Privataus miestelio raida Žemaitijoje : Kelmės atvejis (XVI a. pabaiga - XVIII a. pradžia)

ENThe article analyses development of Kelmė as a private town of the Grużewski family in the late 16th - early 18th century which, as the majority of towns in Samogitia, was shaken by the hardships of the time (famine, wars, and plague epidemics). Citizens were also divided by the discords between Catholic and Protestant confessional communities. Several aspects are noted in unfolding the peculiarity of Kelmė as a private town. First is a clearly visible initiative of the owners of the town to change structure and space of the town: 1) by the end of the 16th century the town is re-measured and the system of streets is formed, changing spatial composition of the town by the 18th century; 2) in the late 17th century among dominant wooden architecture of the town first two brick buildings are erected, representing status of the Grużewski (manor gates and Evangelical Reformed church); 3) in the early 18th century on the outskirts of the town by the River Kražantė a dam is built. Second, the shrinking community of local citizens was replenished through natural migration of inhabitants, however at the same time owners of the town also showed initiative to restore the numbers by enabling settlement of serfs from surrounding villages, Samogitian (locals, arrivals of Polish and Russian descent) low and middle level nobles, Germans (coming from Livonia), Scots (from Kėdainiai) and Jews.Scottish and German arrivals who settled in the town belonged to a privileged group of “lords” tradesmen (e.g. A. Alant, J. Bandof, T. Hey). Jews, visible in the town since late 17th century were craftsmen, tradesmen and merchants. They had a community (kaliai), a synagogue, a school and a cemetery. Jews and foreigners were the most important movers of trade in Kelmė town. Temporary home renters in Kelmė from various social, ethnic groups demonstrate vitality of the town and circulation therein. Widening specialization of craftsmen, their turnover and quantitative concentration in Kelmė shows that not only daily needs could be satisfied in the town but also cultural and luxury ones. Such changing community of citizens was providing owners of the town with regular income (from the citizens’ taxes, a pub, a mill, markets and shops) and sporadically circulating irregular income (sale of land plots, visiting home renters), which was significant financial capital for the Grużewski family. [From the publication]