Žiežmariai is one of the oldest towns in Lithuanian territory. It was mentioned in the historical sources already in 1348. In the 16th century, the Karaite community (which was considered a Jewish sect at that time) started to settle in this town, but eventually, it did not become prosperous here and left. Only at the end of the 18th-century Jewish community is mentioned in Žiežmariai – Vilnius bishop Konstantinas Kazimieras Bžostovskis denied local Jews the right to build a synagogue. However, later on, this right was granted and the growing local Jewish community built several prayer houses. At the end of the 19th century, there were four of them: synagogue, old and new beit midrashes, and Chasidic synagogue. In 1918 there was a huge fire in  Žiežmariai – it destroyed all wooden Jewish prayer houses. Only one wooden beit midrash has been restored in the 1920s. Despite this unfortunate loss, the life of the Jewish community in Žiežmariai during the interwar period was active and bringing together all of its members –  there was a Tarbut primary school in Hebrew language, amateur Yiddish theatre troupe, community library, and Maccabi sport`s club.