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49-768: The oldest traces of humans in Puńsk territory date back to about 10,000 years BC. In the early medieval ages it was inhabited by the Baltic Yotvingians . In the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights mostly exterminated the local Balts with only few of them surviving. Nowadays only some castle hills (e.g. in Šiurpilis ), mounds (e.g. in Eglinė ), cemeteries (e.g. in Szwajcaria ), village names (e.g. Zervynai , Krosna) and archaeological excavations remind us about their existence. Later on

98-578: A Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians . The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians . The Yotvingians contributed to the formation of the Lithuanian state . According to Vytautas Mažiulis , the name Sūduva derives from a local hydronym *Sūd(a)vā , derived from a Baltic verbal root, *sū- : to flow, pour. Numerous linguists consider

147-481: A proof of correct political leanings. For example, in 1926, of 106 proposed teachers only 56 were approved. In July 1924, Minister Stanisław Grabski sponsored a law which regulated schools of ethnic minorities. Other requirements and limitations applied to teachers' education, textbooks, classroom hygiene, etc. These requirements particularly affected Ukrainian and Belarusian schools. Attitudes towards Lithuanian schools were more lenient, perhaps in hopes of normalizing

196-462: A year later, it had only two schools with 77 students and 14 reading rooms. Rytas activities in the Białystok Voivodeship were prohibited citing concerns over border security. No new initiatives received official approvals and the society was effectively forced to cease its activities. Sensing that its could be abolished, in 1937–1938, Rytas transferred its archives and movable property to

245-605: The Lithuanian Scientific Society , which was headquartered in the same Vileišis Palace . The move did not help as both Rytas and the Scientific Society, as well as seven other Lithuanian organizations, were suspended by the starosta of Vilnius in January 1938. Rytas appealed the decision to voivode Bociański, but received a negative response on 25 February and was officially closed on 28 February. Rytas' property

294-649: The Neuri (Νευροί) were a tribe living beyond the Scythian cultivators, one of the nations along the course of the river Hypanis (Bug river), west of the Borysthenes (Dniepr river). This was roughly the area of modern Belarus and Eastern Poland by the Narew river, coinciding with the Yotvingian linguistic territory of toponyms and hydronyms ( Narew river) and the Scythian tribe of

343-784: The Principality of Turov . In the sentence of Breslau of the emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg to the Livonian Order from 1325, this area is called Suderlandt alias Jetuen . Vytautas the Great wrote about "terra Sudorum", in a letter to King Sigismund of March 11, 1420. A 1860 census by the clergy of the Belarus Grodno area, had 30,929 inhabitants identifying as Yatviags. Lithuanian Education Society Rytas The Lithuanian Education Society Rytas ( Lithuanian : Lietuvių švietimo draugija „Rytas“ ; "rytas" means morning or dawn )

392-793: The Soviet Union and then partially transferred to Lithuania in October according to the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty . Due to wartime disruptions and regime changes, the society was not active. It registered with the Lithuanian government in February 1940 and called a general meeting in March searching for a new mission – a lot of its functions were taken over by the Lithuanian government and it could no longer rely on funding from

441-470: The Suwałki Region became overgrown with forests. Lithuanian Grand Dukes hunted there. In the early 15th century the people from Merkinė and Punia started to colonize this territory again. The lake was named Punia , from which the village derived its name. Initially, it might have been called Puniškės after Punia, which over time became Puńsk. It was one of the first settlements in this territory. At

490-493: The Vilnius region , a referendum which would determine which country the inhabitants of Puńsk wanted to belong to was not held. Through 8 decades the language situation has changed to the advantage of Polish . As part of Poland, new local regulations were introduced by the government, and Lithuanians were repressed by them. During the interwar period , there were several active societies, for example St. Casimir's Society dealt with

539-670: The Yotvingian language as a dialect of the Old Prussian language . The Lithuanian linguist Petras Būtėnas states that such an opinion is incorrect, because the Lithuanian kalnas predominates in Yotvingian toponymy instead of the Old Prussian garbis . The Lithuanian professor Zigmas Zinkevičius wrote that the Yotvingians spoke a dialect of Western Baltic that was closer to Lithuanian than Prussian. The only known written source of

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588-525: The Aroteres to the south-east. Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD called the people Galindai kai Soudinoi (Σουδινοί). Peter of Dusburg called them Galindite and Suduwite . In the Hypatian Codex the spelling changes: Jatviagy, Jatviezie, Jatviažin, zemlia Jatveskaja, na zemliu Jatviažs´kuju and more. Polish sources also used Russian spellings: Jazviagi, Iazvizite, Jazvizite, Yazvizite . This name

637-464: The Education and Care of Young People which became more active in 1927. The two societies shared similar goals and cooperated with each other; for example, sharing Lithuanian publications. In 1931, with funding from Lithuania, Rytas purchased Vileišis Palace and moved its headquarters to the first floor. The second floor and the attic was rented by the Lithuanian Scientific Society . In spring 1931,

686-622: The Polish Sejm adopted a new law which further restricted private schools. No new permits were issued while old schools were closed by various inspectors. The number of schools decreased from 91 in 1931 to 73 in 1932. New instructions from the Polish Ministry of Education prescribed requirements for school buildings which were practically impossible to meet – new dedicated buildings had to build. In 1933, Rytas had only 21 approved schools and of those only 16 had approved teachers. Realizing that it

735-718: The Suwałki Region but all over Poland. Lithuanian schools and cultural centre were established. The ensembles of the Lithuanian Culture Centre in Puńsk perform in Poland and abroad. These are: The important role in propagation of national awareness is played by the Publishing House and its periodical Aušra . The Puńsk impact crater on Mars was named after the village in 1976. In 1993, LLB (Lithuanian Society in Poland)

784-621: The Yotvingian language is the manuscript " Pagan Dialects from Narew  [ lt ; be-tarask ] ". The Yotvingians lived in the area of Sudovia (Yotvingia) and Dainava , southwest from the upper Nemunas river . Today, this area corresponds mostly to the Podlaskie Voivodeship in Poland , portions of Lithuania west of the Nemunas and a part of Hrodna Province in Belarus . The territory

833-458: The Yotvingians to add to his army. In two dotations, in 1253 and 1259, by Mindaugas , a new name was recorded: Dainava, Deynowe, Dainowe, Denowe (land of songs). The forests were named Deinova Jatvež . In the 1260 treaty with the Teutonic Knights, the region is called " terre Getuizintarum ". Skalmantas , leader of the Yotvingians was responsible for single-handedly raiding Pinsk in

882-610: The agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union on 10 January 1941, about 70% of people were expelled from the territory. Most of them returned after the German occupation ended. In Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims, more than six dozen Jewish inhabitants of Puńsk are listed as being murdered during World War II. Some were killed in the village itself, while others were deported to camps and ghettos in German-occupied Poland and neighboring Lithuania. With

931-434: The book smugglers ( knygnešiai ). Povilas Matulevičius was the most famous book smugglers in the region After World War I , when both Lithuania and Poland regained independence, there were fights between them over the Suwałki Region . In April 1919 Puńsk and its territory became a part of Poland . The border has remained unchanged since the summer of 1920. Similarly to the situation in other disputed areas, including

980-654: The death of Józef Piłsudski in 1935, the rooms were often raided by police and closed. Eventually, the society was abolished by Polish authorities in February 1938. Only the Vytautas the Great Gymnasium was allowed to operate. After the Polish ultimatum of March 1938 , diplomatic relations were established between Poland and Lithuania and Rytas was allowed to operate again in May 1939. It could not resume its activities due to World War II and

1029-477: The end of German occupation, the village was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which remained in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. After the war Lithuanian social and cultural life in this region became more active again. In 1956, there was established LVKD (The Social and Cultural Association of Lithuanians). Its task was to weld Lithuanians who were scattered not only in

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1078-758: The government or the public. Rytas, along with other Lithuanian organizations, was abolished by the new Soviet regime following the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in June 1940. The last board meeting of Rytas took place on 6 July 1940. The chairmen of the society were: Rytas Society was reestablished in April 2004 with the help of the Vilnija society. Lithuanian activists felt that areas of southeastern Lithuania where Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania won majorities in

1127-522: The gymnasium in Vilnius with 366 students, a vocational evening school, teachers' courses, 103 schools with 3,560 students, and 80 evening courses for adults with 1,765 students. Of the schools, only 52 had official permits. Some of the closed or non-certified schools continued to operate illegally. Teachers at Rytas schools often initiated the establishments of a local chapter of the Society of Saint Casimir for

1176-511: The king Władysław IV Vasa approved Puńsk's civic rights according to the Magdeburg rights and gave it a coat of arms with Saint Peter 's image. At that time the parish of Puńsk belonged to the Diocese of Vilnius , and later (from 1795) to the bishopric of Wigry . There was a school and a hospital by the church. In 1795, there lived 583 people in Puńsk and 748 people were registered in 1827. Puńsk

1225-476: The matters of church, Rytas maintained schools, and Talka was a co-operative society. The vast majority of commerce and business belonged to Jews . They made up the greater part of Puńsk inhabitants at that time. Some extant old houses, the building of synagogue and a big cemetery nearby Puńsk remind of their former presence. Anti-Semitism was rampant, and many of the Jewish residents fled Polish rule. One such family

1274-447: The population of Puńsk is Lithuanian . With Lithuanian Culture House, Lithuanian high school and print house, Puńsk is the main centre of the Lithuanian minority in Poland . Yotvingians Yotvingians (also called: Sudovians , Jatvians , or Jatvingians ; Yotvingian : Jotvingai ; Lithuanian : Jotvingiai , Sūduviai ; Latvian : Jātvingi ; Polish : Jaćwingowie , Belarusian : Яцвягі , German : Sudauer ) were

1323-600: The reading rooms and frequently fined them for various minor infractions. Ludwik Bociański , appointed voivode of Wilno in December 1935, took particularly strict measures against Rytas. Police raided reading rooms, confiscated the books, and closed them due to "threat to public order and security". In twelve instances, curators of the reading rooms were exiled. In November 1936, police raided Rytas headquarters and confiscated some of its funds. The measures had its effects: in March 1936, Rytas had four schools and 77 reading rooms;

1372-493: The same time the other ones were created, such as: Beržininkai , Seinai or Kreivėnai . In 1597, the Seivai forester, Stanisław Zaliwski built the church in Puńsk, and here was the parish established. Later on the Lithuanian chancellery published the document of the king Sigismund I the Old , which stated that Puńsk's parish priest can only be a Lithuanian-speaking person. In 1647,

1421-546: The society had 31 chapters, including three in Vilnius. Rytas wanted to establish grammar schools (Школа грамоты) but was allowed to organize only one-year or two-year schools and only if a qualified teacher was available. The first schools were organized in Dieveniškės , Linkmenys , Musteika , Perloja , Švenčionėliai , Valkininkai . During the first three years, Rytas established about 120 schools. During World War I , from about August 1915 to November 1918, Vilnius Region

1470-475: The tensions between Poland and Lithuania. The situation of Lithuanian schools and Rytas society began deteriorating when 44 schools and the teachers' seminary was closed on 4–5 October 1927. At the same time, seminary director Kristupas Čibiras, Rytas chairman Petras Kraujalis , and 23 other Lithuanian teachers and activists were arrested. It was a retribution for the Lithuanian decision to close more than 60 Polish schools in Lithuania. In 1928, Rytas maintained

1519-797: The use of the Lithuanian language. The restrictions were lifted in 1904 and Lithuanians organized societies Saulė (Sun) in 1906 in Kovno Governorate and Žiburys (light, beacon) in 1905 in the Suwałki Governorate to fund and operate Lithuanian schools. The developments in the Vilna Governorate , which had an ethnically mixed population, were slower. In February 1907, Lithuanian activists ( Antanas Smetona , brothers Antanas and Jonas Vileišis , priests Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas and Vladas Mironas , and others) established educational Society Vilniaus Aušra (Dawn of Vilnius). The first chairman

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1568-512: The whole parish. Then the parish of Puńsk was divided into three separate units: in Smolany , Becejły and Puńsk. In 1910, there were 74 villages with 7,044 people that belonged to the parish of Puńsk. People of Puńsk area suffered from the tsar's repressions. There were secret schools. The forbidden, illegal Lithuanian press and books were secretly transferred across the German-Russian border by

1617-514: Was Rafalin. David Rafalin, a graduate of the Slobodka Yeshiva, became a rabbi in Cuba in 1929, then in 1933, he moved to Mexico, where he was a rabbi for 46 years. In 1931, most of the Jewish section of Puńsk was destroyed by a fire. During World War II , Puńsk was occupied by Germany , who incorporated it directly into the province of East Prussia . The invaders started to introduce a new order. It

1666-559: Was Smetona and Tumas was his secretary, but soon they resigned. The new chairman was priest Juozas Bagdonavičius (Bagdonas) and Liudas Gira was his secretary. The society was active both in Kovno and Vilna Governorates and established 17 local chapters. Most active of them were in Alanta , Žasliai , Bagaslaviškis . However, Tsarist authorities closed several chapters and the society was liquidated in December 1908. The idea of an educational society

1715-1003: Was a Roman Catholic society fostering education in the Lithuanian language mostly in the Vilnius Region , then fiercely contested between Lithuania and the Second Polish Republic , now split between Lithuania and Belarus . Established in 1913, the society maintained some 100 primary schools (mostly one-room schools ), 50 evening classes, Vytautas the Great Gymnasium and Teacher's Seminary in Vilnius (Wilno, Vilna) in 1927. Due to political tensions between Poland and Lithuania as well as wider Polonization policies, Rytas faced increasing difficulties and restrictions in maintaining its schools. Similar situation existed with Polish schools in Lithuania (see Lithuanization ). The situation continued to worsen as both sides increased restrictions in retribution. As schools were closed, Rytas shifted its focus to maintaining community reading rooms. After

1764-536: Was a candidate, but was not elected. The society's goals were to establish and fund Lithuanian-language primary schools, evening classes for adults, a seminary for teachers, reading rooms, bookshops, and other educational institutions in the Roman Catholic spirit. It published its news in Viltis and Aušra and encouraged establishment of local chapters. By the end of 1913, according to a list published in Šaltinis ,

1813-463: Was abolished again soon after the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in June 1940. The society, with the same mission of promoting Lithuanian-language education, was reestablished in 2004. After the failed Uprising of 1863 , the Tsarist regime enacted strict Russification policies: the Lithuanian press was prohibited , all non-government schools were closed, and government schools prohibited

1862-561: Was annexed by Prussia in the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. In 1807 it became part of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw , within which it was administratively located in the Łomża Department . After the duchy's dissolution in 1815, it became part of Congress Poland , soon forcibly integrated into the Russian Empire . In 1827, Puńsk had 748 inhabitants. In 1852 Puńsk lost its civic rights. In 1881, there lived 1,200 people in

1911-583: Was between the later cities of Marijampolė and Merkinė (Lithuania), Slonim and Kobryn (Belarus), and Białystok and Lyck in Prussia (now Ełk , Poland). Before the 10th century, in the south, Yotvingian homesteads reached the Brest area. In the west, they reached the Narew river basin. In the north, they reached the Vilnius ' and Kaunas ' southern outskirts. The territory was shrinking over time. According to The Histories of Herodotus (5th century B.C.) ,

1960-618: Was closed in August 1921 and the boys' gymnasium (renamed to Vytautas the Great Gymnasium) was forcibly removed from its premises in October 1921. In 1923, the regional education commission began demanding that each school independently obtained a permit which was valid for only a year (multi-year permits were introduced in 1927). The commission had to approve each teacher, and it refused to approve if they were not Polish citizens or did not have certificates of morality ( świadectwo moralności ), i.e.

2009-521: Was decided to make a clean sweep of undesirable people in the Suwałki Region. The unsuitable ones for Germanisation were killed and the favourable ones had been left to become assimilated. It was also decided to colonize this area and populate it with Germans in accordance with the Lebensraum policy, and resettle many indigenous Lithuanians to Lithuania, which was then occupied by the Russians. According to

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2058-432: Was established. One year later its offshoot - Lithuanian Youth Society was created. These organizations connect all of Lithuanians and represent their interests in and out of country. In 1994, Poland and Lithuania signed an agreement about friendship and neighbourly cooperation. New possibilities have appeared in order to communicate with Poland. According to the census of 2021, it had a population of 1,352. Over 75% of

2107-482: Was losing ground, Rytas began focusing on education of adults and establishing reading rooms. Most of these rooms were headed by now-unemployed teachers, others by university or gymnasium students. The rooms organized readings of books and periodicals, discussions, lectures, courses for children and adults, various social events and gatherings, etc. In the 1934/35 school year, the society maintained 76 reading rooms which registered 244,805 visitors. The officials disapproved

2156-617: Was once again raised by the intellectuals in a meeting of Aušra publishers in Vilnius in 1911. Its statute was approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 29 November 1912 and the founding meeting took place at the clergy house of the Church of All Saints, Vilnius on 31 January 1913. The meeting, chaired by Jonas Basanavičius , elected a six-member board, which included priest Jonas Steponavičius (chairman), priest Vladas Mironas , writer Liudas Gira , and Jonas Basanavičius. Antanas Smetona

2205-612: Was part of the German Oberost . Initially, the Germans banned Rytas, but after modifications to its statute, it was allowed to operate schools but not to establish new chapters. Despite difficult wartime conditions, Rytas established courses for teachers, which were directed by Aleksandras Stulginskis and which grew to a seminary, and took over the Lithuanian gymnasium , established by Jonas Basanavičius , Mykolas Biržiška , and Povilas Gaidelionis  [ lt ] in October 1915. It

2254-613: Was taken by the papal administration: terra Jatwesouie, Gretuesia, Gzestuesie, Getuesia und Getvesia . The Knights called this tribe Sudowite, Sudowia, in qua Sudowit . and the Scythian tribe of the Aroteres to the south-east. In 944, during the treaty between the Kievan Rus' prince Igor and the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, the Yotvingians were hired by the Kievan ruler to serve as mercenaries. In 983, Vladimir I of Kiev hired

2303-575: Was taken over by attorney Stefan Wilanowski and the last school in Dainava was closed. After the Polish ultimatum of March 1938 , diplomatic relations were established between Poland and Lithuania and Rytas was allowed to operate again on 20 May 1939. In June, it received its property back – Vileišis Palace, now subject to a 60,000 złoty mortgage to the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego , 33,303 złoty receivables, and 7,745 złoty payables. Rytas

2352-439: Was the second (after the Panevėžys Gymnasium which opened a week earlier) gymnasium to teach in the Lithuanian language. After the Żeligowski's Mutiny in October 1920, Vilnius region was incorporated into the Republic of Central Lithuania , a puppet state of the Second Polish Republic . Almost immediately Lithuanian organizations, including Rytas, faced increased scrutiny and restrictions. The Lithuanian gymnasium for girls

2401-412: Was told that no schools would be approved if they were less than 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from a public Polish school and instead concentrated on reestablishing local chapters and reading rooms. From June to August, Rytas established 103 chapters with about 1,500 members. Further activities were interrupted by World War II . After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, Vilnius Region was occupied by

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