Pilėnai
Sign in to savePilėnai (also Pillenen in German) was a hill fort in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its location is unknown and is subject to academic debates, but it is well known in the history of Lithuania due to its heroic defense against the Teutonic Order in 1336. Attacked by a large Teutonic force, the fortress, commanded by Duke Margiris, tried in vain to organize a defense against the larger and stronger invader. Losing hope, the defenders decided to burn their property and commit mass suicide to deprive the Order of prisoners and loot (cf. scorched earth). This dramatic episode from the Lithuanian Cr
Key facts
- Military conflict.conflict
- Siege of Pilėnai
- Military conflict.partof
- the Lithuanian Crusade
- Military conflict.image
- File:Duke Margiris defending Pilėnai against Teutonic Knights 1336.PNG
- Military conflict.caption
- Duke Margiris defending Pilėnai against the Teutonic Order by (1817–1874)
- Military conflict.date
- February 25, 1336
- Military conflict.place
- Pilėnai
- Military conflict.result
- Decisive Teutonic victory
- Military conflict.combatant1
- Teutonic Order
- Military conflict.combatant2
- Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- Military conflict.commander1
- Dietrich von Altenburg
- Military conflict.commander2
- Margiris
- Military conflict.strength1
- 200 nobles; 6,000 total soldiers
- Military conflict.strength2
- 4,000 people
- Military conflict.casualties1
- Minimal
- Military conflict.casualties2
- Nearly all
via Wikipedia infobox
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Sources
- Attack and defense
- Location
- Cultural significance
- Historiography
- References
- External links
Pilėnai (also Pillenen in German) was a hill fort in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its location is unknown and is subject to academic debates, but it is well known in the history of Lithuania due to its heroic defense against the Teutonic Order in 1336. Attacked by a large Teutonic force, the fortress, commanded by Duke Margiris, tried in vain to organize a defense against the larger and stronger invader. Losing hope, the defenders decided to burn their property and commit mass suicide to deprive the Order of prisoners and loot (cf. scorched earth). This dramatic episode from the Lithuanian Crusade has caught the public imagination, inspired many works of fiction, and became a symbol of Lithuanian struggles and resistance.
== Sources ==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Pilėnai” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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On the map
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