Editing Samogitia

{{Short description|Lithuanian ethnographic region}}
{{About|the ethnographic region of Lithuania|info about the historical Samogitian [[Duchy]]|Duchy of Samogitia}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox settlement <!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name = Samogitia
| native_name = Žemaitija
| native_name_lang = lt<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| other_name = Žemaitėjė
| settlement_type = [[Cultural regions of Lithuania|Ethnographic region of Lithuania]]
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage
| color = #ffffff
| photo1a = Palanga by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg{{!}}Aerial view of Palanga
| photo1b = Pluņģes pils - panoramio.jpg{{!}}Plungė Manor
| photo2a = Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Šiauliai, Lithuania in 2018.jpg{{!}}Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Šiauliai
| photo2b = The Hill of Crosses - panoramio (1).jpg{{!}}Hill of Crosses
| photo3a = City center of Telšiai with a clock tower in 2019.jpg {{!}} Clocktower square in Telšiai
| spacing = 2
| border = 0
| size = 260
}}
| image_caption = {{hlist|From top, left to right: [[Palanga]]|[[Plungė Manor]]|[[Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Šiauliai]]|[[Hill of Crosses]]| Clocktower square in [[Telšiai]]}}
| image_flag = Flag_of_Žemaitija.svg
| flag_size = 125px
| flag_border = no
| flag_alt =
| image_shield = Grand_Coat_of_Arms_of_Samogitia.svg
| shield_alt =
| shield_size = x75px
| motto = Patria Una
| image_map = Žemaitija location Lithuania.svg
| map_alt = Map indicating the location of Samogitia within Lithuania
| map_caption = Location of Samogitia within Lithuania
| coordinates = {{Coord|56|00|0|N|22|15|0|E|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[Lithuania]]
| subdivision_type1 =
| subdivision_name1 =
| subdivision_type2 =
| subdivision_name2 =
| seat_type = Capital
| seat = [[Telšiai]]
| seat1_type = Largest city
| seat1 = [[Šiauliai]]
| unit_pref = Metric
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| area_footnotes =
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| area_rural_footnotes = <!--<ref name="auto"/> -->
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| area_note =
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| area_total_km2 = 16,872
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| population_footnotes = <ref>{{citation|title=Nuolatinių gyventojų skaičius liepos 1 d.|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?indicator=S3R166#/|website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref> 
| population_total = 506665
| population_as_of = 2021
| population_density_km2 = 30
| population_demonym = {{unbulleted list
| [[Samogitians|Samogitian]] {{small|([[English language|English]])}}
| {{nowrap|''žemaitis'' {{small|([[Grammatical gender|masc]]) and}}<br/>''žemaitė'' {{small|([[Grammatical gender|fem]]) ([[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]])}}}}
}}
| population_note =
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| utc_offset1 = +2
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| utc_offset1_DST = +3
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}}

'''Samogitia''', often known by its [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] name '''''Žemaitija'''''{{efn|{{IPA|lt|ʒʲɛˈmɐɪˑtʲiːjɛ|}}}} ([[Samogitian language|Samogitian]]: ''Žemaitėjė''; see [[Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names|below]] for alternative and historical names) is one of the five [[cultural regions of Lithuania]] and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] alongside [[Lithuania proper]].<ref name="vle">{{cite web |last1=Gudavičius |first1=Edvardas |title=Žemaitija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/zemaitija/ |website=[[Vle.lt]] |access-date=9 April 2021 |language=lt}}</ref>

Žemaitija is located in northwestern [[Lithuania]]. Its capital city is [[Telšiai]] and the largest city is [[Šiauliai]] (located on the border between Samogitia and [[Aukštaitija]]). Throughout centuries, Samogitia developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, songs, traditions, and a distinct [[Samogitian language]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=KTU|last1=Mikašytė |first1=Vilma |title=Is the Samogitian language going to die out? Implications of showing pride in being a Samogitian and attitudes towards Samogitianness on Samogitian Facebook pages |date=October 2017 |publisher=[[Kaunas University of Technology]] |url=https://www.vdu.lt/cris/bitstream/20.500.12259/34459/3/ISSN2335-2027_2017_N_10.PG_75-97.pdf |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref>

Famous landmarks include [[Tauragė Castle]], [[Plungė Manor]] and [[Hill of Crosses]].

==Etymology and alternative names==
The region is primarily referred to by its Lithuanian name, ''Žemaitija'', in both local and national contexts. The [[Latin language|Latin]]-derived term Samogitia, once widely used in historical sources, largely fell out of common administrative and colloquial use in the 19th century. The name Žemaitija, derived from the Lithuanian words ''žemas'' ("low") and ''žemė'' ("land"), translates to "lowlands," reflecting the region’s geographical characteristics. While Samogitia persists in historical and academic discussions, it is considered an archaic exonym in modern contexts, with Žemaitija remaining the standard designation.<ref name="Suziedelis2011">{{cite book|author=Saulius A. Suziedelis|title=Historical Dictionary of Lithuania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkGB1CSfIlEC&pg=PA263|date=7 February 2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7536-4|page=263}}</ref>

[[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]] sources mentioned the region as жемотьская земля, ''Žemot'skaja zemlja''; this gave rise to its [[Polish language|Polish]] form, {{lang|pl|Żmudź}}, and probably to the [[Middle High German]] {{lang|gmh|Sameiten, Samaythen}}. In Latin texts, the name is usually written as {{lang|la|Samogitia, Samogetia}}, etc.<ref name="circum">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsesLE3efLwC&q=samogitia+lower+lithuania&pg=PA42 |page=42 |title=The Circum-Baltic Languages: Typology and Contact |author=[[Östen Dahl]], [[Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm]] |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-90-272-3057-7}}</ref> The region is also known in English as Lower Lithuania or, in reference to its [[Yiddish]] names, {{lang|yi|זאַמעט}} {{Transliteration|yi|Zamet}} or {{lang|yi|זאַמוט}} {{Transliteration|yi|Zamut}}.<ref name="circum" /><ref name="O'Connor2006">{{cite book |author=Kevin O'Connor |title=Culture and customs of the Baltic states |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Dl2i1Fkd_cC&pg=PA231 |access-date=5 March 2011 |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-33125-1 |pages=231}}</ref><ref name="LorenzWeinberger1994">{{cite book |author1=Dagmar C. G. Lorenz |author2=Gabriele Weinberger |title=Insiders and outsiders: Jewish and Gentile culture in Germany and Austria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnWGR4ijGbAC&pg=PA91 |access-date=5 March 2011 |year=1994 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-2497-4 |page=91}}</ref><ref name="SchoenburgSchoenburg1996">{{cite book|author1=Nancy Schoenburg|author2=Stuart Schoenburg|title=Lithuanian Jewish Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NF17_BdrjQEC&pg=PA502|year=1996|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-56821-993-6|page=502}}</ref>

==Geography==
The largest city is [[Šiauliai]] (''Šiaulē''). [[Telšiai]] (''Telšē'') is the [[Capital (political)|capital]], although Medininkai (now ''[[Varniai]]''; ''Varnē'') was once the capital of the [[Duchy of Samogitia]].

The major cities are:
* [[Šiauliai]] (''Šiaulē'') (99,462 inhabitants)
* [[Mažeikiai]] (''Mažeikē'') (32,477 inhabitants)
* [[Tauragė]] (''Tauragie'') (21,516 inhabitants)
* [[Telšiai]] (''Telšē'') (21,294 inhabitants) – considered capital
* [[Plungė]] (''Plongė'') (16,750 inhabitants)
* [[Kretinga]] (''Kretinga'') (16,580 inhabitants)
* [[Palanga]] (''Palonga'') (16,046 inhabitants)
* Gargždai (Gargždā) (15,932 inhabitants)

Samogitia is bordered by [[Lithuania Minor]] in the south-west, [[Suvalkija]] in the south-east, [[Aukštaitija]] in the east, and [[Semigallia]] and [[Courland]] in the north.

==Subdivisions==

{| class="wikitable"
! Subdivision
! Note 
|-
| [[Telšiai County]] || entire county 
|-
| [[Akmenė District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Skuodas District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Kretinga District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Palanga City Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Šilalė District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Kelmė District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Raseiniai District Municipality]] || entire municipality
|-
| [[Tauragė District Municipality]] || excluding [[Lauksargiai Eldership]] 
|- 
| [[Jurbarkas District Municipality]] || excluding [[Smalininkai Eldership]] and [[Viešvilė Eldership]]
|- 
| [[Šiauliai District Municipality]] || excluding [[Meškuičiai Eldership]], [[Ginkūnai Eldership]] and [[Kairiai Eldership]]
|- 
| [[Šilutė District Municipality]] || [[Vainutas Eldership]], [[Žemaičių Naumiestis Eldership]], [[Gardamas Eldership]] and [[Švėkšna Eldership]]
|-
| [[Klaipėda District Municipality]] || [[Judrėnai Eldership]], [[Veiviržėnai Eldership]], [[Endriejavas Eldership]], [[Vėžaičiai Eldership]] and [[Gargždai]]
|-
|}

==Demographics and language==
[[File:Map of dialects of Lithuanian language.png|thumb|left|Samogitian sub-dialects are marked in brown, red, pink, yellow and orange]]
The people of Žemaitija speak Samogitian, a variety of Lithuanian that was previously considered one of three main dialects (modern linguists have determined that it is one of two dialects, the other being the [[Aukštaitian dialect]] and that both of these dialects have subdialects each).
Samogitian has northern and southern dialects, which are further subdivided. A western dialect once existed in the [[Klaipėda region]], but it became extinct after [[World War II]] after its inhabitants fled the region as a result of being expelled or persecuted by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet]] authorities.[[File:Baltic Tribes c 1200.svg|thumb|200px|In the context of the other Baltic tribes, Žemaičiai (Samogitians) are shown as an ethnic group of [[Lithuanian people|Lithuanians]].]]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[Samogitians]] of the Klaipėda region called themselves "[[Lietuvininks|Lietuvininkai]]",{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} whereas at the end of the 19th century when the area, known in German as the [[Memelland]], was part of [[Prussia]] (Germany), they were known as "Prūsai". After [[World War II]], the territory of the western subdialect was resettled mainly by northern and southern Žemaičiai and by other Lithuanians. Samogitian has a broken intonation ("laužtinė priegaidė", a variant of a [[Lithuanian accentuation|start-firm accent]]) similar to that of the [[Latvian language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_02.htm|title=Standard Lithuanian and its Dialects|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> In 2010, the Samogitian language was assigned with an ISO 639-3 standard language code ("sgs"), as some languages, that were considered by ISO 639-2 to be dialects of one language, are now in ISO 639-3 in certain contexts considered to be individual languages themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=sgs|title=sgs – ISO 639-3|website=Sil.org|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>

Žemaitija is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions of the country, with an ethnic Lithuanian population exceeding 99.5% in some [[Administrative division of Lithuania|districts]]. During the first part of the 19th century, Žemaitija was a major center of Lithuanian culture (Žemaičiai traditionally tended to oppose any anti-Lithuanian restrictions). The local religion is predominantly [[Roman Catholic]], although there are significant [[Lutheran]] minorities in the south.

The use of the Samogitian language is decreasing as more people tend to use Lithuanian, although there have been some minor attempts by local councils, especially in [[Telšiai]], to write certain roadside information in Samogitian as well some schools teach children Samogitian in schools.

==History==
{{further|Eldership of Samogitia}}
The modern concept of "[[Dialectology|dialectological]]" Žemaitija appeared only by the end of the 19th century. The territory of ancient Samogitia was much larger than current ethnographic or "dialectological" Žemaitija and embraced all of central and western Lithuania.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Žemaitija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/zemaitija/ |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=www.vle.lt |language=lt}}</ref>

The very term "Samogitians" is a Latinized form of the ancient Lithuanian name for the region's lowlanders, who dwelt in Central Lithuania's lowlands. The original subethnic Samogitia, i.e. Central Lithuania's flat burial grounds culture, was formed as early as the 5th-6th centuries. The western part of historical Žemaitija (before 12th–13th centuries it was inhabited by southern [[Semigallians]] and southern [[Curonians]]) became ethnically Lithuanian between the 13th and 16th centuries. The primal eastern boundary of historical Samogitia was the [[Šventoji River]] (a tributary of the [[Neris River]]); in 1387, the Lithuanian ruler (regent of Lithuania for Jogaila) [[Skirgaila]] had expanded the territory of Grand Duke's domain in [[Aukštaitija]] along the [[Nevėžis River]] at the expense of Žemaitija.
[[File:TeutonicOrder1422.png|thumb|Lands of the Teutonic Order against the region of the Samogitians in the 15th century]]
Because during the 13th through 16th centuries the [[Teutonic Order]] and the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword|Livonian Order]] bordered Žemaitija, it was long threatened by their expansionist aims. As such, the Samogitian territory was offered to these orders, or exchanged in peace treaties, a number of times. Lithuania would then regain Žemaitija during subsequent conflicts. For more than two hundred years, old Samogitia played a central role in [[Lithuanian Crusade|Lithuania's wars against the crusading order of the Teutonic Knights]] (Knights of the Cross and Knights of the Sword). Invasions started in Lithuania in 1229. Combined military forces undertook numerous campaigns against Samogitians and Lithuanians. Saule (1236), Skuodas (1259), Durbe (1260), Lievarde (1261) are just a few of the battles that took place.

Since Žemaitija was the last pagan region in Europe left to be invaded and christened, the Teutonic Order set their sights on this last mission. Between 1345 and 1382, the Knights of the Cross attacked from Prussia some 70 times, while the Livonian Knights of the Sword made 30 military forays. Year after year, fortresses were attacked, farms and crops were put to the torch, women and children enslaved and men killed. Despite all their effort, the Žemaičiai managed to defend their lands until 1410 decisive [[Battle of Grunwald]] or Žalgiris, where united Polish-Lithuanian forces defeated the Teutonic Order and ended their crusading era.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/ISTORIJA/nsamogit.en.htm|title=Samogitia (History)|website=Samogitia.mch.mii.lt|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>{{quote box
| quote = "We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced a decision about the land of Samogitia, which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of the ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there is [[Lithuanian language|one language]] and the [[Lithuanians|same inhabitants]]. But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than the [[Lithuania proper|land of Lithuania]], it is called as Samogitia, because in [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] it is called lower land [ ''Žemaitija'' ]. And the [[Samogitians]] call [[Lithuania]] as ''[[Aukštaitija]]'', that is, from the Samogitian point of view, a higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves as Lithuanians and never as Samogitians, and because of such identity (''sic'') we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants."
| source = — [[Vytautas the Great]], excerpt from his 11 March 1420 [[Latin]] letter sent to [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]], in which he described the core of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], composed from ''Žemaitija'' (lowlands) and ''[[Aukštaitija]]'' (highlands).<ref>{{cite book |author1=[[Vytautas the Great]] |author2=Valkūnas, Leonas (translation from [[Latin]]) |title=Vytauto laiškai [ Letters of Vytautas the Great ] |publisher=[[Vilnius University]], Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore |page=6 |url=http://www.šaltiniai.info/files/literatura/LC00/Vytauto_lai%C5%A1kai.LC2100.pdf |access-date=9 May 2021 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lietuvos etnografiniai regionai – ar pažįstate juos visus? |url=https://www.delfi.lt/keliones/naujienos/lietuvos-etnografiniai-regionai-ar-pazistate-juos-visus.d?id=68064162 |website=[[DELFI]] |access-date=9 May 2021 |language=lt}}</ref> Term ''Aukštaitija'' has been known since the 13th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aukštaitija |url=https://www.ekgt.lt/lietuvos-etnografiniai-regionai/aukstaitija/ |website=Ekgt.lt |publisher=Etninės kultūros globos taryba (Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture) |access-date=9 May 2021 |language=lt}}</ref>
| align = center
| width = 70em
}}[[File:En Samogitia; be Жамойць; ru Жмудь (1659).jpg|thumb|350px|left|Borders of Samogitia and [[Courland]] in 1659]]
In the 15th century, Samogitia was the last region in Core Europe to be [[Christianization of Lithuania#Christianization by Jogaila and Vytautas|converted to Christianity]]. During the 15–18th centuries, it was known as the [[Duchy of Samogitia|Duchy]] or [[Duchy of Samogitia|Eldership of Samogitia]], which included some territories of what is now considered [[Aukštaitija]] and [[Suvalkija]] as well. The Duchy of Samogitia was an autonomous administrative unit in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] with some similarities to a [[voivodeship]]. In contrast to some other aristocrats of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language was intensively used in the Duchy of Samogitia and its [[Samogitian nobility|nobility]] throughout the [[early modern period]].{{Sfn|Drungila|2019|p=131}} This is proven by the letter of [[Stanisław Radziwiłł]] to his brother [[Mikalojus Kristupas Radvila Našlaitėlis|Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł]] immediately after becoming the [[Elder of Samogitia]] that: "While learning various languages, I forgot [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], and now I see, I have to go to school again, because that language, as I see, God willing, will be needed."{{Sfn|Drungila|2019|p=131}}[[File:1712. Samogitie et Lithuanie Propre, Grand Duché de Lithuanie.png|thumb|[[Lithuania proper]] (in green) and Samogitia (in red) within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in a map from 1712]]After the [[Partitions of Poland|partitions]] of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, Samogitia was incorporated into the [[Russian Empire]] along with the rest of Lithuania. Samogitia was the main source of the [[Lithuanian cultural revival]] during the 19th century and was a focal point for the [[knygnešiai|smuggling of books]] printed in the Lithuanian language, which was banned by the occupying Russians.

In 1883, [[Edmund Veckenstedt]] published a book ''Die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten (Litauer)'' ({{langx|en|The myths, sagas and legends of the Samogitians (Lithuanians)}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Veckenstedt |first1=Edmund |authorlink=Edmund Veckenstedt |title=Die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten |date=1883 |publisher=C. Winter |location=[[Heidelberg]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hj4KAQAAMAAJ |access-date=6 June 2021 |language=de}}</ref>

After [[World War I]], Samogitia became a part of the newly re-established Lithuanian state. The Žemaičiai resisted the [[Bolsheviks]] and the [[Bermontians]]. During World War II, Lithuania was first occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then in 1941 by Nazi Germany, and in 1944 again by the USSR. <!-- as the Eastern Front shifted. At the end of the war, all of Lithuania was surrendered to the Soviet Union, along with the [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]]. Although the United States maintained that the Baltic states had been illegally annexed to the Soviet Union, this meant little until the administration of Mikhail Gorbachev conceded that the departure of the Baltic states was inevitable... --> The Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania on 6 September 1991. The last Soviet troops withdrew in August 1993.

In 1945, the Soviets denied the existence of the [[Lithuania Minor]] ethnographic region, out of political advantage, and declared the Klaipėda region a part of Samogitia.

==Tourism==
[[File:Zemaiciu Alka (Samogitian Alka).jpg|thumb|left|''Samogitian Alkas'' – reconstructed pagan observatory in [[Šventoji, Lithuania|Šventoji]]]]
Tourist destinations in Samogitia include [[Palanga]], [[Kretinga]] and [[Žemaičių Kalvarija]]. The majority of tourists come from [[Latvia]], [[Poland]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]], [[Germany]], [[Spain]], [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]].{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}[[File:Lazdininku malunas.jpg|thumb|170px|Windmill in Lazdininkai]][[Palanga]] is a tourist destination among tourists from the [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]] and [[Russia]].{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

[[Žemaičių Kalvarija]] (or New [[Jerusalem]] as it used to be called) is visited by pilgrims from all around the world, due to its annual The Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Church Festival (usually in June or July).

==Politics==
Samogitia historically was an autonomous region in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], although it lost this status once Lithuania was annexed by the [[Russian Empire]] following the Third [[Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in 1795 as a part of the [[Vilna Governorate|Vilnius Governorate]]. In 1843, Samogitia was incorporated into the [[Kovno Governorate|Kaunas Governorate]], with a minor part attached to the [[Courland Governorate]]. Since then, Samogitia has not had a separate political status, but there were attempts to create a separate state during the [[November Uprising|uprising in February 1831]].

Currently, Samogitia is represented by the [[Samogitian cultural society]], a group interested in preserving Samogitian culture and language.

==Symbols==
{{Multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width = 300
| image1 = Small Coat of Arms of Samogitia.svg
| width1 = 200px
| image2 = Grand Coat of Arms of Samogitia.svg
| width2 = 120px
| footer = Small and greater coats of arms of Samogitia.
}}
{{Multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width = 300
| image1 = Flag of Samogitia.svg
| width1 = 200px
| image2 = Flag of Žemaitija.svg
| width2 = 200px
| footer = Variants of the Samogitian flag with small and greater coat of arms.
}}
The [[coat of arms]] depicts a black bear with silver claws and a collar on a red shield topped with a crown. The greater arms are supported by a knight with a sword and a woman with an anchor and has the motto ''Patria Una'' ([[Latin]]: One Fatherland). The current emblazonment of the arms was created by artist Algis Kliševičius.<ref name="Žemaitijos herbas ir vėliava">{{cite web |url=https://www.ekgt.lt/lietuvos-etnografiniai-regionai/zemaitija/herbas-ir-veliava.html |publisher=The Council for the Safeguarding of Ethnic Culture |title=Žemaitijos herbas ir vėliava |access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref>

The flag of Samogitia depicts the coat of arms on a white background. It is a [[swallowtail (flag)|swallowtail flag]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kokia turėtų būti Žemaitijos vėliava? |url=https://www.delfi.lt/pilietis/voxpopuli/kokia-turetu-buti-zemaitijos-veliava.d?id=58953361 |date=20 June 2012 |website=[[DELFI]] |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref> A variant of the flag charged with the greater coat of arms additionally has a red border around the flag.<ref name="Žemaitijos herbas ir vėliava"/>

Both symbols are assumed to have been used for centuries, especially the coat of arms (differing claims assert it was first used in the 14th or 16th centuries). The symbols were used by the [[Duchy of Samogitia]]. These are the oldest symbols of the Lithuanian ethnographic regions. On 21 July 1994, these symbols were recognized by the government of Lithuania. Following their adoption, there has been much controversy revolving around particular details of both the flag and coat of arms of Samogitia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tartasi dėl Žemaitijos heraldikos|url=https://www.ekgt.lt/naujienos/tartasi-del-zemaitijos-heraldikos.html|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=K. Ž. Kerpauskas. Laikas žemaičių tautai išsirinkti vieną vėliavą (video)|url=https://alkas.lt/2020/10/02/k-z-kerpauskas-laikas-zemaiciu-tautai-issirinkti-viena-veliava-video/|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kokia turėtų būti Žemaitijos vėliava?|url=https://www.delfi.lt/kartu/tikros-istorijos/kokia-turetu-buti-zemaitijos-veliava-58953361|website=[[Delfi (web portal)|delfi.lt]]|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ar keisti Žemaičių kultūros draugijos įstatus ir heraldiką?|url=https://www.kalvotoji.lt/2023/05/09/ar-keisti-zemaiciu-kulturos-draugijos-istatus-ir-heraldika/|language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Žemaitijos vėliava – trispalvė?|url=https://klaipeda.diena.lt/naujienos/klaipeda/miesto-pulsas/zemaitijos-veliava-trispalve-1123348|language=lt}}</ref>

Because Žemaitija (Samogitia) does not correspond to any current administrative division of Lithuania, these symbols are not officially used anymore. However, the Samogitian bear was used in the coats of arms of [[Šiauliai County]] and [[Telšiai County]]. It also appears on the arms of the city of [[Šiauliai]].

The emblem of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Motorized Infantry Brigade ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitia) is the [[griffin]] with a sword in his right hand and a shield, which features the Samogitian bear, in his left hand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dėl krašto apsaugos ministro 2012 m. birželio 13 d. įsakymo Nr. V-630 "Dėl Krašto apsaugos sistemos medalių ir pasižymėjimo ženklų nuostatų patvirtinimo" pakeitimo |url=https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/cb947762449611ebb394e1efb98d3e67?jfwid= |website=[[Seimas|e-seimas.lrs.lt]]|language=lt}}</ref>

===Gallery===
<gallery>
Litauen 2019-2 Samogitien.jpg|Coat of arms of Samogitia on a commemorative [[2 euro coin]] released in 2019
LTU_Šiaulių_apskritis_COA.svg|Coat of arms of Šiauliai County
LTU_Telšių_apskritis_COA.svg|Coat of arms of Telšiai County
Šiauliai_COA_great.svg|Coat of arms of Šiauliai 
Insignia of the Samogitia Motorized Infantry Brigade.svg|Emblem of the Samogitian Infantry Brigade
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Žemaitija National Park]]
* [[Aukštaitija]]
* [[Telšiai Bernardine Monastery]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==

* {{Cite book |last=Drungila |first=Jonas |title=Erelis lokio guolyje |year=2019 |language=lt}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/Index-en.htm Website of Samogitia]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Samogitia| ]]
[[Category:Lithuanian ethnographic regions]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Lithuania]]