Pikeliai Explained

Official Name:Pikeliai
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Lithuania
Pushpin Label Position:Location in Lithuania
Subdivision Name: Lithuania
Subdivision Type1:County
Subdivision Name1:Telšiai County
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Mažeikiai district municipality
Subdivision Type3:Eldership
Subdivision Name3:Židikai eldership
Population As Of:2011
Population Total:378
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+2
Timezone Dst:EEST
Utc Offset Dst:+3
Coordinates:56.4169°N 22.1111°W

Pikeliai (Polish: Pikiele,) is a town in Telšiai County, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 378 people.[1] Pikeliai is named after the nearby "Pikelhof" estate.[2] [3]

History

Pikeliai was first mentioned in 1594 in the Books of the Courts of Samogitian land. In 1598 it had 19 valakas (unit of measure in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; 1 valakas is equal to 21 ha).

In 1625 Protestant Bilevičius demolished Catholic church in Pikeliai but it was rebuilt in 1636. The new church was built in 1752.

The first parish school of Pikeliai is mentioned in 1805. In 1865 it was reorganized to public primary school.

In 1897 a total of 1206 Jewish people made up 68% of the population in Pikeliai. By 1921 the increasingly hostile situation had brought the Jewish population down to 286 people.

Between 3 and 9 August 1941, all the Jewish families that had not fled Pikeliai were taken out of town and killed by the Nazis and their Lithuanian collaborators.[4] [5] [6]

Nowadays Pikeliai has Catholic church, high school, medical office, public library, post office etc.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2011 census. Statistikos Departamentas (Lithuania). August 13, 2017.
  2. Book: Lithuanian Jewish communities. English.
  3. Web site: Protecting Our Litvak Heritage (Pages 197-208). www.jewishgen.org. 2020-02-28.
  4. Book: Vashem, Yad. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust: K-Sered. 2001. NYU Press. 978-0-8147-9377-0. en.
  5. Web site: PIKELIAI: Kovno Lithuania International Jewish Cemetery Project. IAJGS Cemetery Project. en-gb. 2020-02-28.
  6. Web site: In loving memory of those who were murdered in Mazeikiai in the war years. kehilalinks.jewishgen.org. 2020-02-28.