Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Telšiai
Summary
Telšiai (; Samogitian: Telšē) is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis.
Telšiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania, probably dating earlier than the 14th century. Between the 15th and 20th centuries, Telšiai became a district capital. Until 1795, Telšiai County formed the Duchy of Samogitia within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Between 1795 and 1802 it was included in the Vilnius Governorate. In 1873, Telšiai was transferred to the Kovno Governorate.
The name Telšiai is a variant of the same Lithuanian language root (-telš-, -tilž-) as Tilžė with the meaning connected to water. The name Telšiai or Telšē in Samogitian dialect of Lithuanian is derived from a verb telkšoti (literally, to be flooded with water, to splash, etc.). The name of Telšiai has been recorded in different forms and different languages throughout its history. Most of them are derived from Telšē in Samogitian dialect. Some foreign names for the city include Telši; Telsche, Telschi; Telsze; Тельшяй, Тельши, Тяльшяй. In Yiddish, the name is (Telz). In English sources, Telšiai are known also by several alternative names, including Telsiai, Telshi and Telschi.
Lake Mastis is mentioned in various legends and myths. The city was named after a small rivulet, the Telšė, which flows into Lake Mastis. A legend has it that a knight named Džiugas founded the city. Telšiai was first mentioned in written sources around 1450, but the oldest archeological findings in the area of the city are from the Stone Age. In the 15th century, Telšiai already had a state-owned manor. It and the parish were governed by Samogitian elders. Telšiai was at the centre of an uprising of Samogitian peasants.
At the end of the 17th century Telšiai became the centre of culture and politics of Samogitia. Local parliaments known as Sejmiks composed of noblemen were organised in the city and a court was established. Magdeburg rights were granted to Telšiai in the 17th century.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.