{"id":4240,"date":"2015-07-06T15:12:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/?p=4240"},"modified":"2016-11-13T16:33:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-13T14:33:11","slug":"brief-visit-to-marijampole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/2015\/07\/brief-visit-to-marijampole\/","title":{"rendered":"Brief visit to Marijampol\u0117"},"content":{"rendered":"

I attended a debate in Marijampol\u0117, the seventh-largest town in Lithuania, which was an occasion to visit this town for the first time. As a regional center of Lithuania’s historically most affluent region, Suvalkija, it continuously appeared in school textbooks. Many prominent writers and Lithuanian independence activists were from this region and had studied in Marijampol\u0117. Still, I couldn\u2032t have named any major landmark. It was not a part of the itinerary of high school trips either. Still, the town has a very interesting history and is worth exploring.<\/p>\n

Marijampol\u0117<\/a>\u2032s predecessor town was known since the 17th century. Its name is derived from Marian monks. The region\u2032s location made it an important trade and cultural center, one of the hubs of book smuggling when writing in Latin alphabet was forbidden under the Tzarist regime, and the first region were serfs were liberated. Therefore it was the first to develop a middle class. I had certainly heard of Rygi\u0161ki\u0173 Jono high school, but I still couldn\u2032t say who exactly it is named after. Many famous people studied there – as one can see, only one woman is listed on this plaque, and in fact there are calls to remove her from the ranks of \u2032canonized\u2032 Lithuanian writers because she was a Communist.<\/p>\n

\"Rygi\u0161ki\u0173<\/a>

Rygi\u0161ki\u0173 Jono gimnazija [click on the images to enlarge them]<\/div>Historically the town was home to several industries, such as sugar and textiles factories and a transport hub. Now sugar and meat production are in the hands of a large and powerful conglomerate, Arvi. The owners of this business are keen on sponsoring arts and culture, and it seems that quite a few of new monuments and cultural events are brought to the citizens by this conglomerate.<\/p>\n

As I walked down Kauno street (many roads in smaller towns are named after larger cities that these roads lead to, in this case Kaunas), I saw few people in general, but, remarkably, quite a few were cycling on comfortable bike lanes, much better than in Kaunas and in many places in Vilnius. I saw that the town\u2032s cinema, called Spindulys, was looked somewhat empty, but after all, it was a summer day, and there was an interesting exhibition inside about people with mental disabilities living in care institutions.<\/p>\n

I then crossed the main square, named after editor and Lithuanian independence activist Jonas Basanavi\u010dius, where I saw that there were two large umbrellas put up by the municipality for residents to enjoy a shade. On the other side of the square there were fashion stores and familiar coffee brands. Close by there was a cultural venue for concerts, with posters for an upcoming jazz gig. I didn\u2032t see many sculptures, but this bird is my absolute favorite.<\/p>\n

\"Marijampol\u0117<\/a>

Marijampol\u0117 bird<\/p><\/div>\n

I walked around to see two churches, one protestant and one catholic, and a few streets. A few years ago my friend Erick took many more photos from the region:<\/p>\n