Kėdainiai
| Kėdainiai | |||
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 Kėdainiai
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| Coordinates: 55°17′N 23°58′E / 55.283°N 23.967°ECoordinates: 55°17′N 23°58′E / 55.283°N 23.967°E | |||
| Country |  Lithuania |
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| Ethnographic region | Aukštaitija | ||
| County |  Kaunas County |
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| Municipality | Kėdainiai district municipality | ||
| Eldership | Kėdainiai town eldership | ||
| Capital of | Kėdainiai district municipality Kėdainiai town eldership |
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| First mentioned | 1372 | ||
| Granted city rights | 1590 | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 30,214 | ||
| 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 on 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.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] History
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]
[edit] Modern years
For a period during 1940, the town served as home to about 300 students and teachers from the Mir Yeshiva. Keidan was captured by the Nazis in the summer of 1941. On August 28, 1941, the entire Jewish community of Keidan, 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]
[edit] Cultural activities
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 approximately 700 people live in the city, associated in Stowarzyszenie Polaków Kiejdan (The Kiejdany Polish Association); 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, whose graduates study in Poland or work in Polish institutions[clarification needed] in Lithuania.[10]
[edit] High schools
- Janusz Radziwiłł College (Kėdainių Jonušo Radvilos studijų centras)
[edit] Famous citizens
- Mikalojus Daukša, Lithuanian writer, translator
- Martin (Moshe) Kagan, a leader of the anti-Nazi resistance group HaShomer HaTzair
- Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen, rabbi and prolific author
- Moshe Leib Lilienblum, Jewish scholar and author
- Antanas Mackevičius, a priest and a leader of the 1863 uprising
- Czesław Miłosz, Polish writer, Nobel Prize winner. Born in Šeteniai village
- Viktoras Muntianas, Lithuanian politician, former Speaker of the Seimas
- Juozas Paukštelis, author
- Juozas Urbšys, Lithuanian diplomat. Born in Šeteniai village
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities
Kėdainiai is twinned with:
[edit] Image gallery
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St. Joseph's church of Carmelites
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St. George's church, 15th century
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Houses in the old town of Kėdainiai.
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Kranto II street in the old town
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Evanghelical church
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Senoji street in old town
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Nevėžis river in city center
[edit] References
- History of Kėdainiai
- Kėdainiai travel guide from Wikitravel
- www.kedainiai.lt
- www.visitkedainiai.lt - Kėdainiai tourism informaion center
- Article on Kedainiai's Jewish community
- JRK Center College of Janusz Radziwiłł
- Notes
- ^ a b "Kėdainiai". Samogitian Cultural Association Editorial Board. http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Tevuzeme/kedainiai.en.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ Dov Levin (2000). The Litvaks. Berg Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 9781571812643. http://books.google.com/books?id=p3xqMEseAQwC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=kedainiai+keidan.
- ^ Library of Congress Authority control Name Headings. HEADING: Kėdainiai (Lithuania). Accessed 2009-09-14.
- ^ Steve Murdoch (2006). Network North: Scottish kin, commercial and covert association in Northern Europe, 1603-1746. BRILL. ISBN 9789004146648. http://books.google.com/books?id=8hg_LcAusLQC&pg=PA111&dq=Kedainiai+-wikipedia.
- ^ Gilbert, Martin (2004). The Second World War: A Complete History. Macmillan Publishers. p. 214. ISBN 9780805076233. http://books.google.com/books?id=jwWLz7iIUvEC&pg=RA2-PA214&dq=Kedainiai+history.
- ^ Monica J. Casper (2003). Synthetic planet: chemical politics and the hazards of modern life. Routledge. ISBN 9780415933551. http://books.google.com/books?id=aZM3elztZ5UC&pg=PA237&dq=Kedainiai+chemical+plant.
- ^ A. P. J. Mol, David Allan Sonnenfeld (2000). Ecological Modernisation Around the World: Persectives and Critical Debates. Routledge. ISBN 9780714650647. http://books.google.com/books?id=xykPQpitTnUC&pg=RA1-PA187&lpg=RA1-PA187&dq=Kedainiai+chemical+plant.
- ^ a b "Kėdainiai district municipality". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/en/kauno_apskritis/kedainiu_rajono_savivaldybe.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Museum History". Kėdainiai Regional Museum. http://www.kedainiumuziejus.lt/Pub/default.aspx?Page=HistEN. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ Świat Polonii, [1] Dni Kultury Polskiej na Laudzie 18-20 czerwca 2004 r.
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