Dubingiai
Encyclopedia
Dubingiai is a town in Molėtai district in Lithuania
. It is situated near Lake Asveja
, the longest lake in the country. The town has 260 inhabitants as of 2003.
the town became an important place in that part of Lithuania. In 1415 Vytautas ordered the building of a new masonry castle.
Later it was governed by the Radziwiłłs who built Dubingiai Castle
from stone and town became one of the centres of the Reformation
in Lithuania. Many famous members of Radziwiłł family are buried in the churchyard of Dubingiai castle. In 17th century a weave and paper manufactures were established in the town. In 17th century - 18th century the town was slowly re-converted to Catholicism
.
A massacre of over 20 Lithuanian inhabitants
by a local Armia Krajowa
unit occurred in 23 June 1944, during World War II
. The crime was a retaliation by the Polish commander for an earlier massacre
of Polish villagers in Glitiškės by collaborationist Lithuanian police.
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 situated near Lake Asveja
Lake Asveja
Lake Asveja or Dubingiai Lake is the longest lake in Lithuania . It covers 9.78 km² area and reaches a depth of 50.2m which makes it the third deepest lake in Lithuania. It lies partly in Molėtai district, Švenčionys district and Vilnius district...
, the longest lake in the country. The town has 260 inhabitants as of 2003.
History
The settlement was first mentioned in 1334, when Teutonic knights razed terra Dubingam during one of their raids. Other raids took place in 1373 and 1375. During the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the GreatVytautas 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...
the town became an important place in that part of Lithuania. In 1415 Vytautas ordered the building of a new masonry castle.
Later it was governed by the Radziwiłłs who built Dubingiai Castle
Dubingiai Castle
Dubingiai Castle was a residential castle in Dubingiai, Molėtai district, Lithuania.The first masonry castle was constructed by Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1412-1413 on an island, now a peninsula, in Lake Asveja in order to secure the capital Vilnius from attacks from Livonia. No accounts...
from stone and town became one of the centres of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in Lithuania. Many famous members of Radziwiłł family are buried in the churchyard of Dubingiai castle. In 17th century a weave and paper manufactures were established in the town. In 17th century - 18th century the town was slowly re-converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
A massacre of over 20 Lithuanian inhabitants
Dubingiai massacre
The Dubingiai massacre was the mass murder of between 20 and 27 Lithuanian civilians in the town of Dubingiai on 23 June 1944, by a unit of the Armia Krajowa, a Polish resistance group, in a reprisal action for the Glinciszki massacre of 20 June.-Background:Polish-Lithuanian relations during the...
by a local Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
unit occurred in 23 June 1944, during 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...
. The crime was a retaliation by the Polish commander for an earlier massacre
Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre refers to a mass murder that occurred on 20 June 1944 in the village of Glitiškės . In the massacre, thirty-seven mostly Polish villagers were killed by Nazi subordinated Lithuanian policemen retaliating for the death of four policemen that occurred during a fight with element...
of Polish villagers in Glitiškės by collaborationist Lithuanian police.