Prienai

Prienai
Prienai
	— City —
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Prienai Location of Prienai
	Coordinates: 54°38′0″N 23°56′30″E / 54.633333°N 23.94167°ECoordinates: 54°38′0″N 23°56′30″E / 54.633333°N 23.94167°E
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Suvalkija
County	Kaunas County
Municipality	Prienai district municipality
Eldership	Prienai city eldership
Capital of	Prienai district municipality; Prienai city eldership
First mentioned	1502
Granted city rights	1609
	Population (2005)
• Total	11,131
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

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Prienai ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a city in Lithuania situated on the Neman River, 39 km (24 mi) south of Kaunas. In 2001 the city had 11,353 inhabitants. The name of the city is a derivative from a surname Prienas.^[1] Pociūnai Airport is associated with the city.

[edit] History

The first documented mention of Prienai is in 1502^[2] when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander gave the land of Prienai to the noble Mykolas Glinskis. Magdeburg rights were granted to the city in 1609, beginning a period of growth that continued through the 17th and 18th century.

During World War II, when it was occupied by German troops, Prienai lost many of its inhabitants. People emigrated or were expelled, while the Nazis killed the Jews.

[edit] Famous people

Joseph Gottfarstein (1903–1980), German historic and philologist
Bluma Zeigarnik (1901–1988), Russian psychologist
Jonas Kazlauskas (1930–1970), Lithuanian scientist, philology professor of Vilnius University, historical grammatics and baltic philology researcher
Justinas Marcinkevičius, poet
Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, writer
Vytautas Petkevičius, writer
Matas Šalčius, writer, traveler
Vytautas Jurgis Bubnys, writer
Sonata Milušauskaitė, race walker

[edit] Industry

Industry establishment began at the end of the 17th century, when paper manufactory was founded. 1868 beer brewery of high quality beer founded. It was active until 1941. AB „Sportinė aviacija“ for a long time was the only glider factory in Soviet Union. It was founded 1969. Here was created the first Lithuanian glassfibre glider BK-7 "Lietuva".

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns - Sister cities

Prienai is a member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.^[3]^[4] Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).