Žemaičių Naumiestis is an old border town in Samogitia, with settlements in the surrounding areas dating back to the 14th century. The town gained particular significance after the 1863–1864 uprising, when the Lithuanian press was banned. It became a key center for the distribution of prohibited literature, serving as an important route for book smugglers.
Between 1910 and 1914, Evangelical Lutheran pastor Fridrikas Megnius published the newspaper Svečias (Guest) in Lithuanian in Naumiestis, making it the only newspaper printed in Samogitia at the time. More than a century later, a few copies of this historic newspaper were discovered during the renovation of the Evangelical Lutheran church parsonage.
The cobblestone-paved marketplace in Žemaičių Naumiestis has remained largely unchanged since the early 19th century, reflecting the multicultural history of this border town. The surviving buildings serve as living exhibits, recalling the Jewish, Lithuanian, and Prussian-Lithuanian shops, taverns, and workshops that once thrived here. Naumiestis hosted two weekly markets and several annual fairs, and was home to a customs office (at the border between Russia and Germany), around thirty shops and taverns, an electric power plant, a steam-powered sawmill, a watermill, a knitting factory, a bakery, a primary school, a gymnasium, a library, and more. The town was beautifully rebuilt and carefully planned, with sidewalks, a paved central square, and major streets constructed.
The people of Naumiestis played an active role in the establishment of independent Lithuania. After the country regained independence in 1918, Naumiestis became the center of a district and was then called Tauragės Naumiestis. In the 1930s, it was renamed Žemaičių Naumiestis.
On Vanagiai Hill, also known as Žaliasis Kalnas (Green Hill), proudly stands the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, built in 1782. This wooden church, incorporating folk architecture with Neo-Gothic elements, houses valuable religious paintings and sculptures. The current structure has a cross-shaped floor plan with a small tower at the roof’s intersection. In 1842, an Evangelical Lutheran church was built in the town.
Žemaičių Naumiestis was also home to a large Jewish community, evidenced by the massive brick synagogue built in 1816, which still stands today. During the Soviet era, the synagogue was converted into a cultural center, but today it is abandoned and in a state of disrepair. In Žemaičių Naumiestis, every community had its own place of worship.
The town’s historical architecture has remained largely intact over the years, making it a popular location for Lithuanian film productions. Every autumn, the traditional harvest festival “Dagotuvės” takes place on the scenic Green Hill, celebrating the rich agricultural heritage of the region.