Suvalkija
Suvalkija or Sudovia is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija are called suvalkiečiai or suvalkietis in Lithuanian. It is located south of the Neman River, in the former territory of Vilkaviškis bishopric. Historically, it is the newest ethnographic region, as its most distinct characteristics and separate regional identity formed during the 19th century when the territory was part of Congress Poland. It was never a separate political entity, and even today, it has no official status in the administrative division of Lithuania. However, it continues to be the subject of studies focusing on Lithuanian folk culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Most of Lithuania's cultural differences blended or disappeared during the Soviet occupation, remaining the longest in southeastern Lithuania. The concept remains popular among Lithuanian people. A 2008 survey of freshmen and sophomores at Kaunas' Vytautas Magnus University found that 80% of the students continued to identify themselves with one of the regions. Efforts are made to preserve, record, and promote any remaining aspects of the original folk culture.
Geography
Suvalkija is in the southwest part of Lithuania. The largest city located entirely within the region in Marijampolė, which is considered to be the capital, though not in a strict political sense. Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas is bisected by the Neman River, placing the southern part of the city in this region and the northern part in Aukštaitija.Subdivisions
| Subdivision | Note |
| Marijampolė County | entire county |
| Prienai District Municipality | excluding Jieznas Eldership and Stakliškės Eldership |
| Kaunas District Municipality | Zapyškis Eldership, Akademija Eldership, Ežerėlis, Alšėnai Eldership, Ringaudai Eldership, Akademija Eldership, Garliava, Garliava Area Eldership, Rokai Eldership, Taurakiemis Eldership and Samylai Eldership |
| Kaunas | Aleksotas Eldership, Panemunė Eldership |
Demographics
The largest cities are:- Marijampolė – 34,968
- Garliava – 9,873
- Vilkaviškis – 9,444
- Prienai - 8,651
- Kazlų Rūda – 5,666
- Šakiai - 5,269
- Kybartai – 4,461
- Kalvarija – 3,766
Naming
Region
In Lithuania, three different names have been applied to the region, causing some confusion:- Sudovia is derived from the ancient Baltic tribe of Sudovians, the original inhabitants of the region. The term Sudovia is ambiguous as it is also used to refer to the ancient Sudovian-inhabited areas, which stretched much further south.
- Suvalkija is derived from the former Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland. The city of Suwałki, since its establishment in 1690, was a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795. It became part of independent Poland in 1919.
- Užnemunė describes the geographical location of the region, but is not entirely accurate. The southwestern portion of Dzūkija, sometimes known as Dainava, is also on the left bank of the river. The areas became distinct as a result of drastically different economic developments in Suvalkija and Dzūkija.
Sub-regions
Suvalkija is roughly subdivided into two areas, inhabited by Zanavykai and by Kapsai. Zanavykai occupy northern Suvalkija, in the area approximately bounded by the Neman, Šešupė, and Višakis Rivers. Before 1795, that part of Suvalkija lay within the Eldership of Samogitia, while the rest was within the Trakai Voivodeship. Šakiai is considered to be the capital of this subregion, sometimes called Zanavykija. Another important center is in Veliuona. The name Zanavykai is derived from the Nova River, a tributary of the Šešupė River. People who lived beyond the river became known as Zanavykai. The prefix za- and the suffix -yk are Slavic. To correct this, linguists proposed naming the group Užnoviečiai or Užnoviškiai, terms which also mean "beyond the Nova river" but follow Lithuanian language precedents. However, this proposal did not gain popular support and the term Zanavykai is still widely used.Kapsai inhabits southern Suvalkija, with major centers in Marijampolė and Vilkaviškis. The term is not used by local inhabitants to identify themselves, but is rather a term coined by linguists; it did not gain much popularity in the public. When linguists classified Lithuanian language dialects, they identified two major sub-dialects in Suvalkija: one in the territory inhabited by Zanavykai and another in the south. Southerners pronounced the word kaip as kap. This distinct characteristic earned them the name Kapsai, but they could also be called Tepsai as they pronounced word taip as tep. A revised classification of the dialects, proposed in 1965 by linguists Zigmas Zinkevičius and Aleksas Girdenis, eliminates this distinction and deems the local dialect a sub-dialect of Western Aukštaitian dialect. However, other cultural distinctions between Zanavykai and Kapsai exist, including their traditional clothing styles.
History
Political history
The lands of the Sudovians were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 13th century. The region was frequently ravaged by the Teutonic Knights and was abandoned by most of its inhabitants. After the 1422 Treaty of Melno, its western borders were fixed and the territory became the sole property of the Grand Duke himself. In 1569, the Grand Duchy joined the Kingdom of Poland to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Suvalkija, as part of the larger territory on the left bank of the Neman River, was incorporated into the Province of East Prussia. This meant that Suvalkija was separated from Lithuania Proper, which was taken by the Russian Empire. In 1807, Suvalkija was briefly part of the Duchy of Warsaw, a small Polish state established by Napoleon Bonaparte, before being incorporated in 1815 into Congress Poland, an entity formed by personal union with the Russian Empire. During the remainder of the 19th and early 20th century, Suvalkija was administratively part of the Augustów Governorate, and later of the Suwałki Governorate. Russian census statistics showed that Lithuanians formed a slight majority in the northern part of the governorate, and that Poles, concentrated in the Suwalszczyzna in the south, accounted for about 23% of the Governorate's total population. Lithuania and Poland regained independence after World War I, and disputed their borders in this region. The Suwałki Governorate was split more or less along ethnic lines. Suvalkija has since been part of Lithuania, and Suwalszczyzna – part of Poland.Economic history
Suvalkija has long been known as an affluent agricultural region. An increased demand for wood prompted resettlement and deforestation of the region during the 16th and 17th centuries. The demand led to illegal tree-harvesting incursions from the Duchy of Prussia. To discourage this, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania established several border villages between Jurbarkas and Virbalis. Queen Bona Sforza, who governed the land on behalf of her husband, Sigismund I the Old, between 1527 and 1556, was especially supportive of these new settlements. Resettlement also came from the north, particularly along the Neman River. There large territories were granted by the Grand Duke to various nobles, including the Sapieha family. These settlements slowly spread further south and east.By the mid-17th century, the pace of resettlement had slowed. The demand for wood experienced a sharp decrease, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost almost half of its population due to the Northern Wars, famine, and plague. Settlers were attracted by its fertile farmland, which had largely been cleared of forests, and by the relative ease of serfdom in the area: because much of the land was owned by the Grand Duke himself, serfs did not have to perform corvée. The repopulation in private holdings of nobles in the north took place at a much slower rate. Another important factor in the area's regrowth was the proximity of East Prussia and its capital Königsberg. The city had become a major trade center and was the second-largest export destination of the Grand Duchy. Kudirkos Naumiestis was the region's gateway to Prussia. When the Great Northern War depopulated Lithuania further, the repopulation of Suvalkija was almost complete.
Serfdom in Suvalkija was abolished in 1807 by Napoleon Bonaparte; peasants acquired personal freedoms, although they could not own land. That changed only in 1861, when serfdom was abolished in the entire Russian Empire. After the Uprising of 1863, peasants were given free land. By the 1820s, farmers in Suvalkija had begun to divide their villages into individual farmsteads. This development is a clear indicator of economic prosperity among the peasants. The old three-field system was becoming obsolete; under that system, the land was managed by the community, and individuals could not introduce any technological advances without their approval. By contrast, in other parts of Lithuania, this process did not begin until serfdom was abolished throughout the Empire in 1861, intensifying after the Stolypin reform in 1906.
Early abolition of serfdom, fertile land, and close economic ties with East Prussia contributed to Suvalkija's relative wealth. This situation led to the ongoing perception that its inhabitants are very rational, clever, and extremely frugal, even greedy. Such stereotypes, also applied to other regions, gave rise to many anecdotes and practical jokes.
Suvalkija remains the least-forested area of Lithuania. The third-largest forest in Lithuania, Kazlų Rūda Forest, is in Suvalkija, but is located on sandy soil unsuitable for farming. Suvalkija remains one of the most important agricultural regions of Lithuania, harvesting large crops of sugar beets.