Rietavas

Rietavas stands on the River Jūra in western Samogitia. Mentioned in 1253, it was a defensive centre during the struggle against the Teutonic Order in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By 1533 it was described as a town, and its estate remained an important presence in the surrounding countryside. Rietavas received municipal rights in 1792, shortly before the partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The estate passed to the Ogiński family in 1812. Their patronage left a mark on the town: a hospital was established here in 1835, among the institutions supported by the family.