Kaunas

Kaunas (English pronunciation: /ˈkaʊnəs/; Lithuanian: [kɐˈunɐs] ( listen); see also other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation it was the capital of the Kovno Governorate from 1843 to 1915. It became the only temporary capital city in Europe during the Interwar period. Now it is the capital of Kaunas County, the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas district municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water entirely in Lithuania.

Etymology and other names

The city's name is of Lithuanian origins and most likely derives from a personal name.^[1]

Before Lithuania regained independence, the city was generally known in English as Kovno, the traditional Slavicized form of its name; the Polish name is Kowno; the Belarusian name is Koўнa, Kowna. An earlier Russian name was Ковно Kovno, although Каунас Kaunas has been used since 1940. The Yiddish name is Kovne (קאָװנע), while its names in German include Kaunas and Kauen. The city and its elderates also have names in other languages (see Names of Kaunas in other languages and names of Kaunas elderates in other languages).

Legendary story

An old legend claims that Kaunas was established by the Romans in ancient times. These Romans were supposedly led by a patrician named Palemon, who had three sons - Barcus, Kunas and Sperus.^[2] Palemon fled from Rome because he feared the mad Emperor Nero. Palemon, his sons and other relatives travelled all the way to Lithuania. After Palemon's death, his sons divided his land. Kunas got the land where Kaunas now stands. He built a fortress near the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers, and the city that grew up there was named after him. There is also a suburban region in the vicinity named "Palemonas".^[3]

Coat of arms

On 30 June 1993 the historical coat of arms of Kaunas city was established by a special presidential decree. The coat of arms features a white auroch with a golden cross between his horns, set against a deep red background. The auroch is the original heraldic symbol of the city since 1400. The heraldic seal of Kaunas, introduced in the early 15th century during the reign of Grand Duke Vytautas, is the oldest city heraldic seal known in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[4] The current emblem was the result of much study and discussion on the part of the Lithuanian Heraldry Commission, and realized by the artist Raimondas Miknevičius. An aurochs has replaced a wisent, depicted in the Soviet era emblem, used since 1969.

History

Early history

According to the archeological excavations, the most affluent collections of ceramics and other artefacts found at the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris rivers are from the second and first millennium BC. During that time people settled in some territories of the present Kaunas: the confluence of the two longest rivers of Lithuania area, Eiguliai, Lampėdžiai, Linkuva, Kaniūkai, Marvelė, Pajiesys, Romainiai, Petrašiūnai, Sargėnai, and Veršvai sites.^[4]

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

A settlement had been established on the site of the current Kaunas old town at the confluence of two large rivers, at least by the 10th century AD. It is believed the town was founded in 1030, but it is first mentioned in written sources in 1361. In the 13th century, a stone wall was built as protection from constant raids by the Teutonic Knights. In 1362, the town was captured by the Teutonic Knights, who destroyed the Kaunas Castle. The castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century.^[5]

In 1408 the town was granted Magdeburg Rights by Vytautas the Great and became a center of Kaunas Powiat in Trakai Voivodeship in 1413.^[6] Vytautas ceded Kaunas the right to own the scales used for weighing the goods brought to the city or packed on site, wax processing, and woolen cloth trimming facilities. The power of the self-governing Kaunas was shared by three interrelated major institutions: vaitas (the Mayor), the Magistrate (12 lay judges and 4 burgomasters) and the so called Benchers' Court (12 persons). Kaunas then began to gain prominence, since it was at an intersection of trade routes and a river port. In 1441 Kaunas joined the Hanseatic League, and Hansa merchant office Kontor was opened - the only one in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[7] By the 16th century, Kaunas also had a public school and a hospital and was one of the best-formed towns in the whole country.^[8]

In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city several times, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the Swedish army. The Black Death struck the area in 1657 and 1708, and fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732.^[9]

Russian Empire

After the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire and became a part of Vilna Governorate. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Grand Army of Napoleon passed through Kaunas twice, devastating the city both times.^[8]

After the Partitions, Kaunas was one of the centres of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and the January Uprising (1863–1864). To suppress the local population, the Russian authorities subsequently established the Kaunas Prison and placed a huge military garrison in the town. The Russian military fortifications from that time still survive throughout the town.^[10]

Kovno Governorate with a center in Kovno (Kaunas) was formed in 1843. In 1862 a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Imperial Germany was built, making Kaunas a significant railway hub with one of the first railway tunnels in the Empire, completed in 1861. In 1898 the first power plant in Lithuania started operating.^[11]

Prior to the Second World War, Kaunas, like many other cities in eastern Europe, had a significant Jewish population. According to the Russian census of 1897, Jews numbered 25,500, 35.3% of the total of 73,500.The population was also 25.8% Russian, 22.7% Polish, 6.6% Lithuanian.^[12]

Inter-war Lithuania

After Vilnius was occupied by the Russian Bolsheviks in 1919, the government of the Republic of Lithuania established its main base here. Later, when the capital Vilnius was forcibly annexed by Poland, Kaunas became the temporary capital of Lithuania,^[13] a position it held until 28 October 1939, when the Red Army handed Vilnius back to Lithuania.^[14] The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania first met in Kaunas on 15 May 1920. It passed some important laws, particularly on land reform, on the national currency, and adopted a new constitution. The military coup d'état took place in Kaunas on 17 December 1926. It was largely organized by the military and resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a conservative authoritarian government led by Antanas Smetona.^[15]

Between the World Wars industry prospered in Kaunas; it was then the largest city in Lithuania. Under direction of the mayor Jonas Vileišis (1921–1931) Kaunas grew rapidly and was extensively modernised. A water and waste water system, costing more than 15 million Lithuanian litas, was put in place, the city expanded from 18 square kilometers to 40, more than 2,500 buildings were built, plus three modern bridges over the Neris and Nemunas rivers. All the city's streets were paved, horse-drawn transportation was replaced with modern bus lines, new suburbs were planned and built (Žaliakalnis neighborhood in particular), and new parks and squares were established.^[8] The foundations for a social security system were laid, three new schools were built, and new public libraries, including the Vincas Kudirka library, were established. J. Vileišis maintained many contacts in other European cities, and as a result Kaunas was an active participant in European urban life.^[16]

During the inter-war period Kaunas had a Jewish population of 35,000-40,000, about one quarter of the city's total population.^[17] Jews made up much of the city's commercial, artisan, and professional sectors. Kaunas was a center of Jewish learning, and the yeshiva in Slobodka (Vilijampolė) was one of Europe's most prestigious institutes of higher Jewish learning. Kaunas had a rich and varied Jewish culture. There were almost 100 Jewish organizations, 40 synagogues, many Yiddish schools, 4 Hebrew high schools, a Jewish hospital, and scores of Jewish-owned businesses. It was also an important Zionist center.

Nazi occupation

After the outbreak of German invasion into USSR on 22 June, the June Uprising against the retreating Red Army began in Kaunas and a short-lived period of independence was proclaimed in Kaunas on 23 June 1941.^[18] During the battles with the Red Army, Lithuanian rebels secured government offices, police stations, shops, warehouses, and attempted to re-establish order in the city. On 25 June the main German forces marched into the city without opposition and almost in parade fashion. The Nazi Germans did not recognize the new provisional government, but they did not take any actions to dissolve it until the establishment of a German civil administration on 17 July. The government's powers were taken over by the new occupants.^[19] Nazi Germany established the Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Baltic States and much of Belarus, and the administrative center for Lithuania (Generalbezirk Litauen) was in Kaunas ruled by Generalkommissar Adrian von Renteln.^[20]

Kaunas' Jews' fate

Jewish people started settling in Kaunas in the second half of the 17th century. They were not allowed to live in the city, so most of them stayed in the Vilijampolė settlement on the right bank of the Neris river. Jewish life in Kaunas was first disrupted when the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in June 1940. The unwelcomed occupation was accompanied by arrests, confiscations, and the elimination of all free institutions. Jewish community organizations disappeared almost overnight. Soviet authorities confiscated the property of many Jews, while hundreds were exiled to Siberia. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Activist Front, founded by Lithuanian nationalist émigrés in Berlin, disseminated anti-semitic literature in Lithuania.^[17] Among other claims, the propaganda blamed Jews for the Soviet occupation.

Following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Soviet forces fled from Kaunas. Both before and after the German occupation of the city on 25 June, the anti-Communist Nazi organized insurgents began to attack Jews, blaming them for the Soviet repressions, especially along Jurbarko and Kriščiukaičio streets.^[17] They murdered more than 3,800 Jews and took hundreds more to the Lietūkis garage and killed them there.

The Nazis eventually established the Kaunas Ghetto and murdered most of the Jews by the end of the war.^[17]

Soviet Re-occupation

Beginning in 1944, the Red Army began offensives that eventually took back all three of the Baltic states. Kaunas again became the major center of resistance against the Soviet regime. From the very start of the Lithuanian partisans war, the most important partisan districts were based around Kaunas.^[4] Although guerrilla warfare ended at the time of 1953, Lithuanian opposition to Soviet rule did not. In 1956 people in the Kaunas region supported the uprising in Hungary by rioting.^[21] On All Souls' Day in 1956, the first public anti-Soviet protest rally took place in Kaunas: citizens burned candles in the Kaunas military cemetery and sang national songs, resulting in clashes with the Militsiya.^[4]

On 14 May 1972, a 19 years old Romas Kalanta, having exclaimed "Freedom for Lithuania!", immolated himself in the garden of the Musical Theatre, after making a speech denouncing the Soviet suppression of national and religious rights.^[22] The event broke into a politically-charged riot, which was forcibly dispersed by the KGB and Militsiya. It led to new forms of resistance: passive resistance all around Lithuania. The continuous oppression of the Catholic Church and its resistance caused the appearance of The Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. In strict conspiracy catholic priest Sigitas Tamkevičius (now the Archbishop Metropolitan of Kaunas) implemented this idea and its first issue was published in the Alytus district on 19 March 1972. The Kronika started a new phase of resistance in the life of Lithuania's Catholic Church and of all Lithuania fighting against the occupation by making known to the world the violation of the human rights and freedoms in Lithuania for almost two decades.^[23] On 1 November 1987, a non-sanctioned rally took place near the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, where people gathered to mark famous Lithuanian poet Maironis' 125th birthday anniversary. On 10 June 1988, the initiating group of the Kaunas movement of Sąjūdis was formed. On 9 October 1988, the Flag of Lithuania was raised above the tower of the Military Museum.^[4] Kaunas, along with Vilnius, became the scene of nearly constant demonstrations as the Lithuanians, embarked on a process of self-discovery. The bodies of Lithuanians who died in Siberian exile were brought back to their homeland for reburial, and the anniversaries of deportations as well as the important dates in Lithuanian history began to be noted with speeches and demonstrations. On 16 February 1989 Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius, for the first time, called for the independence of Lithuania in his sermon at the Kaunas Cathedral. After the services, 200,000 persons gathered in the center of Kaunas to participate in the dedication of a new monument to freedom to replace the monument that had been torn down by the Soviet authorities after the World War II.^[24]

Restored Independence

After World War II Kaunas became the main industrial city of Lithuania – it produced about a quarter of Lithuania's industrial output.

After the proclamation of Lithuanian independence in 1990, Soviet attempts to suppress the rebellion focused on the Sitkūnai Radio Station.^[25] They were defended by the citizenry of Kaunas.^[26] Pope John Paul II made the Holy Mass for the faithful of the Archdiocese of Kaunas at the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica and held the meeting with the young people of Lithuania at S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, during his visit to Lithuania in 1993.^[27] Kaunas natives Vytautas Landsbergis and Valdas Adamkus became the Head of state in 1990, and, respectively, in 1998 and 2004. Since the restoration of independence, improving substantially air and land transport links with Western Europe have made Kaunas easily accessible to foreign tourists.

Geography

The city covers 15,700 hectares. Parks, groves, gardens, nature reserves, and agricultural areas occupy 8,329 hectares.^[28]

Administrative divisions

Kaunas is divided into 12 elderates:

Neighborhoods

The oldest part of Kaunas city is the Old Town located to the east of the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. The formation of the new rectangular structure of the New Town started in Kaunas since 1847.^[29] The construction of the Kaunas Railway Tunnel and Railway Bridge across the Nemunas river helped move goods from the eastern part of Russian Empire west to the German Empire and Kaunas grew rapidly in the second part of 19th century. The oldest part of Kaunas was connected with Žaliakalnis neighborhood in 1889. The city have increased once more when it was connected by bridges with Aleksotas and Vilijampolė districts in the 1920s.^[30]

Climate

Kaunas features a warm and humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). Despite its northern location, the climate in Kaunas is relatively mild compared to other locations in similar latitudes, mainly because of the Baltic Sea. Because of its latitude, daylight in Kaunas extends 17 hours in midsummer, to only around 7 hours in midwinter. The Kazlų Rūda Forest,^[31] west of Kaunas, create a microclimate around the city, regulating humidity and temperature of the air, and protecting it from strong western winds.

Summers in Kaunas are warm and pleasant with average daytime high temperatures of 21–22 °C (70–72 °F) and lows of around 12 °C (54 °F), but temperatures could reach 30 °C (86 °F) on some days. Winters are relatevely cold, and sometimes snowy with average temperatures ranging from -8 to 0 °C (18 to 32 °F), and rarely drop below −15 °C (5 °F). Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild.

Cityscape

Points of interest

Central Kaunas is defined by two pedestrian streets: the 2-km-long Laisvės alėja (Liberty Avenue), a central street of the city, lined by linden trees, and its continuation, Vilnius Street, leading to the oldest part - Old Town of Kaunas. Some of the most prominent features in Kaunas include:

• the Kaunas Castle, a 14th century fortification;
• the Vytautas' Church, one of the oldest churches in Lithuania and the oldest in Kaunas;
• the St. Gertrude Church in Kaunas;
• the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, the largest Gothic building in Lithuania, with a late Baroque interior;
• the St. George's Church, which was rumoured to have been turned into a dance studio during the Soviet Occupation;
• the Pažaislis abbey, an impressive complex in Baroque style;
• the St. Francis Xavier Church;
• the massive Neo-Byzantine church of St. Michael the Archangel;
• the Christ’s Resurrection Church with an unfolding panoramic view of the city;
• Kaunas Zoo, the only state-operated zoo in Lithuania;
• Kaunas Fortress, one of the largest defensive structures in Europe, occupying 65 km2 (25 sq mi), a 19-20th century military fortress, which includes a Holocaust site of the Ninth Fort;
• Kaunas Botanical Garden;
• Napoleon's Hill;
• Kaunas Synagogue;
• House of Perkūnas;
• Kaunas Town Hall and the square;
• Interbellum functionalism architecture complexes;
• Two funiculars - Žaliakalnis Funicular Railway and the Aleksotas Funicular Railway;
• Kaunas Mosque;
• Ąžuolynas Park and the valley of Girstupis River named after Adam Mickiewicz;
• the Memorial Petrašiūnai Cemetery;
• the Lithuanian open-air Ethnographic Museum displaying the heritage of Lithuanian rural life in a vast collection of authentic resurrected buildings is situated east of Kaunas on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir in a town of Rumšiškės;
• Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital;
• Kaunas Cultural Centre of Various Nations;
• The Marine aquarium in the Mega Shopping mall.^[34]

Museums

Kaunas is often called a city of museums, because of the abundance and variety of them. The museums in Kaunas include:

• the War Museum of Vytautas the Great;
• the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, commemorating the work of the early 20th century avant-garde artist M. K. Čiurlionis who sought to combine painting and music into a single artistic medium;
• the Žmuidzinavičius Museum (best known as the Devils' Museum), which houses a collection of more than two thousand sculptures and carvings of devils from all over the world, most of them of folk provenance. Of particular interest are the Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin devils, together doing the dance of death over a playground littered with human bones;

• Lithuanian Aviation Museum;
• Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy;
• Historical Presidential Palace, displaying exhibits from the interwar period
• Kaunas Museum for the Blind;
• Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments;
• Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum;
• Sugihara house-museum;
• Communication History Museum;
• The so-called ab underground printing house was a part of the nonviolent resistance press during the Soviet times. Now it is the branch of Kaunas War Museum, located 8 km north of Kaunas in a small Saliu village, near the town of Domeikava. Although the AB printing house worked regularly, it was never detected by KGB.^[35] It was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of Lithuania in 1999.^[36]
• The apartments of some famous Kaunas natives, including Paulius Galaunė, Adam Mickiewicz, Juozas Grušas, Balys Sruoga, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Salomėja Nėris, Juozas Zikaras, Vincentas Sladkevičius have been turned into public museums.^[37]

Theatres

Kaunas is notable for the diverse culture life. Kaunas Symphony Orchestra is the main venue for classical music concerts. There is an old circus tradition in Kaunas. There was established static circus in the Vytautas park of Kaunas in the beginning of 19th century. The only professional circus organization in Lithuania - Baltic Circus was founded in Kaunas in 1995.^[38] Kaunas theatres has played an important role in Lithuanian society. There are at least 7 professional theatres, lots of amateur theatres, ensembles, abundant groups of art and sports. Some of the best examples of culture life in Kaunas are theatres of various styles:

• Kaunas State Drama Theatre
• Kaunas State Musical Theatre
• Kaunas Pantomime Theatre
• Kaunas Chamber Theatre
• Kaunas Dance Theatre Aura
• Kaunas State Puppet Theatre

Parks and cemeteries

The city of Kaunas has a number of parks and public open spaces. It devotes 7.3% of its total land acreage to parkland.^[39] Ąžuolynas (literally, "Oak Grove") park is a main public park in the heart of Kaunas. It covers about 63 hectares and is the largest urban stand of mature oaks in Europe. To protect the unique lower landscape of Kaunas Reservoir, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park was established in the eastern edge of Kaunas in 1992. By the initiative of a prominent Lithuanian zoologist Tadas Ivanauskas and biologist Konstantinas Regelis the Kaunas Botanical Garden was founded in 1923. It serves not only as a recreational area for public, but also serves as a showcase for local plant life, and houses various research facilities.

Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, and arts is Petrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas. It is also the burial site of some signatories of the 1918 Act of Independence. There are four old Jewish cemeteries within city limits.

Public art

A lot of sculptuary is on display in the public areas of Kaunas.

Economy

Kaunas is a large center of industry, trade and services in Lithuania. The most developed industries in Kaunas are: food and beverage industry, textile and light industry, chemical industry, publishing and processing, pharmaceuticals, metal industry, wood processing and furniture industry. Recently information technology and electronics have become an important area of business activities in Kaunas. The city also has large construction industry, including commercial, housing and road construction.^[40]

Primary foreign investors in Kaunas are companies from the USA, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Russia.^[41] Head offices of several major International and Lithuanian companies are located in Kaunas, including "Kraft Foods Lietuva", largest Generic Pharmaceuticals producer in Lithuania "Sanitas group", producer of sportsweare AB "Audimas", one of the largest construction companies "YIT Kausta", JSC "Senukai", largest producer in Lithuania of strong alcoholic drinks JSC "Stumbras", Finnish capital brewery JSC "Ragutis", JSC "Fazer Gardesis", the largest wholesale, distribution and logistics company in Lithuania and Latvia JSC "Sanitex",^[42] JSC "Stora Enso Packaging"",^[43] producer of pharmaceuticals, and the only producer of homoeopathic medicines in Lithuania JSC "Aconitum".^[44] The “Margasmiltė“ company currently has been working on a project that concerns exploitation of Pagiriai anhydrite deposit. The project includes mining of anhydrite, a mine with underground warehouses, building the overground transport terminal, as well as an administrative building. The Pagiriai anhydrite deposit is located 10.5 km (6.5 mi) south from the downtown of Kaunas, at a 2.2 km (1.4 mi) distance to the southwest from the Garliava town. The resources of thoroughly explored anhydrite in the Pagiriai deposit amount to 81.5 million tons.^[45]

The "UBIG group" (a branch of commercial Ūkio bank) is a management company of diversified holdings that operates in the property development, banking, aluminium, mining, logistics, textiles, sports, financial intermediary, and other sectors. The Lithuanian Central Credit Union - national cooperative federation for credit unions established in 2001, is located in Kaunas. At present the Lithuanian Central Credit Union has 61 members.^[46]

There are also some innovative companies located in Kaunas, such as leading wholesaler of computer components, data storage media "ACME group", internet and TV provider, communications JSC "Mikrovisata group", developer and producer original products for TV and embedded technologies JSC "Selteka". Joint Lithuanian-German company "Net Frequency", based in Kaunas, is a multimedia and technology service provider. Kaunas is also home to JSC "Baltijos Programinė Įranga", a subsidiary of No Magic, Inc., producing world-leading software modeling tools. A LED lighting assembly plant was opened in Kaunas by South Korean company LK Technology in February 2011.^[47] Kaunas Free Economic Zone^[48] established in 1996 has also attracted some investors from abroad. Before its disestablishment, Air Lithuania had its head office in Kaunas.^[49] Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant is the largest one in Lithuania.

Some notable changes are under construction and in the stage of disputes. The construction of a new landmark of Kaunas - the Žalgiris Arena - began in the autumn of 2008.^[50] It was completed in August 2011. Currently discussions are underway about the further development of the Vilijampolė district on the right bank of the Neris river and the Nemunas River, near their confluence.^[51]

Demography

Ethnic composition

1897 Russian census revealed the following ethnic composition in the city (by mother tongue, out of 70,920):^[52]

1. Jews 25,052 - 35%
2. Russians 18,308 - 26%
3. Poles 16,112 - 23%
4. Lithuanians 4,092 - 6%
5. Germans 3,340 - 4.5%
6. Tatar 1,084 - 1.5%
7. Other 2932 - 4%

Today, with almost 93 percent of its citizens being ethnic Lithuanians, Kaunas is one of the most Lithuanian cities in the country. Kaunas has a higher proportion of ethnic Lithuanians than Vilnius, and more ethnic Lithuanians than Riga has ethnic Latvians or Tallinn has ethnic Estonians.

Ethnic composition in 2001, out of a total of 378,943:^[53]

1. Lithuanians 352,051 - 92.9%
2. Russians 16,622 - 4.34%
3. Ukrainians 1,906 - 0.5%
4. Poles 1,600 - 0.42%
5. Other - 6,764%

Municipality council

Kaunas city municipality council is the governing body of the Kaunas city municipality. It is responsible for municipality laws. The council is composed of 41 member elected for four-year terms.

The council is the member of The Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania.

Mayors

• 1921-1931 - Jonas Vileišis
• 1931 - Juozas Vokietaitis
• 1932–1933 - Antanas Gravrogkas
• 1933–1939 - Antanas Merkys
• 1940 - Antanas Garmus
• 1990–1991 – Vidmantas Adomonis
• 1991–1992 – Vilimas Čiurinskas
• 1992–1995 – Arimantas Račkauskas
• 1995 – Rimantas Tumosa
• 1995–1997 – Vladas Katkevičius
• 1997 – Alfonsas Andriuškevičius
• 1997–2000 – Henrikas Tamulis
• 2000 – Vytautas Šustauskas
• 2000 – Gediminas Budnikas
• 2001–2002 – Erikas Tamašauskas
• 2002–2003 – Giedrius Donatas Ašmys
• 2003–2007 – Arvydas Garbaravičius
• 2007-2011 – Andrius Kupčinskas
• 2011 – Rimantas Mikaitis
• Since 2011 – Andrius Kupčinskas

Infrastructure

The city is located in the centre of Lithuania, making it highly significant from a logistical point of view.

Airports

Kaunas International Airport (KUN) is one of the biggest airports in the Baltic states. In 2010 it handled 809,732 passengers and 4,449 tonnes of cargo. An Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced Kaunas Airport as their 40th base and first in the Central Europe in February, 2010.^[54] Kaunas Airport is the fastest growing airport in the Baltic states in 2009 and 2010. They believe that the airport will handle up to one million passengers in 2011. The smaller S. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport, established in 1915, is located about three kilometers south of the city center. It is one the oldest still functioning airports in Europe used for tourism and air sports purposes and now hosts the Lithuanian Aviation Museum.

Highways

Kaunas is served by a number of major motorways. European route E67 is a highway running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Helsinki in Finland by way of Poland, Kaunas Lithuania, Riga (Latvia), and Tallinn (Estonia). It is known as the Via Baltica between Warsaw and Tallinn, a distance of 670 kilometres (420 mi). It is the most important road connection between the Baltic states. Kaunas also is linked to Vilnius to its east and Klaipėda, on the Baltic Sea, via the A1 motorway and Daugavpils (Latvia), via E262(A6) highway.

Bridges

Since Kaunas is located at the confluence of two rivers, there were 34 bridges and viaducts built in the city at the end of 2007, including:

• Vytautas the Great Bridge, connecting Old Town with Aleksotas across the Nemunas;
• M. K. Čiurlionis Bridge, an automotive bridge across the Nemunas;
• Lampėdžiai Bridge across the Nemunas that serves as western bypass of Kaunas;
• Petras Vileišis Bridge, connecting Old Town with Vilijampolė across the Neris River;
• Varniai Bridge, connecting Žaliakalnis with Vilijampolė across the Neris River;
• The Green railway bridge, built in 1862.

Railways

Kaunas is an important railway hub in Lithuania. First railway connection passing through Kaunas was constructed in 1859-1861 and opened in 1862.^[55] It consisted of Kaunas Railway Tunnel and the Railway bridge across the Nemunas river. Kaunas Railway Station is an important hub serving direct passenger connections to Vilnius and Warsaw as well as being a transit point of Pan-European corridors I and IX. Some trains run from Vilnius to Šeštokai, and, Poland, through Kaunas. International route connecting Kaliningrad, Russia and Kharkiv, Ukraine, also crosses Kaunas. The first phase of the Standard gauge Rail Baltica railway section from Šeštokai to Kaunas is under construction, and it is expected to be completed by 2013.

Public transportation

The public transportation system is managed by Kauno viešasis transportas (KVT).^[56] There are 16 trolleybus routes, 30 bus routes^[57] and a wide shared taxi carrier network. In 2007 new electronic monthly tickets began to be introduced for public transport in Kaunas. The monthly E-ticket cards may be bought once and might be credited with an appropriate amount of money in various ways including the Internet. Previous paper monthly tickets were in use until August 2009.^[58] Kaunas is also one of the major river ports in the Baltic States and has two piers designated for tourism purposes and located on the banks of Nemunas river and Kaunas Reservoir - the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Neman River near Kaunas and Rumšiškės.^[59]

Sports

Sports in Kaunas has a long and distinguished history. The city is home to a few historic clubs such as: LFLS Kaunas football club (est.1920), LFLS Kaunas baseball club (est.1922), Žalgiris basketball club (est.1944). Ice hockey was started to play in Lithuania in 1922. The first Lithuanian ice hockey championship composed of four teams (LFLS, KSK, Kovas, and Macabi) was held in Kaunas, in 1926.^[60] Kaunas is home to some of historic venues such as: the main stadium of the city - S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno Sporto Centras (total capacity 9,000), which is also the Lithuanian soccer club FBK Kaunas's and Lithuanian national football team home stadium established in 1923, and, Kaunas Sports Hall, completed in 1939 for the Third European Basketball Championship. S.Dariaus and S.Girėno Stadium is also used as the only large athletics stadium in Lithuania. The university status Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education founded during the Interwar period is the only state-supported institution of tertiary physical education in Lithuania. The National Football Academy - the national center for the training of the best Lithuanian young players of football was established in Kaunas in 2006.

Žalgiris basketball club, one of Europe's strongest basketball club, now plays in the Euroleague. Kaunas has also hosted the knockout stage of the European Basketball Championship of 2011. The largest indoor Žalgiris Arena in the Baltics has just been completed in Kaunas. The arena is used to host sports games as well as concerts. The city is also the birthplace or childhood home of many of the country's top basketball stars, among them Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, Linas Kleiza, Donatas Motiejūnas and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. Granitas Kaunas is the strongest and most prominent men team handball club in Lithuania. First golf club "Elnias" in Lithuania was opened in Kaunas in 2000. Nemuno žiedas is the only in Lithuania motor racing circuit, situated in Kačerginė, a small town near Kaunas. A yacht club operates in the Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park.

Education

Kaunas is often referred to as a city of students; there are about 50,000 students enrolled in its universities. The first parochial school in Kaunas was mentioned in 1473. A four-form Jesuit school was opened in Kaunas in 1649. It was reorganized into a college in 1653.^[61] The oldest still functioning institution of higher education is Kaunas Priest Seminary, established in 1864. Other institutes of higher education are:

• ISM University of Management and Economics - one of the few private institutions of higher education in Lithuania
• Vytautas Magnus University founded in 1922 as the University of Lithuania and renamed Vytautas Magnus in 1930.^[62]
• Kaunas Business College
• Kaunas University of Applied Sciences (Kaunas College)
• Kaunas University of Medicine
• Kaunas University of Technology - the largest technical university in the Baltic States
• Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education
• Lithuanian University of Agriculture
• Lithuanian Veterinary Academy
• Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty of Humanities
• Mykolas Romeris University Faculty of Public Security
• Kaunas Art Institute

Kaunas has also a large number of public and private basic and secondary schools, as well as kindergartens and nurseries. Kaunas also has numerous libraries. The most important is the Kaunas County Public Library. It was established as the Central Library of Lithuania in 1919. A part of its collection was transferred to Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in 1963.^[63] Now the Kaunas County Public Library holds more than 2.2 million volumes in its collection and functions as a depository library of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.^[64]

Annual events

Kaunas is best known for the Kaunas Jazz Festival, International Operetta Festival, Photo Art Festival "Kaunas photo" or Pažaislis music festival, which usually run from early June until late August each year. The open-air concerts of the historical 49-bell Carillon of Kaunas are held on weekends. Probably the longest established festival is the International Modern Dance Festival, which first ran in 1989.

• Kaziukas Fair Kaunas fork (beginning of March)
• International open-air "Kaunas Jazz Festival" (April–May)
• Day of Kaunas city (middle of May)
• Pažaislis music festival (June–August)
• Traditional folk music competition "Play, Jurgelis" (November)
• Christmas tree lighting (end of November)
• Bike Show Millenium (middle of June)
• International Hanseatic Days ^[65] (end of August)

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kaunas is twinned with:

Honours

A minor planet 73059 Kaunas discovered by Lithuanian astronomers Kazimieras Černis and Justas Zdanavičius in 2002 is named after the city of Kaunas.^[69]

Footnotes and references

Notes

This article incorporates text from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and has been released under the GFDL.

External links

• Website of Kaunas city
• Kaunas travel guide from Wikitravel
• Tourist Information Centre of Kaunas region
• Insiders guide of Kaunas city