| Kupiškis | |||
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| — City — | |||
| View of Kupiškis with the towers of the church | |||
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Kupiškis
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Lithuania | ||
| County | Panevėžys County | ||
| Municipality | Kupiškis district municipality | ||
| Eldership | Kupiškis eldership | ||
| Capital of | Kupiškis district municipality Kupiškis eldership |
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| First mentioned | 1460 | ||
| Granted city rights | 1791 | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| • Total | 8,243 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
Kupiškis () is a city in north-eastern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality. Kupiškis is situated on the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. The name of the city originates from Kupa River. Gediminas bridge crosses river Kupa.
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The archeological findings provide evidence that even in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC people dwelt in the surroundings of Kupiškis. However, there is no information on when the very settlement was founded. The findings around the Aukštupėnai mound show that in the 8th century AD a wooden defence castle loomed there.
Kupiškis was mentioned in historical sources for the first time in 1529. It was a property of Sigismund I the Old, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1561–1565 it was a center of small ruler center, belonged to Upytė and later - Ukmergė discrits. At that time the main road from Vilnius to Riga went via Kupiškis.
In 1616, the first Catholic church was built in Kupiškis. In 1781, the first school of Lankasteriai family was established. The Railway line Daugavpils–Šiauliai–Liepāja was built in 1873.
According to the Department of Statistics of Lithuania, population of Kupiškis as of January 1, 2005 was 8,243. Ethnic composition of the Kupiškis district municipality, according to the 2001 census:
Kupiškis, known in Yiddish as Kupishok or Kupisik, was home to 1,444 Jews before World War II. The Great Synagogue in Kupiškis was built of stone. The red brick portion was a Misnagdim Synagogue. The Great Synagogue was used as the Culture House during the Soviet period. The Misnagdim portion is now used as a boiler room for heating the main building which now contains the Public Library and Wall of Memory Holocaust Memorial erected on July 13, 2004.
Kupiškis is twinned with:
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