Samogitia

Samogitia or Žemaitija (Samogitian: Žemaitėjė; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania alongside Lithuania proper. Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai. Žemaitija has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian language. Ruthenian sources mentioned the region as жемотьская земля, Žemot'skaja zemlja; this gave rise to its Polish form, Żmudź, and probably to the Middle High German Sameiten, Samaythen. In Latin texts, the name is usually written as Samogitia, Samogetia etc. The area has long been known to its residents and to other Lithuanians exclusively as Žemaitija (the name Samogitia is no longer in use within Lithuania and has not been used for at least two centuries); Žemaitija means "lowlands" in Lithuanian. The region is also known in English as Lower Lithuania or, in reference to its Yiddish names, זאַמעט or זאַמוט . Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania in the territories of: Akmenė District Municipality Jurbarkas District Municipality Kelmė District Municipality Kretinga District Municipality Mažeikiai District Municipality Palanga city municipality Plungė District Municipality Raseiniai District Municipality Rietavas Municipality Šilalė District Municipality Skuodas District Municipality Tauragė District Municipality Telšiai District Municipality Šiauliai District Municipality Eastern parts of: Klaipėda District Municipality Šilutė District Municipality Western part of: Joniškis District Municipality Šiauliai city municipality. The largest city is Šiauliai (Šiaulē). Telšiai (Telšē) is the capital, although Medininkai (now Varniai; Varnē) was once the capital of the Duchy of Samogitia.