Vievys (better known as Vievis) is a township and a railway station half-way on the Kaunas – Vilnius line. In World War One it was taken by infantry of XXXX. Reserve-Korps a few days after the fall of the Kaunas fortress on August 18, 1915. During the German retreat from Russia the area became an object of occasional fire-fights between the German border guards (the Grenzschutz) and the Red Army’s vanguards probing west. Red Army units entered Vievis on January 10, 1919 and were pushed out by Lithuanian troops on April 27.
Before long repeated territorial clashes arose between Lithuanians and Poles who then occupied Vievis as part of the Polish push, in mid-1919, intended to establish a greater, confederated Poland. Vievis was retaken by Lithuanians on July 13, 1920 during their advance into a section of the Polish-occupied Vilnius district. The Lines of Demarcation left Vievis securely on the Lithuanian side.
Vievis had a post office during the czarist period (as Ev’e), but because of the turbulent military situation a Lithuanian postal facility (an agentūra ?) was set up only in 1921(?). At present, no further details are known about its early location and staff.
For stamps, Vievis began with the Sėjėjas Issue etc. Early cancelling may have been done by pen but later Vievis was provided with a standard double-frame rectangular cachet inscribed VIEVYS which was used for cancelling as well.
A regular postmarker was provided in early 1920s and was also inscribed “VIEVYS”. In subsequent postmarkers the spelling was changed to “VIEVIS”.
Known provisional markings:
Cancelling by boxed cachet:
10. V. 22 single, Sėjėjas 3a [formerly Norton]
No date single, First Air 5a [colln. Doniela]
No date single, Sėjėjas 1a [colln. Brazdeikis]
23.x.xx single, Sėjėjas 2a [colln. Brazdeikis]