at Tauroggen (now Tauragė, Lithuania) between General Ludwig Yorck on behalf of his Prussian troops and General Hans Karl von Diebitsch of the Imperial Russian Army. Yorck's act is traditionally considered a turning point of Prussian history, triggering an insurgency against Napoleon in the Rheinbund. At the time of the armistice, Tauroggen was situated in Russia, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the Prussian border.
According to the Treaty of Paris, Prussia had to support Napoleon's invasion of Russia. This resulted in some Prussians leaving their army to avoid serving the French, among them Carl von Clausewitz, who joined Russian service. Between October and December, Yorck received numerous Russian requests to switch sides. He forwarded these to Berlin, but received no instructions.
When Yorck's immediate French superior, Marshal Jacques MacDonald, retreated before the corps of Diebitsch, Yorck found himself isolated and eventually surrounded. As a soldier his duty was to break through, but as a Prussian patriot his position was more difficult. He had to judge whether the moment was favorable for starting a war of liberation; and, whatever might be the enthusiasm of his junior staff-officers, Yorck had no illusions as to the safety of his own head, and negotiated with Clausewitz. While negotiations were ongoing at Tauroggen on 26 December, Yorck sent the king's adjutant, Major Wilhelm Henckel von Donnersmarck, back to Berlin via Königsberg, there to inform General Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow about the impending Russian truce. On 29 December, Donnersmarck told Bülow that Yorck had separated his forces from the French and that an agreement with Russia was at hand; the French should be treated as enemies. In fact, the French headquarters were at Königsberg. The French commander, Joachim Murat, informed Bülow of Yorck's treason on 1 January. Later that day a letter arrived by messenger from Yorck himself.The Convention of Tauroggen, signed by Diebitsch and Yorck, "neutralized" the Prussian corps without consent of their king.[1] It also left the East Prussian border completely undefended. The news was received with the wildest enthusiasm in Prussia, but the Prussian court dared not yet throw off the mask, and an order was dispatched suspending Yorck from his command pending a court-martial. Diebitsch refused to let the bearer pass through his lines, and the general was finally absolved when the Treaty of Kalisz definitely ranged Prussia on the side of the Allies.
Between 1 January, when Murat moved his headquarters west to Elbing, and 3 January, when Marshal MacDonald, Yorck's superior, arrived in Königsberg, Bülow worked feverishly to move his supplies to Graudenz and about 5,000 men to Kreuzberg, where he arrived on 2 January. On 9 January he retreated west across the Vistula, ceding East Prussia to the retreating French and advancing Russians. On 5 January, Yorck had sent his last messenger to Berlin. On 8 January, he arrived at Königsberg with the Russian general Ludwig Adolf von Wittgenstein. Yorck reaffirmed his commitment to the armistice, but refused Wittgenstein's demand that he fight the French. That day, however, the king's messengers arrived to dismiss Yorck from his command and repudiate his armistice. Yorck refused and in a letter to Bülow on 13 January, he questioned if he had "sunk so deep that he fears to break the chains of slavery, the chains that we have meekly carried for five years?" He declared it "the time to regain our freedom and honour" and protested that he was "a true Prussian"
Tauragė Revolt
The Tauragė Revolt (Lithuanian: Tauragės sukilimas) was an anti-government revolt that took place in Tauragė, Lithuania on 9 September 1927. Members of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania and Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union wanted to remove President Antanas Smetona from power. The rebels took control of Tauragė, the revolt spread to neighboring villages and their forces grew to 200 men. However, the revolt was poorly prepared and was suppressed the same day by units of the Lithuanian Army that arrived from Klaipėda. In the aftermath, over 300 people were arrested and 11 were executed. A group of rebels escaped abroad where they became known as plečkaitininkai and, with the help from Poland, continued to plot against the Smetona's regime until the mid-1930s. It was one of 13 attempts to overthrow Smetona's regime in 1926–1938.
The opposition was active in Tauragė but also in Alytus (leaders Juozas Paplauskas and Juozas Kedys), Vilkaviškis (Jeronimas Plečkaitis), Raseiniai, Kėdainiai. They collected weapons and printed proclamations in Tilsit, Germany, that claimed that the revolt would receive support from three regiments of the Lithuanian Army. Reportedly, the preparations started in June 1927. There were plans for a country-wide revolt, but they were rushed and never came to life. In their book XX amžiaus slaptieji archyvai (Secret Archives of the 20th Century) Gražina Sviderskytė and Arvydas Anušauskas [lt] argued that the revolt was in large part organized by the Security Police to discredit the opposition.
In the early morning of 9 September, about 30 armed men took over the police station and commandant's office and arrested the officers. They also took control of the post office, railway station, headquarters of the local chapter of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union. There was very little resistance; during the single shootout two of the rebels were injured. In the local press, the rebels printed 5,000 copies of a proclamation, signed by reserve captain Antanas Majus as the new head of the Tauragė District, informing locals about the revolt and ordering to surrender all weapons to the new commandant.[5] Ferdinandas Saltonas stole 200,000 litas and 3,000 dollars from the local branch of the Bank of Lithuania for the "purchase of weapons" though the bank had about 1.5 million litas. The revolt spread to neighboring villages of Pagramantis, Sartininkai [lt], Žygaičiai and the rebels numbered some 200 men. However, it was clear that the rebels did not have further plans. Units from the 7th Regiment [lt] from Klaipėda and 8th Regiment [lt] from Šiauliai entered Tauragė by 5 p.m. and retook the town with little resistance: one rebel was killed and two were injured. The soldiers shot and killed Povilas Mikulskis [lt], leader of the revolt and former member of the Seimas, when they tried to arrest him on 10 September.
The revolt in Alytus ended before it started. A group of 30–40 men, commanded by Jeronimas Plečkaitis, gathered near Balbieriškis and planned to attack military barracks hoping that the soldiers would join them. The group, armed with only a few revolvers, dispersed when they heard of searches being conducted in Alytus and saw military patrols.
In total, 324 people were arrested and 209 put on trial. 22 people received death sentences and another 22 received life imprisonment. Several sentences were commuted and only 11 people were actually executed, seven of them a week after the revolt and the other four on 12 May 1929. In 1972, a memorial stone was erected on the shore of the Jūra river where the executed men were buried. Tauragė commandant also received an 8-month prison sentence for the failure to defend the town. Ferdinandas Saltonas was arrested attempting to cross the Latvia–Lithuania border, but was not prosecuted raising suspicions that the money he stole from the bank was meant as a compensation from the Security Police for his services in spying on the rebels. Antanas Majus was not present in Tauragė and later claimed that he knew nothing of the revolt. About 60 rebels, including leaders Jeronimas Plečkaitis, Juozas Paplauskas and Juozas Kedys, escaped abroad. They became known as plečkaitininkai and, with the help from Poland, continued to plot against the Smetona's regime until the mid-1930s. The government used the threat of this group as one of the arguments for suppressing free press and spying on leftist organizations. Therefore, in the long run, the revolt only strengthened Smetona's regime.
The monument for the participants of the revolt of Tauragė in 1927 is located at the outskirts of the town, at the confluence of Jūra and Miltauja rivers.
Source: wikipedia
