Second-largest city in Lithuania
This article is about the city. For the county (Kauno apskritis), see
Kaunas County
.
City in Lithuania
Kaunas
|
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|
|
Flag
Coat of arms
|
Nickname(s):
|
Motto(s):
Diligite justitiam qui judicatis terram
(
Latin
: Cherish justice, you who judge the earth
[2]
)
|
Interactive map of Kaunas
|
Location within Lithuania
Show map of Lithuania
Location within the Baltics
Show map of Baltic states
Location within Europe
Show map of Europe
|
Coordinates:
54°53′50″N
23°53′10″E
/
54.89722°N 23.88611°E
/
54.89722; 23.88611
|
Country
|
Lithuania
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County
| Kaunas County
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Municipality
| Kaunas city municipality
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Capital of
| Kaunas County
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First mentioned
| 1361
|
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Granted
city rights
| 1408
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Elderships
| |
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|
? Type
| Mayor-council government
|
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? Mayor
| Visvaldas Matijo?aitis
(2015-)
[4]
|
---|
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? City
| 157 km
2
(61 sq mi)
|
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? Urban
| 1,653 km
2
(638 sq mi)
|
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? Metro
| 8,086 km
2
(3,122 sq mi)
|
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Elevation
| 48 m (157 ft)
|
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|
? City
| 304,459
[3]
|
---|
? Density
| 1,903/km
2
(4,930/sq mi)
|
---|
?
Urban
| 393,397
[7]
|
---|
? Urban density
| 230/km
2
(600/sq mi)
|
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?
Metro
| 623,262
[5]
[6]
|
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? Metro density
| 77/km
2
(200/sq mi)
|
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|
? Metro
| €13.7 billion (2022)
|
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Time zone
| UTC+2
(
EET
)
|
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? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC+3
(
EEST
)
|
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Postal code
| 44xxx ? 52xxx
|
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Area code
| (+370) 37
|
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City budget
| €482 million
[9]
|
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Climate
| Dfb
|
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Website
| www.kaunas.lt
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Official name
| Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939
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Type
| Cultural
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Criteria
| iv
|
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Designated
| 2023
(45th
session
)
|
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Reference no.
| [10]
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UNESCO region
| Europe
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Kaunas
(
;
Lithuanian:
[?k???n?s]
ⓘ
; previously known in English as
Kovno
, also see
other names
) is the second-largest
city
in
Lithuania
after
Vilnius
, the fourth largest
city
in the
Baltic States
and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a
county
[
pl
]
in the
Duchy of Trakai
of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and
Trakai Palatinate
since 1413. In the
Russian Empire
, it was the capital of the
Kaunas Governorate
from 1843 to 1915.
During the
interwar period
, it served as the
temporary capital of Lithuania
, when
Vilnius
was
seized
and controlled by
Poland
between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless
Art Deco
and
Lithuanian National Revival
architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, interior design of the time, and a widespread
cafe
culture.
[1]
The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the
European Heritage Label
.
[11]
[12]
It contributed to Kaunas being designated as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe as a
UNESCO
City of Design
,
[13]
[14]
[15]
and also to becoming a
World Heritage Site
in 2023 as the only European city representing large scale
urbanization
during the interwar period and versatile
modernism architecture
.
[16]
Kaunas was selected as the
European Capital of Culture
for 2022, together with
Esch-sur-Alzette
and
Novi Sad
.
[17]
[18]
The city is the capital of
Kaunas County
, and 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 is near the
Kaunas Reservoir
, the largest body of water in the whole of Lithuania.
As defined by Eurostat, the population of Kaunas
functional urban area
, is estimated at 391,153 (as of
[update]
2021),
[19]
while according to statistics of Kaunas territorial health insurance fund, there are 447,946 permanent inhabitants (as of 2022) in Kaunas and
Kaunas district
municipalities combined.
[20]
[21]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The city's name is of
Lithuanian
origin and most likely derives from a
personal name
. 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
[?k?vn?]
; the
Belarusian
name is
Ko?на
,
Ko?na
[?k?u?na]
. An earlier Russian name was
Ковно
Kovno
, although
Каунас
Kaunas
has been used since 1940. The
Yiddish
name is
??????
Kovne
, and the 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
).
Folk history
[
edit
]
A 16th century 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.
[22]
Palemon fled from
Rome
because he feared the mad Emperor
Nero
. Palemon, his sons and other relatives travelled 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. A suburban region in the vicinity is named "Palemonas".
[23]
Coat of arms
[
edit
]
In 1408
Vytautas the Great
granted Kaunas the
city rights
and himself chose the coat of arms of Kaunas with
aurochs
.
[24]
On 30 June 1993, the historical
coat of arms
of Kaunas city was re-established by a special
presidential
decree. The coat of arms features a white
aurochs
with a golden cross between its
horns
, set against a deep red background. The aurochs was the original heraldic symbol of the city, established in 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
.
[25]
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 Miknevicius
. An aurochs has replaced a
wisent
, which was depicted in the
Soviet
-era emblem that was used since 1969.
Blazon:
Gules, an
aurochs
passant guardant argent ensigned with a cross Or between his horns.
Kaunas also has a greater coat of arms, which is mainly used for purposes of Kaunas city representation. The sailor, three golden balls, and
Latin
text
"Diligite justitiam qui judicatis terram"
(
English
: Cherish justice, you who judge the earth
[2]
) in the greater coat of arms refers to
Saint Nicholas
, patron saint of merchants and seafarers, who was regarded as a heavenly guardian of Kaunas by Queen
Bona Sforza
.
[26]
[27]
History
[
edit
]
Early history
[
edit
]
According to the
archeological excavations
, the richest collections of
ceramics
and other artifacts 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
, Lamp?d?iai, Linkuva, Kani?kai, Marvel?, Pajiesys, Romainiai,
Petra?i?nai
, Sarg?nai, and Ver?vai sites.
[25]
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
[
edit
]
Panorama of Kaunas in 1600 by Tomasz Makowski
A settlement was established on the site of the current Kaunas Old Town, at the confluence of two large rivers, by at latest the 10th century AD and more settlements developed in the 11th century AD.
[28]
Kaunas was first mentioned in written sources in 1361 and at the end of the 13th century the brick
Kaunas Castle
was constructed to defend the residents from attacks by the
Teutonic Order
.
[29]
At the time only two brick castles stood near the Nemunas River (in Kaunas and
Grodno
), which was the main front line of fights between the Crusaders and
Lithuanians
.
[30]
Consequently, Kaunas Castle had a strategic importance, as it prevented the Crusaders from intruding deeper into Lithuania and its capital,
Vilnius
.
[31]
In 1362, the
castle was captured
after a siege of several weeks and destroyed by the Teutonic Order.
[32]
[33]
Lithuanian rulers
K?stutis
and Grand Duke
Algirdas
arrived to hep defend athe castle's defenders, but the castle was already surrounded by the fortifications of the Crusaders, and they could only watch the collapse of the castle.
[30]
Most of the 400 castle's defenders were killed in action, and commander
Vaidotas
of the Kaunas Castle
garrison
tried to break through with 36 men, but was taken and made a
prisoner
.
[30]
It was one of the largest and most important military victory of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century against the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
.
[34]
The Lithuanians constructed a new wooden castle on the island of Virgal?, which stood at the confluence of the Nemunas and Nev??io rivers; however in 1363 the Crusaders burned the castle in 1363 by the Crusaders.
[36]
The wooden castle was rebuilt, but in 1368 the Crusaders attacked once again, destroyed the castle and, according to the chronicles, killed 600
pagan
defenders, while they themselves suffered only three casualties.
[36]
[37]
The Lithuanians attempted to rebuild the castle with masonry and higher, wider walls, four
flanking towers
, and surrounded by a
moat
, but before its completion the Crusaders attacked in the summer of 1369, expelled the Lithuanians from the island of Virgal? and with their masonry built
Gotteswerder Castle
.
[36]
[38]
[32]
[37]
Gotteswerder Castle was captured after a five-week siege by the
Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army
, led by Algirdas and K?stutis, and two wooden castles were built close to it.
[37]
[39]
Nevertheless, the fighting between the Crusaders and the Lithuanians for the area went on until the Lithuanians eventually took control in 1404; it was an important point during the 1409
Samogitian
Rebellion and the
1410 war with the Crusaders
.
[38]
[37]
Grand Duke
Vytautas the Great
funded
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
in Kaunas (the construction was completed in 1400) to show his gratitude to the
Virgin Mary
for saving him from almost drowning in the river, during the
Battle of the Vorskla River
, in 1399.
[35]
Following the
Battle of Grunwald
in 1410, Kaunas Castle became a residence of the elder of Kaunas, and its military significance decreased.
[38]
"After leaving
Poseur
, I arrived in a large fortified city of Kaunas. It has a very beautiful large castle standing on a cliff of the Nemunas River. Kaunas is twelve miles from Poseur."
?
Guillebert de Lannoy
description of Kaunas during his trip between 1413?1414.
[40]
In 1408, the town was granted
Magdeburg rights
by Vytautas the Great and in 1413 became the centre of
Kaunas Powiat
, in
Trakai Voivodeship
.
[41]
[25]
Moreover, Vytautas ceded Kaunas the right to own the scales used for weighing the goods brought to the city or packed on the site, the 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 began to gain prominence, since it was at the intersection of
trade routes
and a
river port
.
[42]
At the time, Kaunas became an important port and centre of trade with
Western Europe
, thus rapidly growing.
[29]
In 1441, Kaunas joined the
Hanseatic League
, and Hansa merchant office
Kontor
was opened ? the only one in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
[43]
By the 16th century, Kaunas also had a public school and a hospital and was one of the most firmly established towns in the whole country.
[29]
[25]
Furthermore, in the 16th century Grand Duchess
Bona Sforza
achieved that the Kaunas Eldership should become a property of the
Jagiellonian dynasty
; starting in 1533, she carried out the
Volok Reform
.
[44]
The greatest economic boom of Kaunas was in the late 16th ? early 17th century, which led to construction of many
brick masonry
buildings throughout the city.
[25]
In the early 17th century, the prosperity of Kaunas led to the beginning of the construction of the
Wall of Kaunas
, which, however, was not completed, due to later wars and economic reasons.
[25]
[45]
In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city several times, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the
Swedish Army
, during the
Great Northern War
.
[25]
The
bubonic plague
struck the area in 1657 and 1708, killing many residents.
[25]
Fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732.
[25]
In the first half of the 18th century, the northern wall and two towers of the Kaunas Castle collapsed, due to damage from river water, and this led to abandonment of the castle, and it turned into ruins.
[38]
Subsequently, a jail was established in one part of the castle, in the middle of the 18th century.
[38]
At the end of the 18th century, the castle was sometimes used to hold meetings of
noble families
of Kaunas Powiat.
[38]
Russian Empire
[
edit
]
After the
third and 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
.
[25]
During the
French invasion of Russia
in 1812, the
Grand Army
of
Napoleon
passed through Kaunas twice, devastating the city both times. A hill fort mound in Kaunas is named Napoleon's Hill.
[25]
To prevent possible easy access through the city and protect the western borders of Russia, the
Kovno Fortress
was built. It is still visible throughout the town.
[46]
Kovno Governorate
, with a centre 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.
[47]
After the unsuccessful
January Uprising
in 1863 against the Russian Empire, the tsarist authority moved the Catholic Seminary of
Varniai
, prominent bishop
Motiejus Valan?ius
and
Samogitian diocese
institutions to Kaunas, where they were given the former
Bernardine
Monastery Palace and
St. George the Martyr Church
.
[48]
Only selected
noblemen
were permitted to study in the Seminary, with the only exception being peasant son
Antanas Baranauskas
, who illegally received the nobleman documents from
Karolina Praniauskait?
. He began lectures using the
Lithuanian language
, rather than Russian, and greatly influenced the spirit of the seminarians by narrating about the
ancient Lithuania
and especially its earthwork mounds. Later, many of the Seminary students were active in Lithuanian
book smuggling
; its chief main objective was to resist the
Russification policy
.
Kaunas Spiritual Seminary
finally became completely Lithuanian when in 1909 professor
Jonas Ma?iulis-Maironis
became the rector of the Seminary, and replaced use of the Polish language for teaching with the Lithuanian language.
[49]
Prior to the
Second World War
, Kaunas, like many 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 recorded as 25.8% Russian, 22.7% Polish, 6.6% Lithuanian.
[50]
It established numerous schools and synagogues and were important for centuries to the culture and business of the city.
During the
Imperial Russian Army
's
Great Retreat
of
World War I
,
Paul von Hindenburg
's
German Tenth Army
occupied Kaunas in August 1915.
[51]
Interwar Lithuania
[
edit
]
After
Vilnius
was occupied by the
Red Army
in 1919, the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania
established its main base in Kaunas during the
Lithuanian Wars of Independence
. Later, after the capital, Vilnius, had been annexed by the
Second Polish Republic
, Kaunas became the
temporary capital of Lithuania
.
[52]
It would hold this position until 28 October 1939, when the
Red Army
handed Vilnius over to Lithuania after its
invasion of Poland
.
[53]
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'etat
took place in Kaunas on 17 December 1926. It was largely organized by the military, especially general
Povilas Plechavi?ius
, and resulted in the replacement of the
democratically elected
Government and President
Kazys Grinius
with a conservative
nationalist
authoritarian Government
led by
Antanas Smetona
.
[54]
Shortly afterwards, tension between Antanas Smetona and
Augustinas Voldemaras
, supported by the
Iron Wolf Association
, arose seeking to gain authority. After the
unsuccessful coup attempt in June 1934
, Voldemaras was imprisoned for four years and received an amnesty on condition that he leave the country.
[55]
During the
interwar period
, Kaunas was nicknamed the
Little Paris
because of its rich cultural and academic life, fashion,
Art Deco
architecture, Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural style buildings as well as popular furniture, interior design of the time and widespread
cafe
culture.
[1]
[56]
The interim capital and the country itself also had a
Western
standard of living with sufficiently high salaries and low prices. At the time, qualified workers there were earning very similar
real wages
to workers in
Germany
,
Italy
,
Switzerland
and
France
, the country also had a high
natural increase in population
of 9.7 and the
industrial production
of Lithuania increased by 160% from 1913 to 1940.
[57]
The population of Kaunas increased 8,6 times during the interwar period from ~18,000 to ~154,000 residents.
[56]
Between the
World Wars
, industry prospered in Kaunas, which was the largest city in Lithuania. Under the direction of Mayor
Jonas Vilei?is
(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 to 40 square kilometres (6.9 to 15.4 sq mi), more than 2,500 buildings were built, plus three modern bridges over the Neris and Nemunas rivers. All of the city's streets were paved, horse-drawn transportation was replaced with modern bus lines, new suburbs were planned and built (
?aliakalnis
neighbourhood in particular), and new parks and squares were established.
[25]
The foundations of a
social security system
were laid, three new schools were built, and new
public libraries
, including the
Vincas Kudirka
library, were established. Vilei?is maintained many contacts in other
European cities
, and as a result, Kaunas was an active participant in European urban life.
[58]
The city also was a particularly important centre for the
Lithuanian Armed Forces
. In January 1919, during the
Lithuanian Wars of Independence
, the
War School of Kaunas
was established and started to train soldiers who were soon sent to the front to strengthen the fighting
Lithuanian Armed Forces
.
[59]
Part of the Lithuanian
armoured vehicles
military unit was moved to
?aliakalnis
, armed with advanced and brand new tanks, including the famous
Renault FT
,
Vickers-Armstrong
Model 1933 and Model 1936.
[60]
In May 1919, the
Lithuanian Aircraft State Factory
was founded in
Freda
to repair and to supply the army with
military aircraft
. It was considerably modernized by
Antanas Gustaitis
and started to build Lithuanian ANBO military aircraft. The exceptional discipline and regularity caused the
Lithuanian Air Force
to be an example for other military units. The
ANBO 41
was far ahead of the most modern foreign reconnaissance aircraft of that time in structural features, and most importantly in speed and in rate of climb.
[61]
At the time, Kaunas had a
Jewish population
of 35,000?40,000, about one quarter of the city's total population.
[62]
Jews made up much of the city's commercial, artisan, and professional sectors. Kaunas was a centre of Jewish learning, and the
yeshiva in Slobodka
(
Vilijampol?
) 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.
[62]
It was also an important
Zionist
centre.
[63]
Initially prior to
World War II
, Lithuania declared
neutrality
.
[64]
However, on 7 October 1939, the Lithuanian delegation departed to
Moscow
, where it later had to sign the
Soviet?Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty
because of the unfavorable situation. The treaty resulted in five Soviet military bases with 20,000 troops established across Lithuania in exchange for Lithuania's historical capital Vilnius. According to the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence
Kazys Musteikis
, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Juozas Urb?ys
initially told that Lithuanians refused
Vilnius Region
as well as the Russian garrisons, but the nervous
Joseph Stalin
replied, "No matter if you take Vilnius or not, the Russian garrisons will enter Lithuania anyway".
[65]
He also informed Juozas Urb?ys about the
Soviet?German secret protocols
and showed maps of the spheres of influence.
[66]
Two of the military bases with thousands of Soviet soldiers were established close to Kaunas in
Prienai
and
Gai?i?nai
.
[67]
Despite regaining the beloved historical capital, the Presidency and the Government remained in Kaunas.
[68]
On 14 June 1940, just before midnight, the last meeting of the Lithuanian government was held in Kaunas. During it, the
ultimatum presented by the Soviet Union
was debated.
[69]
President
Antanas Smetona
categorically declined to accept most of the ultimatum's demands, argued for military resistance and was supported by Kazys Musteikis,
Konstantinas ?akenis
,
Kazimieras Jokantas
, however the Commander of the Armed Forces
Vincas Vitkauskas
, Divisional General
Stasys Ra?tikis
,
Kazys Bizauskas
,
Antanas Merkys
and most of the Lithuanian government members decided that it would be impossible, especially the previously-stationed Soviet soldiers, and accepted the ultimatum.
[70]
On that night before officially accepting the ultimatum, the Soviet forces executed the Lithuanian border guard
Aleksandras Barauskas
[
lt
]
near the
Byelorussian SSR
border.
[71]
In the morning, the Lithuanian Government resigned, and the president left the country to avoid the fate of the Soviets' puppets and in the hope of forming a
government-in-exile
.
[72]
Soon the
Red Army flooded Lithuania
through the
Belarus?Lithuania border
with more than 200,000 soldiers and took control of the most important cities, including Kaunas where the heads of state resided. The Lithuanian Armed Forces were ordered not to resist, and the
Lithuanian Air Force
remained on the ground.
[73]
[74]
At the time, the Lithuanian Armed Forces had 26,084 soldiers (of which 1,728 officers) and 2,031 civil servants.
[75]
While the
Lithuanian Riflemen's Union
, subordinate to the army commander, had over 62,000 members, of which about 70% were farmers and agricultural workers.
[76]
After the occupation, the Soviets immediately took brutal action against the high-ranking officials of the state. Both targets of the ultimatum,
Minister of the Interior
Kazys Sku?as
and the Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania
Augustinas Povilaitis
, were transported to Moscow and later executed.
Antanas Gustaitis
,
Kazys Bizauskas
,
Vytautas Petrulis
,
Kazimieras Jokantas
,
Jonas Masili?nas
,
Antanas Tamo?aitis
also faced that fate, and President
Aleksandras Stulginskis
,
Juozas Urb?ys
,
Leonas Bistras
,
Antanas Merkys
,
Pranas Dovydaitis
,
Petras Klimas
,
Donatas Malinauskas
and
thousands of others were deported
.
[72]
Stasys Ra?tikis
, persuaded by his wife, secretly crossed the German border. After realizing this,
NKVD
started terror against the Ra?tikis family. His wife was separated from their one-year-old daughter and brutally interrogated at
Kaunas Prison
, his old father Bernardas Ra?tikis, three daughters, two brothers and sister were deported to
Siberia
.
[77]
Soldiers,
officers
,
senior officers
and
generals
of the Lithuanian Army and LRU members, who were seen as a threat to the occupiers, were quickly arrested, interrogated and released to the reserve, deported to the
concentration camps
or executed, which made many, trying to avoid that fate, join the
Lithuanian partisan
forces. The army itself was initially renamed the
Lithuanian People's Army
but was later reorganised into the
29th Rifle Corps of the Soviet Union
.
[76]
Soviet occupation and June Uprising
[
edit
]
In June 1940, the
Soviet Union
occupied
and
annexed
Lithuania in accordance with the
Molotov?Ribbentrop Pact
.
[78]
[79]
Vladimir Dekanozov
, a Soviet emissary from Moscow, gained effective power in Lithuania. Shortly afterwards, on 17 June 1940 the puppet
People's Government of Lithuania
was formed, which consistently destroyed Lithuanian society and political institutions and opened the way for the
Communist Party
to establish itself. To establish the legitimacy of the government and design the plans of Lithuania's "legal accession to the USSR", on 1 July, the
Seimas
of Lithuania was dismissed, and elections to the puppet
People's Seimas
were announced. The controlled (passports had imprints) and falsified elections to the People's Seimas were won by the Lithuanian Labour People's Union, which obeyed the occupiers' proposal to "ask" the Soviet authorities to have Lithuania admitted to the Soviet Union.
[80]
After the occupation, the
Lithuanian Diplomatic Service
did not recognize the new occupiers' authority and started the diplomatic liberation campaign of Lithuania.
[80]
In 1941,
Kazys ?kirpa
,
Leonas Prapuolenis
,
Juozas Ambrazevi?ius
and their supporters, including the former Commander of the Lithuanian Army General
Stasys Ra?tikis
, whose whole family was deported to
Siberia
, began organizing an uprising.
[77]
[81]
After realizing the reality of the repressive and brutal Soviet rule, in the early morning of 22 June 1941 (the first day when the
Nazi Germany
attacked the Soviet Union
), Lithuanians began the
June Uprising
, which was organized by the
Lithuanian Activist Front
, in Kaunas, where its main forces were concentrated. The uprising soon expanded to
Vilnius
and other locations. Its main goal was not to fight the Soviets but to secure the city from the inside (secure organizations, institutions, enterprises) and declare independence. By the evening of 22 June, the Lithuanians had controlled the
Presidential Palace
, post office, telephone and telegraph, and radio station. Control of Vilnius and most of the rest of Lithuanian territory was also shortly taken over by the rebels.
[82]
Multiple Red Army divisions stationed around Kaunas, including the brutal
1st Motor Rifle Division NKVD
responsible for the
June deportation
, and the puppet
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
regime commanders were forced to flee into the
Latvian SSR
through the
Daugava
River. The commander of the Red Army's
188th Rifle Division
colonel Piotr Ivanov reported to the
11th Army
Staff that during the retreat of his division through Kaunas "local counterrevolutionaries from the shelters deliberately fired on the Red Army, the detachments suffering heavy losses of soldiers and military equipment".
[83]
[84]
About 5,000 occupants were killed in Lithuania.
[85]
On 23 June 1941 at 9:28 am
Tauti?ka giesm?
, the
national anthem
of Lithuania, was played on the radio in Kaunas. Many people listened to the Lithuanian national anthem with tears in their eyes.
[86]
From Kaunas radio broadcasts, Lithuania learned that the rebellion was taking place in the country, the insurgents took Kaunas and the Proclamation of the Independence Restoration of Lithuania and the list of the
Provisional Government
were announced by
Leonas Prapuolenis
. The message was being repeated several times in different languages. The Provisional Government hoped that
Nazi Germany
would re-establish Lithuanian independence or at least allow some degree of autonomy (similar to the
Slovak Republic
), was seeking the protection of its citizens and did not support the
Nazis
'
Holocaust
policy.
[82]
However, the Provisional Government did little to stop the anti-Jewish violence encouraged by the Nazis and the anti-Semitic leadership of the
Lithuanian Activist Front
.
[87]
Minister of National Defence General
Stasys Ra?tikis
met personally with the
Wehrmacht
generals to discuss the situation.
[82]
He approached the Kaunas War Field Commandant General
Oswald Pohl
and the Military Command Representative General
Karl von Roques
by trying to plead for him to spare the Jews, but they replied that the
Gestapo
is handling those issues and that they could not help. Furthermore, in the beginning of the occupation, the prime minister of the Provisional Government of Lithuania,
Juozas Ambrazevi?ius
, convened the meeting in which the ministers participated together with the former President
Kazys Grinius
, Bishop
Vincentas Brizgys
and others. Ministers expressed distress at the atrocities being committed against the Jews but advised only that "despite all the measures which must be taken against the Jews for their Communist activity and harm done to the
German Army
, partisans and individuals should avoid public executions of Jews".
[87]
According to the Lithuanian-American Holocaust historian Saulius Su?ied?lis, "none of this amounted to a public scolding which alone could have persuaded at least some of the Lithuanians who had volunteered or been co-opted into participating in the killings to rethink their behavior." Lithuanian police battalions formed by the Provisional Government were eventually enlisted by the Nazis to help carry out the
Holocaust
.
[87]
In the first issue of the daily
? laisv?
(Towards Freedom) newspaper, the Independence Restoration Declaration was published, which had been previously announced on the radio. It stated that "The established Provisional Government of revived Lithuania declares the restoration of the Free and Independent State of Lithuania. The young Lithuanian state enthusiastically pledges to contribute to the organization of Europe on a new basis in front of the whole world innocent conscience. The Lithuanian Nation, exhausted from the terror of the brutal
Bolsheviks
, decided to build its future on the basis of national unity and social justice." and signatures.
[82]
On 24 June 1941, tank units of the Red Army in
Jonava
were ordered to retake Kaunas. The rebels radioed the Germans for assistance. The units were bombed by the
Luftwaffe
and did not reach the city. It was the first coordinated Lithuanian?German action.
[88]
The first German scouts, lieutenant Flohret and four privates, entered Kaunas on 24 June and found it in friendly hands.
[89]
A day later the main forces marched into the city without obstruction and almost as if they were on parade.
[90]
Nazi occupation
[
edit
]
On 26 June 1941 the German
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
ordered the rebel groups to disband and disarm.
[91]
Two days later Lithuanian guards and patrols were also relieved of their duties. Already in July, in a conversation the
Tilsit
Nazi
Gestapo
agent
Heinz Grafe
[
de
]
clearly stated to
Stasys Ra?tikis
that the
Provisional Government
was formed without German knowledge. Such a form, although not having anything against individuals, is unacceptable to the Germans. The current Provisional Government should be transformed into a National Committee or Council under the German military authority.
[92]
The
Nazi Germans
did not recognize the new Provisional Government, but they did not take any action to dissolve it. The Provisional Government, not agreeing to continue to be an instrument of the German occupiers, disbanded itself on 5 August 1941 after signing a protest for the Germans action of suspending the Lithuanian Government powers. Members of the Provisional Government then went as a body to the Garden of the
Vytautas the Great War Museum
, where they laid a wreath near the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
in the presence of numerous audience. The
Sicherheitsdienst
confiscated the pictures of the wreath-laying ceremony, thinking that it could be dangerous for the
German occupation policy in Lithuania
.
[93]
On 17 July 1941 the German civil administration was established. The government's powers were taken over by the new occupants.
[94]
Nazi Germany
established the
Reichskommissariat Ostland
in the
Baltic states
and much of Belarus, and the administrative centre for Lithuania (
Generalbezirk Litauen
) was in Kaunas ruled by a Generalkommissar
Adrian von Renteln
.
[95]
Jews began 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
Vilijampol?
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 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
.
[62]
As the
Second World War
began, there were 30,000 Jews living in Kaunas, comprising about 25% of the city's population.
[96]
When the Soviet Union took over Lithuania in 1940, some
Jewish Dutch
residents in Lithuania approached the Dutch consul
Jan Zwartendijk
to get a visa to the
Dutch West Indies
. Zwartendijk agreed to help them and Jews who had fled from German-occupied Poland also sought his assistance. In a few days, with the help of aides, Zwartendijk produced over 2,200 visas for Jews to
Curacao
.
[97]
Then refugees approached
Chiune Sugihara
, a Japanese consul, who gave them a transit visa through the USSR to
Japan
, against the disapproval of his government. This gave many refugees an opportunity to leave Lithuania for the
Russian Far East
via the
Trans-Siberian Railway
.
[98]
The fleeing Jews were refugees from
German-occupied Western Poland
and
Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland
, as well as residents of Kaunas and other Lithuania territories.
[99]
The Sugihara House, where he was previously issuing transit visas, currently is a museum and the Centre For Asian Studies of
Vytautas Magnus University
.
[100]
[101]
Following
Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union
on 22 June 1941, Soviet forces fled from Kaunas. Both before and during the German occupation starting 25 June, the
anti-Communists
, encouraged by the anti-Semitic leadership of the Berlin-based
Lithuanian Activist Front
(LAF),
began to attack Jews
, blaming them for the Soviet repressions, especially along Jurbarko and Kri??iukai?io streets.
[62]
The LAF's manifesto-type essay "What Are the Activists Fighting for?" states: "The Lithuanian Activist Front, by restoring the new Lithuania, is determined to carry out an immediate and fundamental purging of the Lithuanian nation and its land of Jews ...".
[102]
Nazi authorities took advantage of the
Lithuanian TDA Battalions
and established a concentration camp at the
Seventh Fort
, one of the city's ten historic forts, and 4,000 Jews were rounded up and murdered there.
[103]
The
Kaunas pogrom
was a massacre of Jewish people living in Kaunas that took place on 25?29 June 1941; the first days of the
Operation Barbarossa
and of Nazi occupation of Lithuania. Prior to the construction of the
Ninth Fort
museum on the site, archaeologists unearthed a mass grave and personal belongings of the Jewish victims.
[104]
The
Ninth Fortress
has been renovated into a memorial for the wars and is the site where nearly 50,000 Lithuanians were killed during Nazi occupation. Of these deaths, over 30,000 were Jews.
[105]
Soviet administration
[
edit
]
Beginning in 1944, the
Red Army began offensives
that eventually led to the reconquest of all three of the Baltic states. Kaunas was captured on 1 August 1944 and this led to the continuation of Soviet repressions.
[106]
Kaunas again became the major centre of resistance against the
Soviet Union
.
[106]
From the very start of the
Lithuanian partisans
war, the most important partisan districts were based around Kaunas.
[25]
Although
guerrilla warfare
ended by 1953, Lithuanian opposition to Soviet rule did not. In 1956 people in the Kaunas region supported the
uprising in Hungary
by rioting.
[106]
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
.
[25]
On 14 May 1972, 19-year-old
Romas Kalanta
, having proclaimed "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.
[107]
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 Tamkevi?ius
(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.
[108]
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
S?j?dis
was formed. On 9 October 1988, the
Flag of Lithuania
was raised above the tower of the
Military Museum
.
[25]
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 Sladkevi?ius
, 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 centre 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
World War II
.
[109]
Restored independence
[
edit
]
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
Sitk?nai Radio Station
.
[110]
They were defended by the citizenry of Kaunas.
[111]
Pope John Paul II
said
Holy Mass
for the faithful of the
Archdiocese of Kaunas
at the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica and held a meeting with the young people of Lithuania at the
S. Darius and S. Gir?nas Stadium
, during his visit to Lithuania in 1993.
[112]
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, substantially improving air and land transport links with
Western Europe
have made Kaunas easily accessible to foreign tourists.
Kaunas is famous for its basketball club,
?algiris
, which was founded in 1944 and was one of the most popular nonviolent expressions of resistance during its struggle with the
CSKA Moscow
. In 2011, the largest indoor arena in the
Baltic states
was built and was named
?algiris Arena
. Kaunas hosted finals of the
EuroBasket 2011
.
In March 2015, Kaunas's interwar buildings received the
European Heritage Label
.
[11]
[12]
On 29 March 2017, Kaunas was named
European Capital of Culture
of 2022.
[113]
On 28 September 2017, the winner of the M. K. ?iurlionis Concert Centre architectural competition was announced and the centre was planned to be completed by 2022, close to the
Vytautas the Great Bridge
.
[114]
On 18 September 2023, Kaunas's interwar modern architecture was included in the list of the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
.
[16]
Geography
[
edit
]
The city covers 15,700
hectares
. Parks, groves, gardens,
nature reserves
, and agricultural areas occupy 8,329 hectares.
[117]
The city follows in suit of the country and is lowland.
Kaunas territory surrounds its capital Wilno or Vilnius together with the territories of other five smaller towns ?
Panev??ys
,
Daugavpils
,
Maladzyechna
,
Lida
and
Grodno
.
Administrative divisions
[
edit
]
Kaunas is divided into the following
elderships
:
Eldership
|
Area
|
Population (2021)
|
Population density (per km
2
)
|
Aleksotas
|
24 km
2
(5,930.53 acres; 9.27 sq mi)
|
21,390
|
890
|
Centras
|
4.6 km
2
(1,136.68 acres; 1.78 sq mi)
|
14,356
|
3,100
|
Dainava
|
5.3 km
2
(1,309.66 acres; 2.05 sq mi)
|
53,053
|
10,000
|
Eiguliai
|
14.5 km
2
(3,583.03 acres; 5.60 sq mi)
|
39,371
|
2,700
|
Gri?iupis
|
3.8 km
2
(939.00 acres; 1.47 sq mi)
|
23,894
|
6,300
|
Panemun?
|
24.8 km
2
(6,128.21 acres; 9.58 sq mi)
|
14,888
|
600
|
Petra?i?nai
|
28.5 km
2
(7,042.50 acres; 11.00 sq mi)
|
12,835
|
450
|
?an?iai
|
7.4 km
2
(1,828.58 acres; 2.86 sq mi)
|
18,954
|
2,600
|
?ilainiai
|
25.3 km
2
(6,251.77 acres; 9.77 sq mi)
|
55,125
|
2,200
|
Vilijampol?
|
14.4 km
2
(3,558.32 acres; 5.56 sq mi)
|
23,687
|
1,600
|
?aliakalnis
|
7.4 km
2
(1,828.58 acres; 2.86 sq mi)
|
21,200
|
2,900
|
Climate
[
edit
]
Kaunas has a
humid continental climate
(
Koppen climate classification
Dfb) with an average annual temperature of approximately 7 °C (45 °F).
Despite its northern location, the climate in Kaunas is relatively mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, mainly because of the
Baltic Sea
. Because of its latitude, Kaunas has 17 hours of daylight in midsummer but only around 7 hours in midwinter. The
Kazl? R?da
Forest,
[118]
west of Kaunas, creates a
microclimate
around the city, regulating humidity and temperature of the air, and protecting it from strong westerly 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 relatively 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.
Climate data for Kaunas (1991?2020 normals, extremes 1901-present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
11.7
(53.1)
|
14.8
(58.6)
|
20.2
(68.4)
|
28.6
(83.5)
|
31.4
(88.5)
|
32.9
(91.2)
|
34.9
(94.8)
|
35.3
(95.5)
|
33.3
(91.9)
|
23.9
(75.0)
|
16.7
(62.1)
|
11.1
(52.0)
|
35.3
(95.5)
|
Mean maximum °C (°F)
|
5.8
(42.4)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
12.8
(55.0)
|
22.5
(72.5)
|
26.5
(79.7)
|
28.2
(82.8)
|
30.7
(87.3)
|
30.5
(86.9)
|
25.3
(77.5)
|
18.3
(64.9)
|
11.4
(52.5)
|
6.7
(44.1)
|
32.0
(89.6)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
?0.8
(30.6)
|
0.2
(32.4)
|
4.8
(40.6)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
18.6
(65.5)
|
21.6
(70.9)
|
24.0
(75.2)
|
23.3
(73.9)
|
17.9
(64.2)
|
11.0
(51.8)
|
4.6
(40.3)
|
0.8
(33.4)
|
11.8
(53.2)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
?3.0
(26.6)
|
?2.6
(27.3)
|
1.3
(34.3)
|
7.9
(46.2)
|
13.0
(55.4)
|
16.3
(61.3)
|
18.7
(65.7)
|
18.1
(64.6)
|
13.3
(55.9)
|
7.5
(45.5)
|
2.6
(36.7)
|
?1.4
(29.5)
|
7.9
(46.2)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?5.4
(22.3)
|
?5.2
(22.6)
|
?2.2
(28.0)
|
2.7
(36.9)
|
7.3
(45.1)
|
10.9
(51.6)
|
13.3
(55.9)
|
12.6
(54.7)
|
8.7
(47.7)
|
4.1
(39.4)
|
0.6
(33.1)
|
?3.1
(26.4)
|
3.8
(38.8)
|
Mean minimum °C (°F)
|
?18.2
(?0.8)
|
?16.2
(2.8)
|
?9.9
(14.2)
|
?3.4
(25.9)
|
0.6
(33.1)
|
5.0
(41.0)
|
8.3
(46.9)
|
7.0
(44.6)
|
1.5
(34.7)
|
?2.9
(26.8)
|
?7.0
(19.4)
|
?12.2
(10.0)
|
?21.3
(?6.3)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?35.8
(?32.4)
|
?36.3
(?33.3)
|
?26.3
(?15.3)
|
?12.0
(10.4)
|
?3.7
(25.3)
|
0.1
(32.2)
|
2.1
(35.8)
|
0.3
(32.5)
|
?3.0
(26.6)
|
?13.7
(7.3)
|
?21.0
(?5.8)
|
?30.6
(?23.1)
|
?36.3
(?33.3)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
53.0
(2.09)
|
41.4
(1.63)
|
44.0
(1.73)
|
42.0
(1.65)
|
57.5
(2.26)
|
71.8
(2.83)
|
95.8
(3.77)
|
84.2
(3.31)
|
56.1
(2.21)
|
69.2
(2.72)
|
50.2
(1.98)
|
48.2
(1.90)
|
710.2
(27.96)
|
Average precipitation days
|
12.29
|
10.77
|
10.40
|
8.50
|
9.25
|
10.76
|
10.72
|
10.51
|
8.46
|
10.76
|
10.65
|
11.21
|
124.53
|
Average
relative humidity
(%)
|
87
|
84
|
77
|
68
|
67
|
71
|
73
|
75
|
80
|
84
|
89
|
89
|
79
|
Average
dew point
°C (°F)
|
?5
(23)
|
?5
(23)
|
?3
(27)
|
1
(34)
|
7
(45)
|
11
(52)
|
13
(55)
|
13
(55)
|
9
(48)
|
5
(41)
|
1
(34)
|
?3
(27)
|
4
(39)
|
Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
40.3
|
67.8
|
127.1
|
174.0
|
251.1
|
264.0
|
257.3
|
238.7
|
159.0
|
99.2
|
42.0
|
27.9
|
1,748.4
|
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization
[119]
NOAA (extremes)
[120]
|
Source 2: Hong Kong Observatory (sun only)
[121]
Meteo Climat (normal temps & precipitation),
[122]
Time and Date (humidity and dewpoints, 1985-2015)
[123]
|
Religion
[
edit
]
Prominent religious features of Kaunas include:
[124]
Culture
[
edit
]
Kaunas is a city centered around culture. The
Old Town
of Kaunas is located at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers where old architectural monuments and other historical buildings are located. Located to the East of the Old Town is the city's New Town, which started developing in 1847 and got its name when it became a distinct part of the city.
[60]
Central Kaunas
is defined by two pedestrian streets: the 1.6 km long
Laisv?s al?ja
(Liberty Avenue), a central street of the city, lined by
linden trees
and decorated with flower beds.
[125]
The
Old Town
is the historical center of Kaunas. The streets in Old Town have been turned to pedestrian sidewalks, so it is best to tour the place by foot. Prominent features of the Old Town include
Kaunas Castle
, the
Town Hall
, and the historical
Presidential Palace
. The Town Hall in Kaunas played an important role in the Medieval Times as a center for trade, festivals, and criminals were brought here for punishment. The Town Hall was originally built with wooden frames, however, after numerous fires in 1542 they began to construct buildings with stone. The stone buildings, however, also burned down so the Town Hall that stands today was constructed in a more advanced way, which took from 1771 to 1780. The Town Hall is still a center of culture today, it holds weddings and is the home of the Museum of Ceramics.
[126]
Other historical, cultural features of Kaunas include:
Museums
[
edit
]
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. ?iurlionis National Art Museum
, commemorating the work of the early 20th century
avant-garde
artist
M. K. ?iurlionis
who sought to combine painting and music into a single
artistic medium
- the
?muidzinavi?ius 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
- Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum
- Kaunas Picture Gallery
- Mykolas ?ilinskas Art Gallery
- Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments
- Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum
- Sugihara
house-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 (5 mi) 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
.
[127]
It was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of Lithuania in 1999.
[128]
- The apartments of some famous Kaunas natives, including
Paulius Galaun?
,
Adam Mickiewicz
,
Juozas Gru?as
,
Balys Sruoga
,
Juozas Tumas-Vai?gantas
,
Salom?ja N?ris
,
Juozas Zikaras
,
Vincentas Sladkevi?ius
have been turned into public museums.
[129]
Theatres
[
edit
]
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 the 19th century. The only professional circus organisation in Lithuania, the Baltic Circus, was founded in Kaunas in 1995.
[130]
Kaunas theatres play an important role in Lithuanian society. There are at least seven professional theatres, many amateur theatres, ensembles and abundant groups of art and sports. Some of the best examples of cultural life in Kaunas are theatres of various styles:
Cityscape
[
edit
]
Urbanism and architecture
[
edit
]
The city plan is mixed. The rectangular
old town
at the confluence of the
Nemunas
and the
Neris
rivers is rich in valuable buildings and their complexes. During the
Gothic period
, the
Kaunas Castle
(13th?16th centuries),
Old Kaunas Ducal Palace
(15th century),
Church of Vytautas the Great
(beginning of the 15th century; also known as the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary),
Church of Saint Nicholas
(late 15th century),
St. George's Church and the Bernardine Monastery
(1472),
Church of St. Gertrude
(15th?16th centuries; also has
Renaissance
elements),
Kaunas Cathedral Basilica
(construction began in the 15th century; later was reconstructed and expanded),
Kaunas Town Hall
(construction began in 1542; later gained late
Baroque
and early
Classicism
forms),
House of Perk?nas
(late 15th century ? early 16th century), residential houses in the Town Hall Square, Vilnius and Kurpi? Streets were built.
[132]
The ensemble of the
Church of the Holy Trinity and the Bernardine monastery
(started in the late 16th century), the so-called Napoleonic House (16th century) has Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and
Mannerist
architecture features.
[132]
The Renaissance remains of Kaunas defensive fortifications have survived (2nd half of the 17th century).
[132]
One of the most famous monuments of Baroque architecture is the ensemble of
Pa?aislis Church and Monastery
(started in 1667, architects G. Frediani, C. Puttini, P. Puttini).
[132]
Other Baroque style buildings:
Kaunas Lutheran Holly Trinity Church
(1683; in 1862 Romanticism style bell tower was built, its architect was J. Woller),
Corpus Christi Church
(1690, in 1866 was reconstructed to an Orthodox church gained
Byzantine forms
),
Church of St. Francis Xavier
(1720; towers were built in 1725); Baroque and Classicism elements: the ensemble of the
Church of the Holy Cross
(1690) and the Carmelite Monastery (1777),
Siru?iai Palace
(18th century; also known as
Maironis
House, from 1936 is used as the
Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum
).
[132]
Forms of classicist architecture are typical in the
Auk?toji Freda Manor
(early 19th century), post station building complex (early 19th century; architect J. Poussier).
[132]
Notable buildings of the
Historicism
period in Kaunas are:
Kaunas State Musical Theatre
(1892; architect J. Golinevi?ius; was expanded in the 20th century),
St. Michael the Archangel Church
(
Neo-Byzantine
style; architect K. Limarenko), brick style Saul?s Gymnasium building (1913; engineer F. Malinovskis, later E. A. Frykas),
Kaunas Fortress
(1889).
[132]
In the first half of the 20th century, when Kaunas became the
temporary capital of Lithuania
in 1919, the city was extensively modernized and thousands of new buildings were built. From 1918 to 1940 more than 12.000 construction permits were issued in Kaunas, which was an extremely rapid growth for a relatively small-scale city (90.000 inhabitants) that fundamentally changed the city's character.
[133]
The construction permits resulted in more than 10.000 buildings being built in the city and the area of Kaunas expanded 7,1 times during the interwar period.
[56]
Neoclassicism
prevailed in the 3rd decade of the 20th century (
Kaunas School of Arts
, built in 1923,
Bank of Lithuania
building, built in 1928,
Palace of Justice and the Parliament
with
Art Deco
elements, built in 1930) and a search for the Lithuanian national style was typical (e.g. residential house of
Ragutis
factory, built in 1925
[134]
).
[132]
The styles of Classicism and
Modernism
intertwined in buildings built in the beginning of 1930s (e.g. Faculty of Medicine at
Vytautas Magnus University
, built in 1933, now belongs to the
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences
,
[135]
Vytautas the Great War Museum
and
M. K. ?iurlionis National Art Museum
, built in 1936
[136]
), while Modernism and national style intertwined in the
Kaunas Central Post Office
(architect F. Vizbaras), built in 1932,
[137]
Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club Building
(architect S. Kudokas and others), built in 1937.
[138]
[132]
The most notable
Rationalism
style buildings in Kaunas are:
Christ's Resurrection Church
(construction began in 1933, but it was converted into a radio factory from 1952 and so it was returned to the believers only in 1990 and was reconstructed in 2005), palaces of
Pienocentras
(architects
Vytautas Landsbergis-?emkalnis
, K. Reisonas),
Pa?angos
with
Art Deco
decoration elements (architect F. Vizbaras),
Physical Culture
(architect V. Landsbergis??emkalnis, now belongs to the
Lithuanian Sports University
),
Prekybos, pramon?s ir amat?
(1938, architect V. Landsbergis??emkalnis),
Taupom?j? kas?
(1939; architects A. Funkas, B. Elsbergas, A. Luko?aitis; now is the primary building of Kaunas City Municipality);
[132]
Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
(1938; architect A. ?alkauskis), Military Research Laboratory for the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense (1938; architect V. Landsbergis??emkalnis; now Faculty of Chemical Technology at
Kaunas University of Technology
),
[139]
Kaunas Clinics
complex (1939; French architect U. Cassan),
Kaunas Sports Hall
(1939; engineer A. Rozenbliumas),
Pasaka Cinema
(1939),
Romuva Cinema
(1940), residential houses complex in V. Putvinskio Street (formed in 1928?1937).
[132]
In 2023, the
UNESCO
World Heritage Centre included the Kaunas modernist architecture into the List of
World Heritage Sites
.
After
World War II
buildings of pseudoclassical forms were built (e.g.
Kaunas railway station
, built in 1953), complex engineering structures (
Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant
, built in 1960). From the 7th decade of the 20th century Modernism style buildings were further developed. New residential areas were built (e.g.
Kalnie?iai
, completed in 1985), public buildings (e.g. Industrial Construction Design Institute, 1966,
[140]
House for Political Education (now part of
Vytautas Magnus University
), 1976),
[141]
shopping malls (e.g. Girstupis, 1975, Vitebskas, 1980, Kalnie?i?, 1986), shops (Vie?nag?, 1982, Merkurijus, 1983), galleries (e.g.
Kaunas Picture Gallery
, 1978,
Mykolas ?ilinskas Art Gallery
, 1989), educational institutions (e.g. Faculty of Light Industry at Kaunas University of Technology, 1983).
[132]
In the late 20th century and early 21st century, buildings were built in Kaunas based on the projects of architects V. Adomavi?ius (e.g. ??uolynas Sports Center Complex, 2003), G. Jurevi?ius (e.g. Peugeot, Toyota, Lexus, Honda car showrooms), A. Kan?as (e.g. Aleksotas Church of St. Casimir, 1997, company Kraft Foods Lietuva administrative and laboratory buildings complex, 2001, shopping and entertainment center Akropolis, 2007), A. Karalius (building materials salon Iris, 2002, block of flats
Au?ros namai
, 2005), D. Paulauskien? (e.g. Catherine's Monastery, 2000) E. Mili?nas (e.g.
?algiris Arena
, 2001), G. Janulyt??Bernotien? (e.g. Library and Health Sciences Information Center of
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences
, 2007, Center for Science Studies and Business of Kaunas University of Technology Santakos Valley, 2013), G. Bal?ytis (e.g. Kaunas Bus Station reconstruction, 2017), G. Natkevi?ius (e.g. Moxy Kaunas Center Hotel),
A. Kau?p?das
, V. Klimavi?ius, D. Laurinaitien?.
[132]
Parks, leisure, and cemeteries
[
edit
]
The city of Kaunas has a number of parks and public open spaces. It devotes 7.3% of its total land acreage to parkland.
[142]
??uolynas
(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
Constantin von Regel
the
Botanical Garden
was founded in 1923.
[143]
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.
[143]
In addition, Kaunas is home to
Kaunas Zoo
, the only state-operated
zoo
in all of Lithuania.
[144]
Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, and arts is
Petra?i?nai 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.
On 23 September 2018,
Pope Francis
visited Kaunas'
Santakos Park
as part of a tour of the Baltic states.
[145]
Economy
[
edit
]
Kaunas Mint
produced coins of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
from 17 October 1665 to 15 January 1667 during the reign of Grand Duke
John II Casimir Vasa
.
[147]
During the
interwar period
, the Kaunas Mint was reestablished in 1936 and produced coins of the Republic of Lithuania.
[148]
Kaunas is a large center of
industry
, trade, and
services
in Lithuania. The most developed industries in Kaunas are amongst the food and beverage industries, textile and light industries, chemical industry, publishing and processing, pharmaceuticals, metal industry, wood processing and furniture industry. Recently
information technology
and
electronics
have become part of the business activities taking place in Kaunas. In addition, the city also has large
construction
industry which includes, but is not limited to commercial, housing and road construction.
[149]
Primary foreign investors in Kaunas are companies from the Sweden, United States, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Russia.
[150]
Head offices of several major International and Lithuanian companies are located in Kaunas, including largest
Generic Pharmaceuticals
producer in Lithuania "
Sanitas
", producer of sportswear 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", JSC "
Stora Enso
Packaging",
[151]
producer of pharmaceuticals, and the only producer of
homoeopathic
medicines in Lithuania JSC "Aconitum".
[152]
Its geographic location causes Kaunas to be considered one of the largest logistics centres in Lithuania. The largest wholesale, distribution and logistics company in Lithuania and Latvia JSC "Sanitex",
[153]
as well as a subsidiary of material handling and logistics company
Dematic
in the Baltics
[154]
have been operated in Kaunas. Currently, Kaunas Public Logistics Centre is being built by the demand of national state-owned
railway
company
Lithuanian Railways
.
[155]
The "Margasmilt?" 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.
[156]
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.
[157]
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 R&D department of
Dassault Systemes
producing world-leading modeling tools software
CATIA
. A
LED
lighting assembly plant was opened in Kaunas by South Korean company LK Technology in February 2011.
[158]
JSC "Baltic car equipment" is one of the leaders in Baltic countries, in the field of manufacturing electronic equipment for automobiles. It also specialises in development of new
telemetry
, data base creation,
mobile payment
projects.
[159]
Kaunas Free Economic Zone
[160]
established in 1996 has also attracted some investors from abroad, including the development of the new 200 MW
Cogeneration Power Plant
project, proposed by the Finnish capital company
Fortum
Heat Lithuania.
[161]
Before its disestablishment,
Air Lithuania
had its head office in Kaunas.
[162]
Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant
is the largest one in Lithuania.
Some notable changes are under construction and in the stage of disputes.
[
citation needed
]
The construction of a new landmark of Kaunas?the
?algiris Arena
?began in the autumn of 2008.
[163]
It was completed in August 2011. Currently discussions are underway about the further development of the
Vilijampol?
district on the right bank of the
Neris
River and the
Nemunas River
, near their confluence.
[164]
In October 2017, an automotive parts and technologies manufacturer
Continental AG
decided to invest over 95 million
euros
to build a new factory in Kaunas, which is the largest direct investment from a foreign country.
[165]
Kaunas is also known for its
programmers
, as they developed a
software
for the American billionaire
Robert Pera
's
Ubiquiti Networks
product NanoStation, therefore the company established a
R&D
division Ubiquiti Networks Europe in Kaunas.
[166]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1897
| 70,920
| ?
|
---|
1923
| 92,446
| +30.4%
|
---|
1959
| 214,348
| +131.9%
|
---|
1970
| 305,116
| +42.3%
|
---|
1979
| 370,419
| +21.4%
|
---|
1989
| 422,931
| +14.2%
|
---|
2001
| 378,943
| ?10.4%
|
---|
2011
| 315,993
| ?16.6%
|
---|
2021
| 298,753
| ?5.5%
|
---|
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org
[169]
|
Today, with more than 94% of its citizens being ethnic
Lithuanians
, Kaunas is one of the most Lithuanian cities in the country.
Ethnic composition
As of the last census in 2021, out of a total population of 298,753:
[170]
- Lithuanians
? 94.4%
- Russians
? 2.9%
- Ukrainians
? 0.3%
- Poles
? 0.4%
- Belarusians
? 0.2%
- Other ? 1.4%
Ethnic composition
in 2011, out of a total of 315,933:
[171]
- Lithuanians
? 93.6%
- Russians
? 3.8%
- Ukrainians
? 0.4%
- Poles
? 0.4%
- Belarusians
? 0.2%
- Other ? 1.6%
According to the official census of 1923, there were 92,446 inhabitants in Kaunas:
[172]
1897 Russian census
revealed the following linguistic composition in the city (by
mother tongue
, out of 70,920):
[175]
- Yiddish
25,052 ? 35%
- Russian language
18,308 ? 26%
- Polish language
16,112 ? 23%
- Lithuanian language
4,092 ? 6%
- German language
3,340 ? 5%
- Tatar
1,084 ? 2%
- Other 2932 ? 4%
Municipality council
[
edit
]
Kaunas city municipality
council is the governing body of the Kaunas city municipality and is responsible for municipality laws.
[176]
[177]
The council is composed of 41 members (40 councillors and a mayor) all directly elected for four-year terms.
[178]
The council is the member of the
Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania
.
[179]
Mayors
[
edit
]
Transportation
[
edit
]
Airports
[
edit
]
Kaunas International Airport (KUN)
is the second-busiest airport in Lithuania and the
fourth-busiest airport in the Baltic states
. In 2016, it handled 740,448 passengers (in addition to 2,488 tons of cargo), down from the peak of 872,618 passengers in 2011. Irish
low-cost airline
Ryanair
announced Kaunas Airport as their 40th base and first in
Central Europe
in February 2010.
[181]
The smaller
S. Darius and S. Gir?nas Airport
, established in 1915, is located about three kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the city centre. It is one of the oldest still functioning
airports
in Europe used for tourism and
air sports
purposes and now hosts the
Lithuanian Aviation Museum
.
Bus stations
[
edit
]
Kaunas bus station went through a major renovation and reopened in 2017.
[182]
[183]
The bus station services domestic and international bus lines. After reconstruction, the bus station has multiple shops and cafes. The total indoor floor area is 13 thousand m2. More than half of the total floor area is underground, mostly for vehicle and bicycle parking. It is Lithuania's largest and busiest bus station with more than 20 bus gates.
[184]
[185]
[186]
Highways
[
edit
]
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,
Riga
(Latvia), and
Tallinn
(Estonia). It is known as the
Via Baltica
between
Warsaw
and Tallinn, a distance of 670 km (416 mi). It is the most important road connection between the
Baltic states
. Kaunas also is linked to
Vilnius
to its east and
Klaip?da
, on the
Baltic Sea
, via the
A1
motorway and
Daugavpils
(Latvia), via
E262
(
A6
) highway.
Bridges
[
edit
]
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 the 19th century. The oldest part of Kaunas was connected with
?aliakalnis
neighbourhood in 1889. The city increased once more when it was connected by bridges with
Aleksotas
and
Vilijampol?
districts in the 1920s.
[2]
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:
Railways
[
edit
]
Kaunas is an important railway hub in Lithuania. First railway connection passing through Kaunas was constructed in 1859?1861 and opened in 1862.
[187]
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
?e?tokai
, 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
?e?tokai
to Kaunas was completed in 2015.
Hydrofoil
[
edit
]
There used to be a
hydrofoil
route serving
the Port of Nida
through Nemunas and across the
Curonian Lagoon
. It has been repeatedly discontinued and reopened, so the most current status is unclear. The company still exists and has its boats in working condition.
[188]
[
better source needed
]
Public transportation
[
edit
]
The public transportation system is managed by
Kauno vie?asis transportas
(KVT).
[189]
There are 14
trolleybus
routes, 43
bus
routes.
[190]
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.
[191]
Previous paper monthly tickets were in use until August 2009.
[192]
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
Nemunas
near Kaunas and
Rum?i?k?s
.
[193]
In 2015,
Kauno autobusai
bought four
Van Hool AGG300
to serve the mostly populated 37th route. These are the longest buses used in the
Baltic states
.
[194]
The bus station in Kaunas underwent reconstruction for six months and reopened on 23 January 2017. It is the largest and most modern bus station in Lithuania.
[195]
In 2017,
Kauno autobusai
began planning to cardinally upgrade the trolleybuses and buses park till the end of 2019.
[196]
The new Mercedes-Benz minibuses were introduced on 2 September 2019.
[197]
The first new trolleybuses ?koda 26Tr Solaris were publicly introduced on 30 September 2019.
[198]
In November 2019,
Kauno autobusai
signed a contract for 100 new model units of
MAN Lion's City
12
hybrid electric buses
, which replaced over half of city's old buses.
[199]
Kaunas public transport has a
mobile app
?iogas
(English:
Grasshopper
) which allow to purchase and activate digital tickets using a
smartphone
.
[200]
After reaching the E-ticket card's monthly fee (28 Eur), the remaining trips are free of charge until the end of the month.
[200]
Kaunas has two funiculars:
?aliakalnis Funicular
and
Aleksotas Funicular
. Both are from 1930s.
Aleksotas Funicular
works every day from 7am to 7pm (a break from 12pm to 1pm).
?aliakalnis Funicular
works from Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm.
[201]
Sports
[
edit
]
Sports in Kaunas have 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),
Granitas Kaunas
(handball club,
EHF Cup
champions in 1987), ?algiris basketball club (est. 1944,
EuroLeague
champions in 1999).
Kaunas is home to some historic venues such as: the main stadium of the city?
Darius and Gir?nas Stadium
(total capacity after renovation 15,315), which is also the home stadium for
soccer
clubs from Kaunas and the
Lithuanian national football team
established in 1923, and
Kaunas Sports Hall
, completed in 1939 for the
Third European Basketball Championship
. Darius and Gir?nas Stadium is also used as the only large
athletics
stadium in Lithuania. On 16 October 2022 the Darius and Gir?nas Stadium was reopened as a
UEFA 4th class stadium
following a reconstruction for 43 million euros.
[202]
Ice hockey
was first played 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.
[203]
The
Kaunas Marathon
is an international marathon with thousands of Lithuanian and foreign participants every year.
[204]
In July 1938 Kaunas, together with
Klaip?da
(where sailing and rowing competitions were held), hosted the
Lithuanian National Olympiad
that gathered the Lithuanian athletes from all around the world.
[205]
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.
[206]
The
National Football Academy
?the national centre for the training of the best Lithuanian young players of
football
was established in Kaunas in 2006.
[207]
BC ?algiris
is based in Kaunas. ?algiris is considered as one of Europe's strongest basketball clubs and plays in the
EuroLeague
. ?algiris plays its home games at
?algiris Arena
, the largest indoor arena in the
Baltics
. The arena, which aside from sports also hosts concerts, was built in time for the
European Basketball Championship
of 2011 and hosted the tournament's
knockout stage
. 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
,
?ar?nas Mar?iulionis
,
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
,
Linas Kleiza
,
Donatas Motiej?nas
and
?ar?nas Jasikevi?ius
.
The first
golf
club "Elnias" in Lithuania was opened in Kaunas in 2000.
Nemuno ?iedas
is the only in Lithuania
motor racing
circuit, situated in
Ka?ergin?
, a small town near Kaunas.
A
yacht club
operates in the
Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park
.
A round of the
UIM F2 World Championship
is held by the site of the old Kaunas Lagoon pier every year. The powerboat race is organised by Edgaras Riabko who also competes in the event.
[208]
Kaunas was one of the host cities for the
2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup
.
On 19 December 2022 Kaunas was announced as a host city for the
2023 EuroLeague Final Four
, the first in
Lithuania's sports history
, and it was held in 19?21 May 2023.
[209]
During 10?14 January 2024, Kaunas hosted the
2024 European Figure Skating Championships
in the
?algiris Arena
.
[210]
Education
[
edit
]
In 1844 the
Gymnasium
of the
Kra?iai College
, one of the most important centers of education and
Jesuit
science in Lithuania, was transferred from
Kra?iai
to Kaunas, and currently it is named
Kaunas Maironis University Gymnasium
.
[212]
[213]
Currently, 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.
[25]
The oldest still functioning institution of
higher education
is
Kaunas Priest Seminary
, established in 1864.
Other institutes of higher education are:
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 Ma?vydas National Library of Lithuania
in 1963.
[218]
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
.
[219]
Annual events
[
edit
]
Kaunas is best known for the
Kaunas Jazz Festival
, International Operetta Festival, Photo Art Festival "Kaunas photo" or
Pa?aislis Music Festival
, which usually run from early June until late August each year.
[220]
[221]
[222]
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.
[223]
Significant depictions in popular culture
[
edit
]
Notable people
[
edit
]
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Kaunas is
twinned
with:
[228]
- Białystok
, Poland
- Brescia
, Italy
- Brno
, Czech Republic
- Cava de' Tirreni
, Italy
- Ferrara
, Italy
- Grenoble
, France
- Kharkiv
, Ukraine
- Linkoping
, Sweden
- Lippe (district)
, Germany
- Los Angeles
, United States
- Lutsk
, Ukraine
- Lviv Oblast
, Ukraine
- My?liborz
, Poland
- Odense
, Denmark
- Rende
, Italy
- Riga
, Latvia
- Rishon LeZion
, Israel
- San Martin
, Argentina
- Tampere
, Finland
- Tartu
, Estonia
- Toru?
, Poland
- Vaxjo
, Sweden
- Vestfold og Telemark
, Norway
- Vestland
, Norway
- Wrocław
, Poland
- Xiamen
, China
- Yaotsu
, Japan
- Hiratsuka
, Japan
The city was previously twinned with:
[229]
Honours
[
edit
]
A
minor planet
73059 Kaunas
, discovered by Lithuanian astronomers Kazimieras ?ernis and Justas Zdanavi?ius, in 2002, is named after the city of Kaunas.
[230]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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External links
[
edit
]
Members of the
Hanseatic League
by quarter, and trading posts of the Hanseatic League
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Wendish
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Saxon
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Baltic
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Westphalian
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Kontore
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Vitten
| |
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Factories
| |
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- 1
Cologne
and
Dortmund
were both chief city of the Westphalian Quarter at different times.
- 2
The kontor was moved to
Antwerp
once
Bruges
became inaccessible due to the silting of the
Zwin
channel.
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International
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National
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Geographic
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Other
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