Changes in traditional villages: Europe, Lithuania and Žagarė region in the 16th–19th centuries

Straipsnyje apžvelgtos Europos ir Lietuvos tradicinių kaimų raidos ypatybės antrajame tūkstantmetyje. Konstatuotas Žagarės apylinkių (kaip nuo seno žemdirbystei naudoto derlingų dirvų ploto) išskirtinumas. Tose krašto valdovo žemėse, veikiausiai dar XVI a. II pusėje, vykdyta Valakų reforma, suformuojant didelius gatvinius rėžinius kaimus. Jų pobūdis rodo, kad tos apylinkės tuomet buvo tankiai apgyventos. Tuomet suformuota žemėvaldos ir žemėnaudos sistema beveik nepaliesta išliko iki XX a. pradžios, ilgam stabdydama teritorijos ūkinę ir socialinę raidą, bet padėdama išlaikyti archajiškas tradicijas, lietuvišką etnokultūrinį paveldą.The old cultures and civilizations in Europe were created and existed as the agrarian ones. Significant changes in the West of the continent began only in the 18th–19th centuries, when industrialization, urbanization, etc. developed dramatically, changing the nature of the agrarian societies. It is noteworthy that until then, the rural life in Western Europe was transformed, with more innovative village structures taking place. Such changes occurred much later and more slowly in the so-called New (Eastern and part of Central) Europe (e.g. only in 1861, the tsarist Russia started to abolish the serfdom). Žagarė region was reformed, probably at the end of the 16h century, according to the former model of the Volok Reform. Some elements of the territory structure (roads, etc.) have remained until today. The German map of Žagarė region, which revealed the state of the second half of the 19th century, shows that up to the beginning of the 20th century there was still the archaic street-and-strip type system of the villages, which helped to preserve old traditions of rural life, stable ethnocultural heritage and other things, but for a long time stopped the economic and social development of villages