Misplaced Pages

#89910

23-459: Darbėnai was first mentioned in 1591 but it is thought that the village was established in 1566 during the Wallach reform . According to Simonas Daukantas in 1550 it was still a Palanga forest ( Palangos giria ). In 1621 Jan Karol Chodkiewicz built the first wooden church in the town. In 1701 the duke of Courland granted the privilege of trade to the town which was confirmed by the king Augustus II

46-485: A cadastre . Intruding parcels of land belonging to a noble were moved elsewhere to form a unified tract of land. This tract was then divided. The land around the manor was assigned to folwark (Grand Duke's farm). Regulations said that each volok of folwark should have seven peasant voloks. Land assigned to peasant farms (the village) was located further from the manor. The surveyors attempted to draw as correct rectangle as possible. Peasant houses were often moved to form

69-474: A linear settlement along the single road. The peasant land was divided into three equal fields to facilitate the three-field system of crop rotation. Each field was then divided into strips ( Lithuanian : rėžius ) and assigned to each serf household. That way each serf was assigned a strip in each field; the three strips measured one volok (about 21.38 hectares (52.8 acres)). Wealthier serfs with enough manpower were sometimes assigned additional land outside of

92-565: A serf . The term veldamas is derived from Lithuanian word veldėti , valda and means "to rule something". East Slavic texts of the Grand Duchy loaned the word as велдомы (plural; singular: велдом). The term gradually disappeared after the Volok Reform in 1557, but it was still used in Postilė by Mikalojus Daukša (1599) to denote a subordinate. Veldamai were different from kaimynai ,

115-418: A class of peasants also under control of the nobles, as kaimynai did not own their land and had to rent it from the nobles. Veldamai had some personal freedoms and rights. Their daughters could marry anyone their families approved upon a payment of kriena , a wedding tribute to the noble. The nobles could not usurp their property, including land, animals, and tools, or transform them into a šeimynykštis ,

138-411: A peasant owning one volok had to work 2 days a week in the folwark ( corvée ; Lithuanian : lažas ), depending on land quality pay between 4 and 24 grosz of feudal land rent ( Lithuanian : činšas ), and pay tribute by oats and hay ( Lithuanian : dėkla ). These feodal services increased significantly during the years. Veldamai Veldamas (plural: veldamai ) was a form of landownership in

161-467: A staff of Kardas (The Sword) detachment belonging to Žemaičiai military district . Nowadays Darbėnai is the capital of Darbėnai eldership. The old town of Darbėnai is an urbanistic monument. There operates a post office, public library, kindergarten, gymnasium, hospital, pharmacy, home of culture, forester's administration etc. Darbėnai was called after the river Darba which flows near the town. This Klaipėda County , Lithuania location article

184-511: A type of patrimonial slaves. The nobles could not buy or exchange veldamai without official approval from the Grand Duke of his officials. A series of privileges to the nobles restricted veldamai right to move or buy their freedom: they could not leave to estates of other nobles or of the Grand Duke. The nobles were also granted the right to decide court trials involving veldamai as the Grand Duke promised not to interfere. These privileges were

207-485: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wallach reform The Volok Reform ( Lithuanian : Valakų reforma ; Belarusian : Валочная памера ; Polish : reforma włóczna ) was a 16th-century land reform in parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Lithuania proper , Duchy of Samogitia and parts of White Ruthenia ). The reform was started by Grand Duchess Bona Sforza in her possessions to increase

230-438: The Grand Duke's lands. It was made a law on 1 April 1557 and the process continued until the 1580s. The Grand Duke was declared the owner of all peasants and their land thereby eliminating any remnants of allodial titles . The nobles that could not prove their noble status or land ownership had their land confiscated and their status reduced to a peasant. The Grand Duke's land was measured, evaluated for quality, and registered in

253-515: The Grand Dukes (by Sigismund Kęstutaitis in 1434, Casimir IV Jagiellon in 1447, Alexander Jagiellon in 1492, Sigismund I the Old in 1507) released veldamai from their taxes to the state. All the income veldamai produced was owned by the noble, but veldamai retained other duties to the state, like building and repairing roads, bridges, or castles. The first Statute of Lithuania (1529) confirmed

SECTION 10

#1732883527090

276-460: The Strong . Since 1730 Darbėnai was started to call a town. In the beginning of the 19th century, the first parish school was established. In 1842 the current Catholic church named after Saint Apostles Peter and Paul was built. In 1855 the first public primary school was opened. Darbėnai was an important centre during the 1831 Uprising however the town burned during the battles. Since 1861 Darbėnai became

299-522: The centre of volost. In 1897 there lived 2059 inhabitants. The post office was opened in 1906. In 1923 Darbėnai had 1018 inhabitants and in 1936 - 1921 inhabitants. In 1930 there was built the Independence Monument (it was destroyed in 1962 and rebuilt in 1989). Just before World War II, there were around 800 Jews in Darbėnai (about 80% of all residents). They were mostly traders and craftsmen. There

322-414: The designated village; these farms were known as beyond-border ( Lithuanian : užusienis ). Poorer serfs shared one volok between 2 or 3 families. On average, each serf household had about 16 hectares (40 acres). Since land was owned by the Grand Duke, peasants had to perform services and pay dues to the landowner in exchange for their use of their farms. The unit of such services was one volok. Initially,

345-462: The early stages of Lithuanian serfdom . The term describes a peasant family with its land and other belongings granted by the Grand Duke of Lithuania to his loyal followers, usually as a reward for military service. The peasant retained ownership of his property, including land, but owed taxes and levies imposed by the noble. Veldamas was a middle stage between laukininkas (a free peasant) and

368-657: The economic initiative from agriculture to trade and industry. Merchants began focusing on importing raw materials and exporting finished goods . As a result, the demand for agricultural products, primarily grain, had increased. That presented an opportunity for the Lithuanian nobles. Their economic activity shifted from military service (taking share of war loot, receiving benefices from Grand Duke) to agriculture (growing and exporting grain to foreign markets). There were significant motivations to expand arable land and ensure cheap and permanent workforce. The reform began in 1547 in

391-416: The end of the 14th century when Grand Dukes would gift land and peasants, known as veldamai , to Lithuanian nobles for their military service (cf. benefice ). The practice was particularly popular during the reign of Vytautas (reigned 1392–1430) and Casimir Jagiellon (reigned 1440–1492). Grand Dukes also issued a series of privileges transferring veldamai further under control of the nobles. That allowed

414-646: The legal basis for serfdom . The practice was initiated by Grand Dukes Jogaila and Skirgaila , but gained popularity under Vytautas the Great in early 15th century. This coincided with growing demand for agricultural products prompted by developing cities in Western Europe. Noblemen–soldiers shifted to noblemen–landlords. Soldiers were no longer satisfied with sharing spoils of war and demanded land ownership, which would provide steady income during years of peace. Vytautas put veldamai system into use when he centralized

437-486: The nobles to establish large estates that had up to a few hundred peasant households (for example, Upninkai and Musninkai of Radvilos ). The wealthiest nobles became magnates . According to estimated by Jerzy Ochmański based on the military census of 1528 , the magnates (less than 1% of nobility) controlled about 30% of nobility landholdings. At the same time, there were significant developments in Western Europe. The Age of Discovery and Commercial Revolution shifted

460-466: The revenues of the state treasury but soon was expanded statewide and was copied by other nobles and the Church. The reform increased effectiveness of agriculture by establishing a strict three-field system for crop rotation . The land was measured, registered in a cadastre , and divided into voloks (land unit of about 21.38 hectares (52.8 acres)). Volok became the measurement of feudal services. The reform

483-462: The state by replacing local princes with loyal governors, owning their fortune to the Grand Duke. Persons awarded veldamai became members of the Lithuanian nobility . Some veldamai were also gifted to churches. Veldamai were put into difficult position as they owed taxes both to the state ( sidabrinė – tax in silver and dėkla – tax in grain) and their local noble. A series of privileges by

SECTION 20

#1732883527090

506-554: Was a success in terms of the annual state revenue that quadrupled from 20,000 to 82,000 kopas of Lithuanian groschens . In social terms, the reform and the accompanying Third Statute of Lithuania (1588), promoted development of manorialism and fully established serfdom in Lithuania which existed until the emancipation reform of 1861 . The nobility was clearly separated from the peasants which severely limited social mobility . The beginnings of serfdom in Lithuania can be traced from

529-485: Was a synagogue, a Jewish meeting house, several schools, a Jewish library, local bureaus of Zionists and social democrats, theatre and sports clubs in Darbėnai. The German Army occupied on June 24, 1941. With the help of locl collaborators, they executed more than 500 Jews at the edge of the forest outside the city. During the years of Soviet occupation Darbėnai was the central settlement of kolkhoz. In 1944–1952 Darbėnai environs, Vaineikiai forest Lithuanian partisans had

#89910