This week we travel to Seda, a small Žemaitija town.
Its’ history reaches back to the early 1500s, and perhaps even earlier. Once an important border trade center with Livonia, it grew around a manor, a parish founded in 1508, and a busy market square. By the 17th century, Seda was known for its Monday markets and annual fairs that drew people from across the region.
Jews likely settled here after the Swedish War, and by the late 18th century they formed the majority in the town center. Their shops, kromai, stretched in long rows around the market and became so famous that artists like Mstislav Dobuzhinsky came to paint them. By the early 20th century, Seda’s Jews were involved in nearly every part of local economic life: trade, crafts, workshops, mills, restaurants, and even law and medicine.
This peaceful world was destroyed in 1941, when about 500 Jews from Seda were murdered. Today, only fragments remain: a synagogue site, a handful of Jewish homes, worn gravestones, and a solitary memorial.
A walk through Seda today becomes a tribute to those who more than 80 years ago called it home.
Litvak Shtetls 