Židikai is a town in Lithuania, Telšiai district, Mazeikai district. Located 21 km west of the town of Mazeikiai. Židikai was founded in 1568. Lithuanian writer Shatriyos Ragana (Maria Pyachkauskaite) lived and died in the village. There is her house-museum. Also among the attractions of Zhidikai is the Church of John the Baptist (1821). There is a secondary school named after Maria Pyachkauskaite.
Židikai is a relatively isolated place name, almost without similar
ones in Lithuania. It would be most plausible to assume that it is a
personal toponym derived from the personal name Židikas, although the
latter is currently undetectable (there are similar surnames such as
Židonis, Židulis, Židžiūnas, etc.). 20th century Žydikii are mentioned
in the interwar period.
Folk etymology mentions the legend that
in ancient times, Mr. Tiškevičius had huge gardens here, which were
white in spring, but did not bear fruit in autumn. That is why people
used to say that zyd dyka ("flowers in vain", i.e. flowers in vain).
Židiki St. Ona's chapel is located in the cemetery of the town of
Židikai, in the village of Liūliškii. The chapel was built in
1940-1941. After the chapel was built, the remains of writer Marija
Pečkauskaitė and her "mother" were moved to its basement.
History
The chapel was built according to the project of
architect Jonas Mulok. The initiator of the construction of the
chapel is considered to be the then pastor of Židiki, Fr. Vaclov
Martinkus. In 1974, the chapel was restored by Vytautas
Landsbergis-Žemkalnis. In 2004-2005, it was remodeled again.
Bishop of Telšiai Jonas Boruta in 2011 before St. Anne's indulgences
were given by the chapel of St. Anna's title.
in 2012 July 26
before St. After Anna's indulgence, the "Angel with Trumpet"
sculpture, created by the folk artist Antanas Murauskas, was
restored on the chapel. The sculpture of St. During Anna's
indulgence in 2012 July 29 consecrated by the parish priest of
Židiki, Fr. Egidijus Jurgelevičius.
St. Masses are offered in
the chapel on All Saints' Day and All Saints' Day, as well as on St.
On the main day of Anna's indulgence.
St. Anna's indulgences
St. Ona's indulgences have been taking place in Židikai since
ancient times. Not only local residents gather in them, but also
believers from all over Lithuania, as well as from abroad, mainly
from Latvia.
St. On the main day of Anne's indulgence,
usually the last Sunday of July, St. Mass in the Židikai church is
offered by the pastor of Židikai, and the sums of St. Mass takes
place in the cemetery, in front of the chapel. The main St. Mass is
celebrated every year by a different guest priest.
During the Vlach reform, in 1568 the village of Židiki was founded,
which grew rapidly even in the 17th century. at the end it became a
small town (after it appeared, the first Židikai fell into disrepair).
Since 1614 Židikai belonged to the Kražia Jesuits, who in 1636 built a
church. in 1659 the Swedes burned Židikus. The town burned in 1824,
1825, 1852 and 1939. in 1850 mentioned parish school, 1865 a government
primary school was established. in 1682 May 12 Židikas are given the
privilege of a weekly market on Thursdays. Markets were held in Židikai
until 1852. 1780 a customs office was established, which controlled the
border section almost from Lenkimi to Žeimelos. It owned departments in
Skuoda, Margininkai, Žagarė and Žeimeli. in 1885 There were 14 shops, 3
leather companies, 780 inhabitants in Židikai.
In the interwar
years, Židikai was a prosperous town. There was a town hall, a post
office (established in 1919) and police offices, a four-room elementary
school, a health center with a doctor and a paramedic, a pharmacy, a
spring library, a poor shelter maintained by the parish, a district
agronomist, an electric power plant, a sawmill, a woolen carding
company, a cooperative, a dozen shops, a milk skimming point, a small
credit society, a Jewish people's bank, a team of rifle firemen, a
temperance society, whose houses, built in 1925, were also used for
cultural activities. in 1923 There is a telephone in the fireplace. in
1939 January 1 founded by the Židiki Public State Library. Almost 1000
inhabitants lived in the town.
in 1922 December 8 Židiki rifle
squad was established, the first commander of which was A. Ubavičius. in
1923 Židiki shooters actively participated in the Klaipėda uprising. in
1929 Židiki women's rifle division gathered. in 1931 a team of sniper
firemen assembled.
During World War II, the town's population
decreased significantly, and economic activity almost completely
collapsed. After the war, when the Soviet government came to power in
Lithuania, Židikai developed similarly to many towns in Lithuania. in
1950 on June 20, after changing the administrative-territorial division,
the Židiki district of the Seda district was established, with Juozas
Ubavičius becoming its first chairman. in 1959 December 7 after the
liquidation of the Seda district, most of the Židikai area was
transferred to the Mažeikiai district. in 1952 a 75-bed hospital was
established in the former two-story parsonage in 1954. the seven-year
school was reformed into a high school. in 1956 a cultural house started
operating in the former home of the Temperance Society. in 1969 the
cultural center was moved to newly built premises. whose hall had more
than 250 seats. in 1959 429 inhabitants lived in the town. in 1981 a new
polyclinic building with premises for a pharmacy was opened.
in
1950 The collective farms operating in the villages of Senmiestė,
Petraičiai and Viliote and Asteikiai were merged into Mičiurinis
collective farm, whose first chairman was Stasys Stasiulis. 1960 mill
under construction, 1967 burnt down and rebuilt in the same year. in
1992 the mill is privatized. in 2000 stopped working, and in 2003 the
mill building was finally demolished.
in 1956 architect
Algimantas Miškinis studied Židikis from an urban point of view and
concluded that the town with its unique layout is a protected cultural
monument. in 1964 a new project scheme of Židiki has been prepared. in
1972 a bypass is designed in the southern part of the town. in 1969 the
town was declared an urbanistic monument of local significance. In the
same year, a new planning project was prepared. After 1972 paved main
streets.
in 1967 a typical neighborhood council house was built,
and a post office was also located there. in 1975 a domestic services
pavilion was built, a 72-bed dormitory was built near the school, and
the Židiki chapel was restored (architect Vytautas
Landsbergis-Žemkalnis). 1990 after the country regained its
independence, the collective farm in Židikai collapsed. The household
services pavilion, sauna, kindergarten, mechanical workshop were sold.
The land management service, the library, and a branch of the Mažeikiai
Music School were located in the former office of the collective farm.
Several private shops were established.
in 2006 In Židikai, next
to the sauna building, a park was established with a summer stage, a
playground, a gazebo, and a pond for swimming. in 2007 December 22 The
coat of arms of Židiki was approved by presidential decree. in 2008 July
26 the 440th anniversary of the town of Židiki was solemnly celebrated.
On that occasion, St. The mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Telšiai,
Jonas Boruta, and the member of the Seimas Audronė Pitrėnienė,
representatives of the municipality visited. M. Pečkauskaitė's park was
opened, a book about the town of Židiki was presented.
in 2010
April 30 The project "Renovation of the center of Židikiu town",
financed by the EU and the Mažeikiai district municipality budget, was
implemented, during which the buildings of the Independence Monument and
Market Square, the Culture Center and the town hall were repaired and
renovated. The project was completed in 2012. The value of the project
is 731,677 LTL.
in 2016 July 5 On the initiative of President
Valdas Adamkaus, commemorative plaques with the 1919-1920 years of
Židiki village were unveiled. In the names and surnames of the
volunteers of the independence struggles and the knights of the Vytis
Cross.