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47-569: The history of Prienai and its surroundings is closely linked to that of the Baltic region . Traces of sporadic human settlement go back to the Neolithic period. However, the vast majority of archeological findings such as tools and antiquity coins date to the Iron Age , when the region of Prienai was inhabited by early Baltic tribes . Lush forests, strategically useful valleys, and stunningly beautiful banks of

94-569: A puppet state or a client state of Napoleon's France. The newly recreated state was formally an independent duchy, allied to France , and in a personal union with the Kingdom of Saxony . King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony was compelled by Napoleon to make his new realm a constitutional monarchy , with a parliament (the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw ). The Varsovian duchy was never allowed to develop as

141-622: A half centuries, Prienai was ruled by the Butler family. In 1661, Count Gothard Wilhelm Butler , a Lithuanian nobleman of distant Scottish descent , built the Prienai castle. However, in 1701, during the Great Northern War , the castle together with its amenities was completely destroyed. In the early 18th century, the city somewhat recovered from the devastation of the Great Northern War and in

188-517: A significant expansion of the duchy's territory southwards with the regaining of once-Polish and Lithuanian lands. As a result of Napoleon's campaign in 1812 against Russia, the Poles expected that the duchy would be upgraded to the status of a kingdom and that during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, they would be joined by the liberated territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Poland's historic partner in

235-454: A sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland. The duchy was held in personal union by Napoleon's ally, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony , who became the duke of Warsaw and remained a legitimate candidate for the Polish throne . Following Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia , Napoleon seemingly abandoned the duchy, and it

282-472: A truly independent state; Frederick Augustus' rule was subordinated to the requirements of the French raison d'état , who largely treated the state as a source of resources. The most important person in the duchy was, in fact, the French ambassador, based in the duchy's capital, Warsaw. Significantly, the duchy lacked its own diplomatic representation abroad. In 1809, a short war with Austria started. Although

329-452: A very large indemnity it owed to France), causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily. Indeed, to this day the phrase "sum of Bayonne" is a synonym in Polish for a huge amount of money. All these problems resulted in both inflation and over-taxation. To counter the threat of bankruptcy, the authorities intensified the development and modernization of agriculture. Also, a protectionist policy

376-723: The Congress of Vienna , Prienai together with its surroundings, were annexed by the Russian Empire . The town dwellers of Prienai, together with the inhabitants of neighbouring towns and villages, actively participated in the November Uprising of 1830-1831 and the January Uprising of 1863–1864, both of which sought to liberate Lithuanians from the Russian yoke. Following Lithuania's restoration of independence in 1918, Prienai became

423-484: The Grand Duchy of Posen . The Grand Duchy and its populace had some nominal autonomy (although it was de facto subordinate to Prussia) but following the 1848 Greater Poland Uprising was fully integrated into Prussia as the Province of Posen . The city of Kraków and some surrounding territory, previously part of the Duchy of Warsaw, were established as the semi-independent Free City of Cracow [ sic ], under

470-581: The Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland , was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars . It initially comprised the ethnically Polish lands ceded to France by Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit , and was augmented in 1809 with territory ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Schönbrunn . It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as

517-805: The Hungarian nobleman Gabriel Bekes, brother of the more famed Gáspár Bekes , for his loyal participation in the Livonian War . The Bekes family ruled Prienai for the next two decades. Afterwards, it became the property of another Hungarian nobleman, named Kaspar Horvat. In 1616, the Lithuanian nobleman and politician Stefan Pac , who would later become the Deputy Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, acquired Prienai. He and his sons Stanislovas and Mikołaj Stefan Pac owned it up until 1643. For almost one and

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564-661: The Lithuanian Basketball League . Prienai is twinned with: These distances are as the crow flies and therefore do not represent actual overland distances. In Lithuania: In Europe: Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region , alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim ), and the Baltic Sea countries/states , refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea , including parts of Northern , Central and Eastern Europe . Unlike

611-533: The Nemunas River were among the main reasons why the area became dotted with 28 hillforts , many of which were relatively densely populated thousands of years ago. The first documented mention of Prienai is in 1502 when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander gave the land of Prienai to the noble Mykolas Glinskis , who, following his exile from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , became the tutor of his nephew Ivan

658-596: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Prienai was invaded and occupied by Prussia . Prussia ruled there during the years 1795-1807 and made Prienai part of New East Prussia . At the end of the eighteenth century, Prienai underwent rapid economic growth. During that time a glass factory and a paper mill, one of the largest in Lithuania, were established near the town. The paper mill produced extraordinary high quality white, coloured and wrapping paper, which

705-567: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . On 28 June, the Sejm formed the General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland , establishing a system of government similar to the former commonwealth with the hope of reclaiming the partitioned territories. However, Napoleon did not want to make a permanent decision that would tie his hands before his anticipated peace settlement with Russia, and did not recognize

752-697: The Soviet Union . However, the brewery together with most of its buildings was completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe during a bombing raid in June 1941. During World War II , when it was occupied by German troops, Prienai lost many of its inhabitants. People emigrated or were expelled, while the Nazis killed the Jews . On August 27, 1941, 1,078 Jews from Prienai and surrounding areas were murdered in Prienai. The massacre

799-537: The Treaty of Tilsit with Prussia . Its creation met the support of both local republicans in partitioned Poland, and the large Polish diaspora in France, who openly supported Napoleon as the only man capable of restoring Polish sovereignty after the Partitions of Poland of the late 18th century. However, it was created as a satellite state (and was only a duchy , rather than a kingdom). The Duchy has also been described as

846-486: The confederation of 28 June. Nevertheless, he proclaimed the attack on Russia as a second Polish war and allowed the Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission to fall under Polish influence. Any peace settlement or restoration of Poland-Lithuania were not to be, however. Napoleon's Grande Armée , including a substantial contingent of Polish troops, set out with the purpose of bringing

893-546: The " Baltic states ", the Baltic region includes all countries that border the sea. The first to name it the Baltic Sea ( Latin : Mare Balticum ) was 11th century German chronicler Adam of Bremen . Depending on the context the Baltic Sea Region might stand for: Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( Polish : Księstwo Warszawskie ; French: Duché de Varsovie ; German: Herzogtum Warschau ), also known as

940-524: The " Congress Kingdom " of Poland, in a personal union with the Russian Empire . This broadly corresponded to the Prussian and Austrian portions of the Third Partition (apart from the area around Białystok) plus around half of Prussia's Second Partition conquests and a small part of Austria's First Partition gains. De facto a Russian puppet state , it maintained its separate status only until 1831 when it

987-420: The "protection" of its three powerful neighbors. The city's territory measured some 1,164 km (449 sq mi), and had a population of about 88,000 people. The city was eventually annexed by Austria in 1846, becoming the Grand Duchy of Kraków . Finally, the bulk of the former Duchy of Warsaw, measuring some 128,000 km (49,000 sq mi), was re-established as what is commonly referred to as

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1034-452: The Austrians and the Treaty of Schönbrunn ) increased to 10 (as the duchy territory increased). Each department was named after its capital city. In January 1807: The above 6 departments were divided into 60 powiats . Added in 1809: The duchy's armed forces were completely under French control via its war minister, Prince Józef Poniatowski , who was also a Marshal of France . In fact,

1081-453: The Duchy annexed West Galicia , the area of the 1795 Austrian partition , and the district of Zamość ( Zamoscer Kreis  [ de ] ): The duchy's area increased significantly, to around 155,000 km (60,000 sq mi), and the population also substantially increased, to roughly 4,300,000. According to the 1810 census, the duchy had a population of 4,334,000, of whom a clear majority were ethnic Poles. Jews constituted 7% of

1128-591: The Duchy of Warsaw won the Battle of Raszyn , Austrian troops entered Warsaw, but Varsovian and French forces then outflanked their enemy and captured Kraków , Lwów and some of the areas annexed by Austria in the Partitions of Poland . During the war, the German colonists settled by Prussia during Partitions openly rose up against the Varsovian government. After the Battle of Wagram , the ensuing Treaty of Schönbrunn allowed for

1175-699: The Russian Empire to its knees, but his military ambitions were frustrated by his failure to supply the army in Russia and Russia's refusal to surrender after the capture of Moscow; few returned from the march back. The failed campaign against Russia proved to be a major turning point in Napoleon's fortunes. After Napoleon's defeat in the east, most of the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw was occupied by Russia in January 1813 during their advance on France and its allies. The rest of

1222-508: The Terrible . In 1609, the city was granted the Magdeburg rights , though they were greatly expanded in 1791 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanislaw II Augustus . The city's arms showing St. George killing the dragon was granted in the same year. St. George was one of the patron saints of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1579, Prienai was given by Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory to

1269-409: The center of the county and witnessed unprecedented expansion. By 1937 Prienai had a population of around 4,200, there were 4 banks, 2 pharmacies, 121 shops, 5 mills, a number of sawmills and countless workshops in the city. At that time the mayor of the city was Julius Greimas, the father of the world renowned Lithuanian - French literary scientist and semiotician Algirdas Julien Greimas . Yet despite

1316-458: The decision-making was largely in the hands of the major powers. It was perhaps inevitable, therefore, that both Prussia and Russia would effectively partition Poland between them; Austria was to more-or-less retain its gains of the First Partition of 1772. Russia sought all territories of the Duchy of Warsaw. It kept all its gains from the three previous partitions, together with Białystok and

1363-455: The deportees either died there or suffered circumstances that never allowed them to return home. AB „Sportinė aviacija“ for a long time was the only glider factory in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1969. The first Lithuanian glassfibre glider BK-7 "Lietuva" was built here. Prienai is home to BC Vytautas (formerly BC Prienai / BC Rūdupis / BC Tonybet), a basketball team that competes in

1410-490: The duchy was heavily militarized, bordered as it was by Prussia , the Austrian Empire , and Russia , and it was to be a significant source for troops in various campaigns of Napoleon. The duchy's army was of considerable size when compared to the duchy's number of inhabitants. Initially consisting of 30,000 of regular soldiers (made up of both cavalry and infantry), its numbers were to rise to over 60,000 in 1810, and by

1457-406: The duchy was restored to Prussia. Although several isolated fortresses held out for more than a year, the existence of the Varsovian state in anything but the name came to an end. Alexander I of Russia created a Provisional Highest Council of the Duchy of Warsaw to govern the area through his generals. Although many European states and ex-rulers were represented at the Congress of Vienna in 1815,

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1504-471: The duchy's economy. To make matters worse, in 1808 the French Empire imposed on the duchy an agreement at Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it by Prussia. The debt , amounting to more than 43 million francs in gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs. Although the duchy made its payments in installments to France over a four-year period, Prussia was unable to pay it (due to

1551-415: The flurry of diverse economic activity, brewing was indisputably the most significant industry in Prienai. The Goldberg beer brewery was established back in 1868 and during the interwar period its facilities dominated the urban landscape of the city. According to local contemporaries, the brewery produced one of the finest beers in Lithuania and its products were regularly exported to Latvia , Poland and

1598-501: The former Prussian provinces of New East Prussia , Southern Prussia , New Silesia , and West Prussia . In addition, the new state was given the area along the Noteć river and the Land of Chełmno . Altogether, the duchy had an initial area of around 104,000 square kilometres (40,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 2,600,000. The bulk of its inhabitants were Poles . In 1809

1645-460: The inhabitants (perhaps an underestimation), Germans – 6%, Lithuanians and Ruthenians – 4%. Superficially, the Duchy of Warsaw was just one of the various states set up during Napoleon's dominance over Eastern and Central Europe, lasting only a few years and passing with his fall. However, its establishment a little over a decade after the Second and Third Partitions, that had appeared to wipe Poland off

1692-628: The law, although the nobility was still greatly favoured as members of the Sejm. While Roman Catholicism was the state religion, and religious tolerance was also guaranteed by the constitution. The administrative divisions of Duchy of Warsaw were based on departments , each headed by a prefect . This organization was based on the French model , as the entire duchy was in fact created by Napoleon and based on French ideas, although departments were divided into Polish powiats (counties). There were 6 initial departments, after 1809 (after Napoleon's defeat of

1739-423: The map, meant that Poles had their hopes rekindled of a resurrected Polish state. Even with Napoleon's defeat, a Polish state continued in some form until the increasingly autocratic Russian state eliminated Poland once again as a separate entity. Altogether, this meant that an identifiable Polish state was in existence for at least a quarter of a century. At the 200th anniversary of the creation of this iteration of

1786-435: The place of the former castle, the Butler family had built a spacious two-storeyed Baroque styled manor house. On the ground floor there was a large guest-hall and 16 rooms. On the first floor there were 11 additional rooms and a sizable great hall. Yet over the course of the next century, the Prienai manor house was gradually abandoned. At the onset of the 20th century, only rubble remained. The 3rd Lithuanian Infantry Regiment

1833-589: The surrounding territory that it had obtained in 1807. Its demands for the whole Duchy of Warsaw were denied by other European powers. Prussia regained some of the territory it had lost to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807: a portion of what it had conquered in the Second Partition. The Kulmerland and Gdańsk (Danzig) became part of the Province of West Prussia ; the remaining territories (i.e., Greater Poland /Poznań), which covered an area of approximately 29,000 km (11,000 sq mi), were reconstituted into

1880-412: The time of Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812, its army totaled almost 120,000 troops out of a total population of just 4.3 million people – a similar number of troops in total available to Napoleon at Austerlitz, from a country of more than 25 million people. The heavy drain on its resources by forced military recruitment, combined with a drop in exports of grain, caused significant problems for

1927-524: Was granted "free city" status until its incorporation into Austria in 1846. The area of the duchy had already been liberated by a popular uprising that had escalated from anti-conscription rioting in 1806. One of the first tasks for the new government included providing food to the French army fighting the Russians in East Prussia . The Duchy of Warsaw was created by French Emperor Napoleon I , as part of

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1974-568: Was effectively annexed to the Russian Empire. Its constituent territories became the Vistula Land in 1867. The Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw could be considered liberal for its time. It provided for a bicameral Sejm consisting of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. A Council of Ministers functioned as the executive body of the duchy. Serfdom was partially abolished, as the serfs were granted personal freedom without gaining any economic liberties or privileges. All classes were to be equal before

2021-464: Was introduced to protect industry . According to the Treaties of Tilsit , the area of the duchy covered roughly the areas of the 2nd and 3rd Prussian partitions , with the exception of Danzig (Gdańsk) , which became the Free City of Danzig under joint French and Saxon "protection", and of the district around Białystok , which became part of Russia. The Prussian territory was made up of territory from

2068-399: Was left to be occupied by Prussian and Russian troops until 1815, when it was formally divided between the two countries at the Congress of Vienna . The east-central territory of the duchy acquired by the Russian Empire was subsequently transformed into a polity called Congress Poland , and Prussia formed the Grand Duchy of Posen in the west. The city of Kraków, Poland's cultural centre,

2115-401: Was often exported to cities as distant as Warsaw and Saint Petersburg . After Napoleon defeated Prussia, in 1807, Prussian-occupied Lithuanian territories were transferred to the newly established Polish Duchy of Warsaw . The Napoleonic code was then introduced in this region, which abolished serfdom and guaranteed equality before the law. Following the demise of Napoleon in 1815 and

2162-580: Was perpetrated by Rollkommando Hamann and local collaborators. In the aftermath of World War II , Prienai was occupied by Soviet Union and its population suffered additional losses. Throughout 1945–1946, the Soviets murdered 39 inhabitants from Prienai and its surroundings. On 22–23 May 1948, 1,019 Lithuanians from the Prienai area were forced by the Soviets into cattle trains and deported to Siberia . In 1949, 675 more local people were deported to Siberia. Most of

2209-410: Was stationed in the town in 1792. The first wooden church in Prienai was built in 1604. Thanks to the active personal involvement of a priest named Vaitiekus Izdebskis, seventy years later, later a newer and much larger church was built to replace the old one. The present Baroque styled church was built in 1750, though it was refurbished and slightly expanded in 1875. Following the third partition of

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