Žemaitija
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Samogitia Žemaitija Žemaitėjė |
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| Ethnographic region | |||
Samogitian landscape near Tverai
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| Motto(s): Patria una | |||
 Location of Samogitia in Europe |
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| Coordinates: 56°00′0″N 22°15′0″E / 56.00000°N 22.25000°ECoordinates: 56°00′0″N 22°15′0″E / 56.00000°N 22.25000°E | |||
| Country | Lithuania | ||
| Capital | Telšiai | ||
| Largest city | Šiauliai | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 21,000 km2 (8,000 sq mi) | ||
| Population | |||
| • Ethnicity | Samogitians, Lithuanians | ||
| • Languages | Lithuanian (Samogitian) | ||
| Demonym(s) |
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| Website | Unofficial website | ||
Samogitia or Žemaitija (Samogitian: Žemaitėjė; Lithuanian: Žemaitija; see below for alternate and historical names) is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. 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 dialect.
Ruthenian sources mentioned the region as жемотьская земля, jemotskaia zemlia; 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, Zamet or Zhamot.
Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania in the territories of:
Eastern parts of:
Western part of:
The largest city is Šiauliai, or Klaipėda if the latter is considered in the region. Telšiai is the capital, although Medininkai (now Varniai) was once the capital of the Duchy of Samogitia.
The largest cities are (Samogitian name, if different, is provided after slash):
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Wikipedia