Last modified: 2023-06-03 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: vilkyskiai | pagegiai | taurage |
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image by Virginijus Misiunas, 7 December 2009
See also:
Vilkyskiai (Pagegiai municipality) - on a green field a golden
lorry loaded with a chest and three books, above three silver
8-pointed stars. Flag proportions 10:11, fringe is golden, finial
is a golden knob.
The charge refers to the Lithuanian books printed in Lithuania
Minor and smuggled during night time to Great
Lithuania. Since 1864 till 1904 the Lithuanian language and
Lithuanian printouts were prohibited in the Russian
Empire. So Lithuanians used to print books in Lithuania Minor
(dependency of Germany), smuggle them over the border of
empires and later distribute them through the network of
underground organizations, called "knygnesiai"
("book carriers"). All this activity was strictly
persecuted, but most the dangerous point on the way of books was
crossing the border, where book carriers seriously risked their
lives. Vilkyskiai, the border town of Lithuania Minor,
was an important point of this "noble
smuggling".
The 8-pointed stars also symbolize revival and knowledge.
Virginijus Misiunas, 7 December 2009