Kėdainiai

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Kėdainiai
Location Coat of Arms
Location
Ethnographic region Aukštaitija
County Kaunas County
Municipality Kėdainiai district municipality
Elderate Kėdainiai town elderate
Coordinates 55°17′N 23°58′E
General Information
Capital of Kėdainiai district municipality
Kėdainiai town elderate
Population 32,048 in 2001 (11th)
First mentioned 1372
Granted city rights 1590

Kėdainiai (pronunciation (help·info), on the Nevėžis River, is one of the oldest towns in Lithuania. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2001 was 32,048. Many monuments of archaeology, history, architecture and art tell of Kėdainiai's glorious past. Kėdainiai's 18th century old town is one of the largest in Lithuania.

The former Town Hall, the House of Rectors, the Church of St. George, the Calvinist Church, and the House of Scotch Merchants are notable architectural sites. It was a custom that everyone arriving in Kedainiai had to bring a stone for the construction of the town. Kėdainiai is also the location of the only minaret in Lithuania.

The town is the administrative centre of the region. The geographical centre of the Lithuanian Republic is in the nearby village of Ruoščiai, in the subdistrict of Dotnuva.

The area was the site of several battles during "The Deluge", the 17th century war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. In 1655 a short-lived treaty with Sweden, the Union of Kėdainiai, was signed by two members of Radziwiłł family in their Kėdainiai castle. While little remains of the Radziwiłł castle, the crypt of the Calvinist church (1631) houses the family mausoleum, including the tombs of Krzysztof Radziwiłł and his son Janusz.

For a period during 1940, the town served as home to about 300 students and teachers from the Mir Yeshiva.

For many years, Kėdainiai housed a number of chemical and food processing industries. Following years of stagnation, old enterprises have come back to life, and new ones have been established. Kėdainiai has been twinned since 1989 with the German town of Sömmerda.

[edit] High scools

  • College of Jonuš Radvila (Kėdainių Jonušo Radvilos studijų centras)

[edit] External links

St. Joseph's church of Carmelites
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St. Joseph's church of Carmelites
St. George's church, 15th century
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St. George's church, 15th century
"The March of Swedes for Kiejdan" during The Deluge (Polish-Swedish War of the 17th century). Swedish forces marching on Kedainiai, home of the wealthy Lithuanian magnates, the Radziwiłł family. 19th century painting by Józef Brandt
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"The March of Swedes for Kiejdan" during The Deluge (Polish-Swedish War of the 17th century). Swedish forces marching on Kedainiai, home of the wealthy Lithuanian magnates, the Radziwiłł family. 19th century painting by Józef Brandt