This week we travel to Seda, a small Žemaitija town. Seda’s synagogue (credit: Yad Vashem, photo from FB page Lietuva senose fotografijose) 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 busyContinueContinue reading “Shtetl of the Week: Seda”
Tag Archives: Shtetls
Shtetl of the week: starting a new series with Dusetos
In the “Shtetl of the Week” series, I explore and share traces of Jewish heritage in former Lithuanian shtetls. Each week focuses on one town, highlighting surviving sites, personal stories, notable Litvaks, artistic contributions, cemeteries, and Holocaust memorials, offering a glimpse into the life, memory, and legacy of these communities.
How to plan a Jewish Heritage or Family roots trip to Lithuania
For more than ten years, I am helping visitors from all over the world discover and reconnect with Lithuania’s Jewish past. In this conversation, she shares how to plan a Jewish heritage or family roots trip to Lithuania, what a typical three-day journey looks like, and how even independent travellers often find deeper meaning through her personalized itineraries.
Jewish Roots Tour: Exploring Kvėdarna and Gargždai
Tracing Family Roots in Western Lithuania This Jewish roots tour to Kvėdarna (Khveidan) and Gargždai (Gorzhd) was long in the making—planned over several years. These two former shtetls are in western Lithuania. They may not have much physical heritage left. However, their emotional significance remains powerful. On this one-day journey, we followed in the footstepsContinueContinue reading “Jewish Roots Tour: Exploring Kvėdarna and Gargždai”
Tracing Jewish History in Lithuania: Kaunas to Telz Tour Insights
This Jewish heritage tour led us from Kaunas (Kovna) and Kėdainiai (Keidan) to the town of Telšiai, known to many by its Yiddish name, Telz. Once a major center of Jewish learning, Telz was home to one of the most renowned yeshivas in Eastern Europe. Though little remains physically, we stood in the streets whereContinueContinue reading “Tracing Jewish History in Lithuania: Kaunas to Telz Tour Insights”
A Town and Its Jews: Tytuvėnai
Tytuvėnai, first documented in the 16th century, evolved from a small manor settlement to a town marked by ownership changes and external conflicts. Despite hardships, including wars and the Holocaust that devastated its Jewish community, it has gradually rebounded, developing into a quiet town known for its natural beauty.
Life in Shtetl
The text explores the significance of shtetls in Jewish history, particularly in Lithuania, where Jewish communities shaped local life from the 18th century onward. Shtetls served as cultural and economic hubs, fostering rich traditions, education, and community structures while navigating external pressures and a largely separate existence from non-Jewish populations.
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter: Father of the Musar Movement
“Rev Salanter, I can only spare one half-hour to devote to learning. For which subject should I best utilise this precious time?””Well, in this case”, responded the Rabbi, “devote it whole to the study of Musar. For, when you study that subject carefully and diligently, you will inevitably discover that you can find another halfContinueContinue reading “Rabbi Yisrael Salanter: Father of the Musar Movement”
Rozalimas (Rozalye)
The whole 19th century a small town of Rozalimas (Rozalye) was in the worst position comparing to nearby Pakruojis (Pokroy) or Šeduva (Shadeve). However, at the end of the 19th century the town’s population increased (there were 549 people here, half of them were Jews). Like in any Jewish shtetl, a synagogue, a mikveh, aContinueContinue reading “Rozalimas (Rozalye)”
Litvak Shtetls 