Kėdainiai

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. During the Cold War it was home to Kėdainiai air base, a major military airlift facility.

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 Jonušas Radvila (Kėdainių Jonušo Radvilos studijų centras)

[edit] Image gallery

St. Joseph's church of Carmelites	St. George's church, 15th century	Janusz Radziwiłł memorial monument in the town hall square.	Houses in the old town of Kėdainiai.
Town at night	Evanghelical church	Senoji street in old town	Nevėžis river in city center