Salantai

Salantai
City

Coat of arms
Salantai
Location of Salantai
Coordinates: 56°4′0″N 21°34′0″E / 56.06667°N 21.56667°E / 56.06667; 21.56667Coordinates: 56°4′0″N 21°34′0″E / 56.06667°N 21.56667°E / 56.06667; 21.56667
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Samogitia
County Klaipėda County
Municipality Kretinga district municipality
Eldership Salantai eldership
Capital of Salantai eldership
First mentioned 1556
Granted city rights 1746
Population (2005)
 • Total 1,887
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)

Salantai ( pronunciation ) is a small city in Lithuania. It is located in the Klaipėda County, Kretinga district.

Etymology

Salantai is named after the Salantas River, which runs through the town. Both of their names are derived from the Lithuanian word "salantais" meaning "freezing."

History

Salantai Church

This town is known for three famed rabbis: Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter and his teacher Rabbi Zundel Salant, rabbi Shmuel Salant, who spent most of his life in Salantai. Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Jerusalem between 1866 and 1910, also lived here before immigration. Aleksandras Bendikas, the Lithuanian book smuggler settled in Salantai. During the summer 1941, 95 Jews of the city were massacred in a mass execution by Lithuanian nazis in the nearby forest.[1]

Culture

The Orvydas Farmstead located on the outskirts of Salantai is a sculpture park created by the Lithuanian artist Vilius Orvydas.[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.holocaustatlas.lt/EN/#a_atlas/search//page/1/item/153/
  2. ↑ "Orvydas Garden". Atlas Obscura.


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