Pagegiai
Encyclopedia
Pagėgiai is a city in the south western Lithuania
. It is located in the region of the former prussia
n tribe of Skalvians
. It is the capital of Pagėgiai municipality
, and as such it is part of Tauragė County
.
came in effect in January 1920, the Klaipėda Region
located north of the Neman River
was separated from Germany
.
The northern trans-Neman parts of Kreis Ragnit and both Landkreis and Stadtkreis Tilsit, which had been established in 1818, as well as Gutsbezirk Perwallkischken were combined on 27 January 1920 to the new Kreis Pogegen, with Pagėgiai as capital.
When Lithuania assumed control of the region in 1923, it was renamed Pagėgiai Apskritis.
In 1939 the area was reintegrated by Nazi Germany
in March into East Prussia and renamed Landkreis Pogegen. It consisted of 164 Landgemeinden with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 34 Gutsbezirke. The largest community was Schmalleningken with a pop. of 1,700. Pogegen and the community of Wischwill had 1,400 each.
Landkreis Pogegen was dissolved on 1 October 1939 in order to re-unite the area with the larger cities south of Neman, and structures similar to pre-1920 were established.
for the second time in 1944 and the Subdivisions of Lithuania were changed into that of districts, Pagėgiai became one of only a few towns that were interwar apskritis capitals which did not become district capitals. When the municipality reform took place in independent Lithuania in 2000, Pagėgiai municipality was carved out of Šilutė district
and thus Pagėgiai became the capital of an administrative unit again.
The coat of arms
of the town and the municipality depicts a bird with a key, which symbolises the border nature of the area (now with Kaliningrad Oblast
of Russia
). A Lithuanian border guard unit is stationed in Pagėgiai.
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...
. It is located in the region of the former prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n tribe of Skalvians
Skalvians
The Scalovians , also known as the Skalvians, Schalwen and Schalmen, were a Baltic tribe related to the Prussians. According to the Chronicon terrae Prussiae of Peter of Dusburg, the now extinct Scalovians inhabited the land of Scalovia south of the Curonians and Samogitians, by the lower Neman...
. It is the capital of Pagėgiai municipality
Pagegiai municipality
Pagėgiai district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania....
, and as such it is part of Tauragė County
Taurage County
Tauragė County is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė...
.
Name
The name of the town literally means "at Gėgė" (gegis: grove of alders, hay meadows, fields) and it is believed that the Gėgė river (also Gäge, Jäge) once flowed through the town.Interwar period
When the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
came in effect in January 1920, the Klaipėda Region
Klaipėda Region
The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...
located north of the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
was separated from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The northern trans-Neman parts of Kreis Ragnit and both Landkreis and Stadtkreis Tilsit, which had been established in 1818, as well as Gutsbezirk Perwallkischken were combined on 27 January 1920 to the new Kreis Pogegen, with Pagėgiai as capital.
When Lithuania assumed control of the region in 1923, it was renamed Pagėgiai Apskritis.
In 1939 the area was reintegrated by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in March into East Prussia and renamed Landkreis Pogegen. It consisted of 164 Landgemeinden with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 34 Gutsbezirke. The largest community was Schmalleningken with a pop. of 1,700. Pogegen and the community of Wischwill had 1,400 each.
Landkreis Pogegen was dissolved on 1 October 1939 in order to re-unite the area with the larger cities south of Neman, and structures similar to pre-1920 were established.
After World War II
When Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for the second time in 1944 and the Subdivisions of Lithuania were changed into that of districts, Pagėgiai became one of only a few towns that were interwar apskritis capitals which did not become district capitals. When the municipality reform took place in independent Lithuania in 2000, Pagėgiai municipality was carved out of Šilutė district
Šilute district municipality
Šilutė district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It is known for spring floods when ice on Neman River starts melting. This is the only municipality in Lithuania that gets flooded on regular basis....
and thus Pagėgiai became the capital of an administrative unit again.
The coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the town and the municipality depicts a bird with a key, which symbolises the border nature of the area (now with Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
). A Lithuanian border guard unit is stationed in Pagėgiai.