Kražiai
Encyclopedia
Kražiai is a town in Lithuania
, located in the Kelmė district municipality
, between Varniai
(32 km) and Raseiniai
(44 km), on the Kražantė river. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument.
The population in 1959 was 998; ca. 2,000 in 1939; 1,761 in 1897. The town has a secondary school and is a rural community centre. Under the prewar Republic of Lithuania, Kražiai was the township seat of the county of Raseiniai
. After World War II
it was assigned to the Soviet administrative district of Kelmė
.
Kražiai is one of the older settlements in Samogitia
. Many barrow graves and fortress hills are located in its vicinity. The name of the locality is first mentioned (as Crase) in a 1257 document of King Mindaugas
, by which a part of Samogitia was assigned to the Teutonic Order. Vytautas the Great
during his first years of rule ceded Samogitia to the Order; the regent he appointed lived in Kražiai. After the Battle of Grunwald
in 1410, when Samogitia regained its freedom, Kražiai became the district centre. In the 15th century Kražiai was the christening centre of Samogitia. In the 17th century it became one of the Catholic centres of the country. There were several monasteries, and the Jesuits established Kražiai College.
With the transfer of the gymnasium to Kovno in 1848, and owing to a devastating fire the following year, the town lost its importance. After the building of the Libau
-Romny
Railroad in 1880 it became still poorer, and many families emigrated to the United States
, Africa
, and Australia
.
The town is remembered in Lithuania as the site of the "Kražiai Massacre" of 1893. As part of its campaign against Lithuanian nationalism focused on Catholicism, the Russian government decided to tear down the local Catholic monastery church. After petitions to save the church were rejected, people began to gather at the church to prevent the removal of sacred objects. This alarmed Kaunas Governor Nikolai Klingenberg, who led a force of police and Cossacks that invaded the church and brutally drove the people out and into the nearby Kražantė River where six of them drowned. Afterwards, a number of Catholics were publicly flogged and about 70 were brought to trial. These events enhanced the development of national consciousness and increased the people's alienation from Russia and were successfully exploited by anti-Russian and anti-Tsarist propaganda.
1769), teacher of Samuel ben Abigdor of Vilna, and known as an eminent Talmud
ist and philosopher; Abraham (died 1804), author of "Ma'alos haTorah", a brother of Elijah of Vilna; Uri; Mordechai Rabinowitz; and Yaakov ben Menachem, who occupied the rabbinate for forty years, and died in Jerusalem.
Talmudic scholars and other prominent men of Krozhe of the same period were:
Isaac ha-Levi Hurwitz; David, rabbi at Meretz; Zebulon ben Lipman, rabbi at Plungian
; and Rabbi Jacob Joseph
, who died in New York
in 1902, likewise were natives of Krozhe.
In 1897 the Jews of Krozhe numbered 1,125 out of a total population of about 3,500. About 40 per cent of the former were artisans, a few being farmers and gardeners. Besides the usual charitable institutions, Krozhe had two synagogues, two prayer-houses, and about ten different circles for the study of the Bible
and the Talmud.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, located in the Kelmė district municipality
Kelme district municipality
Kelmė district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania, located in western part of Lithuania....
, between Varniai
Varniai
Varniai , is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai. It was established in the 14th century, on the bank of the Varnelė River, near an important Samogitian castle. It was the center of Samogitian Catholic church: after the baptism of...
(32 km) and Raseiniai
Raseiniai
Raseiniai is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway.- Grand Duchy of Lithuania :...
(44 km), on the Kražantė river. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument.
The population in 1959 was 998; ca. 2,000 in 1939; 1,761 in 1897. The town has a secondary school and is a rural community centre. Under the prewar Republic of Lithuania, Kražiai was the township seat of the county of Raseiniai
Raseiniai
Raseiniai is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway.- Grand Duchy of Lithuania :...
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was assigned to the Soviet administrative district of Kelmė
Kelme
Kelmė is a city in central Lithuania. It has a population of around 11,000 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality.-History:Prior to World War II, Kelmė was home to a famous Rabbinical College, the Kelm Talmud Torah....
.
Kražiai is one of the older settlements in Samogitia
Samogitia
Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
. Many barrow graves and fortress hills are located in its vicinity. The name of the locality is first mentioned (as Crase) in a 1257 document of King Mindaugas
Mindaugas
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...
, by which a part of Samogitia was assigned to the Teutonic Order. Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
during his first years of rule ceded Samogitia to the Order; the regent he appointed lived in Kražiai. After the Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
in 1410, when Samogitia regained its freedom, Kražiai became the district centre. In the 15th century Kražiai was the christening centre of Samogitia. In the 17th century it became one of the Catholic centres of the country. There were several monasteries, and the Jesuits established Kražiai College.
With the transfer of the gymnasium to Kovno in 1848, and owing to a devastating fire the following year, the town lost its importance. After the building of the Libau
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
-Romny
Romny
Romny is a city in the northern Ukrainian Oblast of Sumy. It is located on the Romen River and is the administrative center of the Romny Raion...
Railroad in 1880 it became still poorer, and many families emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The town is remembered in Lithuania as the site of the "Kražiai Massacre" of 1893. As part of its campaign against Lithuanian nationalism focused on Catholicism, the Russian government decided to tear down the local Catholic monastery church. After petitions to save the church were rejected, people began to gather at the church to prevent the removal of sacred objects. This alarmed Kaunas Governor Nikolai Klingenberg, who led a force of police and Cossacks that invaded the church and brutally drove the people out and into the nearby Kražantė River where six of them drowned. Afterwards, a number of Catholics were publicly flogged and about 70 were brought to trial. These events enhanced the development of national consciousness and increased the people's alienation from Russia and were successfully exploited by anti-Russian and anti-Tsarist propaganda.
Jews of Kražiai
Known as Krozhe in Yiddish, the town's Jewish community dated back to the 15th century. Among the rabbis of Krozhe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the following may be mentioned: Rabbi Eliezer (died in VilnaVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
1769), teacher of Samuel ben Abigdor of Vilna, and known as an eminent Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ist and philosopher; Abraham (died 1804), author of "Ma'alos haTorah", a brother of Elijah of Vilna; Uri; Mordechai Rabinowitz; and Yaakov ben Menachem, who occupied the rabbinate for forty years, and died in Jerusalem.
Talmudic scholars and other prominent men of Krozhe of the same period were:
- Abba Rosina, also called "Abba Chassid" (died 1792), brother-in-law of Rabbi Löb of TelšiaiTelšiaiTelšiai , is a city in Lithuania with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on Lake Mastis.-Names:...
(he was a miller by trade, but corresponded with many prominent rabbis on questions of rabbinical law; Raphael haKohen of HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
was his pupil); - his son Hirsch (died 1810);
- Elijah ben Meïr (Elie Krozer), a wealthy merchant, brother-in-law of the Gaon of VilnaVilna GaonElijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
, and lived at Krozhe in the first quarter of the nineteenth century (his son Ezekiel was rabbi at Shavli, and his son Jesaiah was dayan at Krozhe and rabbi at SalatySalantaiSalantai is a small city in Lithuania. It is located in the Klaipėda County, Kretinga district.-History:This town is known for two famed rabbis: Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter and his teacher Rabbi Zundel Salant, who spent most of his life in Salantai....
); - Moses Hurwitz (Krozer), dayan in Vilna, where he died in 1821.
Isaac ha-Levi Hurwitz; David, rabbi at Meretz; Zebulon ben Lipman, rabbi at Plungian
Plunge
Plungė is a city in Lithuania with 23,246 inhabitants. It has a crab stick factory which exports to many countries in Europe.Before World War II, Plunge had a large Jewish population.- History :...
; and Rabbi Jacob Joseph
Jacob Joseph
Jacob Joseph served as chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, a federation of Eastern European Jewish synagogues...
, who died in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1902, likewise were natives of Krozhe.
In 1897 the Jews of Krozhe numbered 1,125 out of a total population of about 3,500. About 40 per cent of the former were artisans, a few being farmers and gardeners. Besides the usual charitable institutions, Krozhe had two synagogues, two prayer-houses, and about ten different circles for the study of the Bible
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and the Talmud.