Eržvilkas (Samogitian: Eržvėlks) is a town in Taurage County, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 429 people.[1]
Eržvilkas | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Eržvilkas | |
| Coordinates: 55°15′50″N 22°42′30″E / 55.26389°N 22.70833°E | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| County | Tauragė County |
| Municipality | Jurbarkas District Municipality |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 429 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Etymology
editEržilas + vilkas ("stallion" + "wolf"). The name of the town comes from the name of the local stream with the same name, a tributary of the Šaltuona river. According to a local legend, a detachment of Crusaders was chased off after one Samoginian scared Crusader's horses by wolf's scent by covering his stallion with wolf's hide and letting him go onto the Crusader's herd. This event is reflected in the coat of arms of the town.[2]
History
editJewish history
editBefore World War II and the Holocaust, the village had an important Jewish community. In 1923, they were 46% of the total population.
At the beginning of the Second World War there were 180 Jews living in the village.[3][4]
In 1941 these Jews were exploited as forced labour.[5] In September 1941, they were murdered in mass executions perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen of Lithuanian policemen at the Gryblaukis forest.[6]
Notable residents
edit- Hermann Schapira (1840-1898), a mathematician and important forerunner of the Zionist movement, was born here
References
edit- ^ "2011 census". Statistikos Departamentas (Lithuania). Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- ^ Gitana Kazimieraitienė, "Legendos pasakoja". Lietuvos geografiniai objektai, Kaunas, Šviesa, 2008, p. 100
- ^ "Pinkas Hakehillot Lita: Erzvilkas". jewishgen.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "ERZVILKAS: Kovno | lithuania - International Jewish Cemetery Project". iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה - יד ושם". yadvashem.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "Taurage county - Online Guide of Murder Sites of Jews in the Former USSR - Yad Vashem". yadvashem.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.