Kėdainiai

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Kėdainiai
City
Kėdainiai old town

Coat of arms
Kėdainiai
Location of Kėdainiai
Coordinates: 55°17′N 23°58′E / 55.283°N 23.967°E / 55.283; 23.967Coordinates: 55°17′N 23°58′E / 55.283°N 23.967°E / 55.283; 23.967
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Aukštaitija
County Kaunas County
Municipality Kėdainiai district municipality
Eldership Kėdainiai town eldership
Capital of Kėdainiai district municipality
Kėdainiai town eldership
First mentioned 1372
Granted city rights 1590
Population (2013)
 • Total 26,080
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website http://www.kedainiai.lt/

Kėdainiai ( pronunciation (help·info), also known by several other names) is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located 51 km (32 mi) north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2008 was 30,214. Its old town dates to the 17th century.[1]

The city is the administrative centre of the Kėdainiai district municipality. The geographical centre of the Lithuanian Republic is in the nearby village of Ruoščiai, located in the eldership of Dotnuva.

Names

The city has been known by other names: Kiejdany in Polish, Keidan (קיידאן) in Yiddish,[2] and Kedahnen in German. Its other alternate forms include Kidan, Kaidan, Keidany, Keydan, Kiejdany, Kuidany, and Kidainiai.[3]

History

The March of Swedes for Kėdainiai/Kiejdany

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.

Scottish Protestants arrived in the late 16th and 17th centuries, encouraged by the conversion of Anna Radziwill; the community exerted considerable influence in the city and persisted until the mid-19th century.[4]

A local custom called on all visitors to bring a stone to be used in the town's construction.[1]

Modern years

Kedainiai Chemical Plant Lifosa

During Operation Barbarossa, Keidainiai was occupied by the German Army in the summer of 1941. On August 28, 1941, the entire Jewish community of Keidainiai a community which had been there for 500 years, were killed under the direction of German Special Police Battalions, with the aid of the local Lithuanian population. The Jewish population prior to the Holocaust was 3000.[5]

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

For many years, Kėdainiai was known for its chemical and food processing industries. The Kedainiai Chemical Plant began operations in January 1963. Publicized as a milestone in the industrialization of Lithuania, it emitted significant quantities of sulfuric acid and was the subject of ecological protests in the 1980s.[6][7] Following years of stagnation, old enterprises have come back to life, and new ones have been established, contributing to its status as an economic stronghold.[8]

Transportation

Kėdainiai is accessed by Via Baltica highway from Kaunas and Panevėžys, and by rail from Vilnius and Šiauliai. It is also served by Kaunas International Airport, the second largest airport in Lithuania, located in Karmėlava site.

Cultural activities

Kėdainiai minaret

The Kėdainiai Regional Museum, established in 1922, now operates four branches: a Multicultural Centre, the Mausoleum of the Dukes Radziwill, the House of Juozas Paukštelis, and the Museum of Wooden Sculptures of V.Ulevičius.[9]

Since the city is known as the cucumber capital of Lithuania, it sponsors an annual cucumber festival.[8]

A small Polish minority of 329 (0,61%)[10] people live in Kėdainiai district municipality, but only 30 people participate in Stowarzyszenie Polaków Kiejdan (The Kiejdany Polish Association), the elder people; their cultural activities involve public celebrations of Polish Day of Independence and Day of the Constitution of Third of May, as well as organizing a festival of Polish culture. Since 1994 a School of Polish Language exists.[11][12]

Higher Education

  • Janusz Radziwiłł College (Kėdainių Jonušo Radvilos studijų centras)

Famous citizens

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kėdainiai is twinned with:

Image gallery

  • St. Joseph's church of Carmelites

  • St. George's church, 15th century

  • Houses in the old town of Kėdainiai.

  • Kranto II street in the old town

  • Evangelical church

  • Senoji street in old town

  • Kėdainiai old town

  • Didžioji street

  • Nevėžis river in city center

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Kėdainiai". Samogitian Cultural Association Editorial Board. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
  2. ↑ Dov Levin (2000). The Litvaks. Berg Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-57181-264-3. 
  3. ↑ Library of Congress Authority control Name Headings. HEADING: Kėdainiai (Lithuania). Accessed 2009-09-14.
  4. ↑ Steve Murdoch (2006). Network North: Scottish kin, commercial and covert association in Northern Europe, 1603-1746. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-14664-8. 
  5. ↑ Gilbert, Martin (2004). The Second World War: A Complete History. Macmillan Publishers. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-8050-7623-3. 
  6. ↑ Monica J. Casper (2003). Synthetic planet: chemical politics and the hazards of modern life. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-93355-1. 
  7. ↑ A. P. J. Mol, David Allan Sonnenfeld (2000). Ecological Modernisation Around the World: Perspectives and Critical Debates. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-5064-7. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Kėdainiai district municipality". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
  9. ↑ "Museum History". Kėdainiai Regional Museum. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
  10. ↑ Number of inhabitants of Kėdainiai district municipality by ethnicity, Lithuanian census of 2011
  11. ↑ Świat Polonii, Dni Kultury Polskiej na Laudzie 18-20 czerwca 2004 r.
  12. ↑ http://www.knypava.lt Kėdainiuose giliai šaknis įleidę ir lenkai
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