Juodšiliai Eldership
Juodšilių seniūnija
Eldership administrative building in Juodšiliai
Eldership administrative building in Juodšiliai
Location of Juodšiliai Eldership
Location of Juodšiliai Eldership
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionDzūkija
County Vilnius County
Municipality Vilnius District Municipality
Administrative centreJuodšiliai
Government
  ElderTadeuš Aškalianec
Area
  Total23.63 km2 (9.12 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[1]
  Total4,671
  Density200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Websitehttps://www.vrsa.lt

Juodšiliai Eldership (Lithuanian: Juodšilių seniūnija) is an eldership in Lithuania, located in Vilnius District Municipality, south of Vilnius.

Etymology

The name Juodšiliai means "the black groves" . The village was named sometime after 1920, and takes its name from the surrounding coniferous forests.[2]

Geography and nature

Rudaminėlė, a tributary of Vokė, flows along the northwest border of the eldership.

History

The settlement appeared relatively recently. Until World War I, the area was a forest (named Juodasis Šilas), which was felled by German soldiers. A railway was laid to transport the timber, and a train station was built nearby.[3]

The cleared space near the railway gave rise to a railroad worker village Reslerava.[3]

The scenic area was favoured by the intelligentsia of Vilnius, and a campsite was built there.[2]

In 1919, a school was opened in the village, and a monastery worked between 1920 and 1939. An orphanage also worked from 1924 to 1946.[2]

The construction of a church was started in 1936, but was halted due to the war. After it, the church building was used to establish a foster home, later a hospital, but a fire in 1991 damaged the building. In 2001, the church was returned to its original purpose, and the church was officially inaugurated in 2016.[2]

Populated places

9 villages are located in the eldership, the largest of which are Juodšiliai and Valčiūnai.

Notable locations

  • Juodšiliai Church of the Blessed Mykolas Sopočka
  • Juodšiliai tumulus
  • Dusinėnai tumuli
  • Prūdiškės Manor ruins
  • Writer Józef Mackiewicz farmhouse in Juodšiliai
  • Kelmytė ancient charcoal-burning place

Ethnic composition

According to the 2011 census:[4]

Notable people

  • Uršulė Leduchovska (1865-1939), nun, actively helped the impoverished and young women. Recognized as a saint in 2003.
  • Mykolas Sopočka (1880-1975), catholic priest, professor of theology, who sheltered in the village from Soviet deportations.
  • Józef Mackiewicz (1902-1985), Polish writer, publicist and politician. Lived in Juodšiliai during the Soviet occupation.

References

  1. "Department of Statistics". Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Vilniaus rajono savivaldybės administracija - Darbuotojų informacija". www.vrsa.lt. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. 1 2 "Juodšiliai". www.vle.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  4. Republic of Lithuania 2011 National Census data
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