Šiauliai (/ʃaʊˈleɪ/; Lithuanian: (listen); Samogitian: Šiaulē) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 99,462 in 2022. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different languages: Samogitian Šiaulē, Latvian Saule (historic) and Šauļi (modern), German (outdated) Schaulen, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯lən] (listen), Polish Szawle, Russian Шавли (Shavli – historic) and Шяуля́й (Shyaulyai – modern), Yiddish שאַװל (Shavel). The city was first mentioned in written sources as Soule in Livonian Order chronicles describing the Battle of Saule. Thus the city's founding date is now considered to be 22 September 1236, the same date when the battle took place, not far from Šiauliai. At first, it developed as a defence post against the raids by the Teutonic and Livonian Orders. After the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the raids stopped and Šiauliai started to develop as an agricultural settlement. In 1445, a wooden church was built. It was replaced in 1625 with the brick church which can be seen in the city center today. More information...
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