Seinai – lietuviškumo židinys

ENThe district of Seinai is situated in the southern part of Suvalkai region. It was a part of the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania and belonged to the Trakai voivodeship up to the partitions. When the Kingdom of Poland had stopped to exist it became a part of the Suvalkai province. According to official data the district had 99300 inhabitants in 1914: 59,71% of them were Lithuanians, 22,5% - Poles, 11,72% - Jews, 4,37% - Russians. The bigger part of the district is in Juodoji Ančia basin and the main river is Seina (now it is called the Marycha). The name of the town Seinai comes from the name of the river. In the historical documents Seinai is mentioned in 1522, when the king Sigismund the Old presented J. M. Wiśniowiecki with the part of the Przelomski forest near the river Seina. The duke built there his manor house and initiated the beginning of the town. Jurgis Grudzinskas became the owner of the manor house at the end of the 16th century. He did not have his own inheritors and donated his estates to the Dominicans from Vilnius. The monks started building the church and the monastery. The Suvalkai region became the part of Prussia after the third partition of Rzeczpospolita. The Prussian authorities formed a new diocese in Vygriai in 1798. Soon Seinai became the residence of the diocese. The Dominicans left Seinai and their monastery was reorganized into the seminary.Most of the seminarians were of the Lithuanian descent and major part of them graduated the secondary school in Marijampolė. The second half of the 19th century is usually associated with the Lithuanian cultural - national revival. Seminarians took the active part in the movement. The most active ones were: Antanas Staniukynas, P. Kriaučiūnas, A. Radusis, A. Milkus, V Matulaitis, Vincas Kudirka and others. The seminarians set up their secret organizations to help Lithuanian publishing houses and distribute the prohibited Lithuanian press. They helped financially to publish magazine ‘Varpas’ (published by ex-seminarian Vincas Kudirka) which became the manifesto magazine of the Lithuanian cultural - national revival movement. The Lithuanian press ban was lifted by the Tsar’s authorities in 1904. The priests, mostly the teachers of the seminary, initiated the organization of the Lithuanian publishing house. It was opened in 1906 and was called ‘Laukaitis. Dvaranauskas. Narjauskas and company’. The most important and the best known publication was the weekly magazine ‘Šaltinis’ printed in 15000 copies. The magazine for priests ‘Vadovas’ and the biweekly magazine ‘Spindulys’ started to be published in 1908. The printing house published about 1000000 copies of various books.