Plateliai (Samogitian : Platelē; Polish : Płótele) is a town in Samogitia, Lithuania. It is situated on the west bank of Lake Plateliai, the largest lake in Samogitia. The town with the population of about 1,100 people is the center of an elderate in Plungė district municipality. It is the administrative center of the Žemaitija National Park. The town is a popular resort in Samogitia and attracts many tourists.
The wooden St. Peter and Paul church of Plateliai was built in 1744 by Jan Wojtkiewicz. The Choiseul de Gouffier palace was destroyed at the end of World War II but the 40 hectare park remained.
Having settled in Plateliai at the end of the 18th century, Jews were employed in small commerce, craftsmanship and fishing in the lake bordering the town. There was a synagogue in the town, but no Jewish school or any other Jewish public institutions. From the end of the 19th century, the Jews of Plateliai started gradually emigrating to America and South Africa, and the flow continued into the interwar period, propelled by a huge fire that devastated half of the town in 1923. The disaster worsened the economic situation of the Jews. Families usually maintained vegetable gardens beside their houses, which helped them survive. Of 150 Jews that lived in Plateliai in 1923, only about a hundred remained in 1940.
Three dozen Jewish men from Plateliai were arrested about a week after the German invasion, on the second day of the war. While they were confined in the synagogue and forced to do hard physical labor, Jewish women and children were forced to work for the farmers around the town as auxiliary labor force. The first shooting took place in the Laumalenka forest, 4 km south of the town, in the beginning of July 1941, when up to ten Jewish men were shot. The rest of the Jewish men were executed in mid-July at the foot of Mount Bokštikalnis, 0,5 km west of the town. After the execution of men, 70 women, children and the elderly were placed in the synagogue and kept there until the end of August. [1] They were shot and buried in a trench dug by residents of the town in the Laumalenka forest. In the same manner as the men before them, the women had to undress before being lined up at the edge of the pit and shot. [2]
Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian name Žemaitija is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania alongside Lithuania proper.
Šiauliai is a city in northern Lithuania, the country's fourth largest city and the sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 2024. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Vištytis is a small town in Marijampolė County, Vilkaviškis District Municipality in southwestern Lithuania on the border with Russia and close to the border with Poland. It is the administrative center of Vištytis eldership (seniūnija).
Telšiai is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis.
Jedwabne is a town in northeast Poland, in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,942 inhabitants (2002). It is notable for the Jedwabne pogrom of 10 July 1941, during the World War II German occupation of Poland.
Joniškis is a city in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis is the municipal and administrative centre of Joniškis district municipality.
Plungė is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plungė is known for Plungė Manor and its park, where the Samogitian Art Museum is located. In the Oginskiai manor park stands the Perkūnas oak natural monument. The Lourdes of Plungė was created in 1905 and attracts visitors. In the center of Plungė stands a monument for the 10th anniversary of regaining the independence of Lithuania and a sculpture of Saint Florian built by the Lithuanian book carrier Kazys Barzdys.
Rietavas is a town in Lithuania on the Jūra River. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,979. It is the capital of Rietavas municipality.
Samogitia National Park or Žemaitija National Park is a national park in Lithuania. It is situated on the Samogitian Upland, 45 km from the Baltic Sea. Lakes cover more than 7% of its territory. Lake Plateliai is the largest lake in the park. The town of Plateliai, situated on the shore of the lake, is the seat of the park's administration and a popular tourist destination. The Park has Category II in the classification of the IUCN.
Goniądz is a town in Poland, located at the Biebrza river, in Mońki county in Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. 80% of the town was destroyed in World War II. After its postwar reconstruction, it became a local agricultural hub and tourist destination.
Užventis is a city in the Kelmė district municipality, Lithuania. It is located 25 km (16 mi) north-west of Kelmė. River Venta flows through the city.
Šilalė is a city in western Lithuania, Samogitia, Tauragė County. It is located 30 km (19 mi) north of Tauragė. The River Lokysta flows through the town and there is a pond in the centre of the town.
Tytuvėnai is a town in the Kelmė district municipality, Lithuania. It is located 17 km (11 mi) east of Kelmė. It is known for its Bernardine monastery.
Lake Plateliai is the biggest lake in Samogitia and 9th biggest in Lithuania. It is the central attraction in the Žemaitija National Park. It covers about 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) and reaches up to 49 metres (161 ft) in depth. It has seven islands, one of them housed a castle and now is called Castle Island. Archeologists found remains of two castles and think it might be the Queen Bona castle. The lake has both diving and yacht clubs. Plateliai town is located on the west bank of the lake.
Lithuania attracts many visitors from neighbouring countries and from all over the world. In 2018,there were 1.7 million foreign visitors to Lithuania for business, family and leisure. The historical legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its rich history, architecture, pristine nature, seaside and spa resorts are the main attraction points of Lithuania. Domestic tourism is also highly popular: in 2018 it grew by 12%. Lithuanians also prefer to spend their vacations in Lithuania – 70 percent.
Kaltinėnai is a small town in the west of Lithuania, located near Žemaičių highway in Šilalė district municipality, Tauragė County. Kaltinėnai has around 728 inhabitants (2011). The town is in a hollow, and it is rumoured that a large lake existed at the end of the Ice age where it now sits. Kaltinėnai is surrounded by famous mounds such as Skuburkalnis, Švedkalnis, Kepaluškalnis and Medvėgalis. There are also two rivers nearby, the Akmena and the Ižnė.
The burning of the Riga synagogues occurred in 1941, during the first days of the Nazi German occupation of the city of Riga, the capital and largest city in the country of Latvia. Many Jews confined in the synagogues died in the fires. Many other anti-Semitic measures were launched at the same time, ultimately followed by the murder of the vast majority of the Jews of Latvia.
The Šiauliai or Shavli Ghetto was a Jewish ghetto established in July 1941 by Nazi Germany in the city of Šiauliai in Nazi-occupied Lithuania during the Holocaust. The ghetto comprised two areas – one in the Kaukazas suburb and one on Trakai Street. Both were liquidated by July 1944, and their inhabitants were killed or transferred to Nazi concentration camps. In 1939, one quarter of the population of Šiauliai was Jewish, about 8,000 persons. By the end of World War II, only about 500 Jews of the city had survived.
The Plungė massacre was a World War II massacre committed on 13 or 15 July 1941 in the town of Plungė, in Lithuania. Following the anti-Soviet June Uprising in Lithuania and the German invasion as part of Operation Barbarossa, Plungė was captured by German forces on 25 June 1941. Lithuanian nationalists, led by Jonas Noreika, formed a town administration and police force. German forces killed 60 young Jewish men, accused by the Lithuanians of being a rear guard for the Red Army, shortly after the town's capture. On 13 or 15 July the Lithuanian nationalists transported the Jews to ditches near the village of Kausenai where they were shot. Of the 1,700-1,800 remaining Jews of Plungė, only a few survived.
The Holocaust in Telšiai was carried out by the local Lithuanian leadership with occasional supervision by Nazi German units. The Jewish population in 1939 was 2,800, some 35 percent of the town's population. Additional Jews found refuge in Telšiai following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. Telšiai was taken by German troops on 25 June 1941. Jews were terrorized by the Germans and their Lithuanian collaborators and on 15–16 July all Jewish men were shot. The women were moved to a camp in Geruliai, and with the exception of 500–600 young women, were all shot on 30 August 1941. The 500–600 young women were moved back to a ghetto in Telšiai, and with the exception of some escapees, were shot on 30–31 December 1941 Of the escapees, 64 Jewish women survived.
56°03′N21°49′E / 56.050°N 21.817°E
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