Kalvarija, Lithuania

Infobox Settlement
name = Kalvarija
settlement_type= City
nickname =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Kalvarija
image_shield = Kalvarija COA.gif


image_caption =
latd=54|latm=25|lats=0|latNS=N|longd=23|longm=13|longs=0|longEW=E
coordinates_display= inline,title
coordinates_type = region:LT_type:city(5000)
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = LTU
subdivision_type1 = Ethnographic region
subdivision_name1 = Suvalkija
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Marijampolė County
subdivision_type3 = Municipality
subdivision_name3 = Kalvarija municipality
subdivision_type4 = Eldership
subdivision_name4 = Kalvarija eldership
subdivision_type6 = Capital of
subdivision_name6 = Kalvarija municipality
Kalvarija eldership
established_date = 1667
established_title = First mentioned
established_date2 = 1791
established_title2=Granted city rights
subdivision_name5 =
population_total = 5,066
population_as_of = 2005
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

Kalvarija is a city in southwestern Lithuania. It is located close to the border with Poland.

History

In 1705 the first wooden church was built. In 1713, local Jews received permission from King August II to build a synagogue and Jewish craftsmen were first permitted to practice their crafts without having to be members of the craft guilds. In 1791 Stanisław August Poniatowski recognized that Kalvarija had the right to call itself a town and confirmed the municipality's coat of arms. Kalvarija developed rapidly when the new St. Petersburg–Warsaw road was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century. 1840 saw the construction of a new Catholic church, which still stands today. By the outbreak of World War I, Kalvarija had over 10,000 inhabitants; the destruction of two-thirds of the town during the war caused the population to decline.

External links

* [http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/pinkas_lita/lit_00590.html “Kalvarija” - Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Lithuania]