Obeliai

Obeliai
City
St. Anne's Church
Coat of arms of Obeliai
Obeliai is located in Lithuania
Obeliai
Obeliai
Location of Obeliai
Coordinates: 55°56′0″N 25°48′0″E / 55.93333°N 25.80000°E / 55.93333; 25.80000
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionAukštaitija
County Panevėžys County
MunicipalityRokiškis district municipality
EldershipObeliai eldership
Capital ofObeliai eldership
First mentioned1519
Granted city rights1956
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
842
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Obeliai (pronunciation; Polish: Abele, Yiddish: אבעל Abel) is a small city in the Rokiškis district municipality of Panevėžys County, Lithuania. At the foot of the town is one of the area's many lakes.

The town of Obeliai is small due in no small part to the diversion of the railway; the station remains but is no longer in use.[citation needed]

History

A windmill in Obeliai

The arms of the town were granted on August 8, 1993. Obeliai was first mentioned in the 16th century and received city rights in 1957. The town did not use any arms until the above arms were designed in 1993. The blue bend symbolises the Kriauna River, the silver field, the Lake Obeliai. The three apple blossoms on the bend are canting (sloping), "obelis" meaning apple tree. Apples used to be a major export of Obeliai, with many orchards surrounding the town. This industry is all but gone now.

In August 1941, all the Jewish residents of Obeliai and the surrounding villages were taken into the Antanašė Forest by the Nazis, made to dig a long trench and then shot and buried.[1] The Jäger Report stated that on August 25, 1941, a total of 1,160 Jews, consisting of 112 men, 627 women, and 421 children were killed.[2]

Famous residents

References

  1. ^ "Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania".
  2. ^ Klee, Ernst; Dressen, Willi; Riess, Volker (1988). "The Good Old Days": The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders. The Free Press. pp. 46–58. ISBN 9781568521336.
  3. ^ https://kevarim.com/rabbi-chaim-nosson-shochet/ [bare URL]