15-566: Tytuvėnai ( pronunciation ) is a town in the Kelmė district municipality , Lithuania . It is located 17 km (11 mi) east of Kelmė . It is known for its Bernardine monastery . The first church in the town was built in 1555. The construction of the monastery was initiated by Andrius Valavičius and his family, who returned to the Catholic faith after a wave of Counter-Reformation . The construction plans were prepared in 1614, but
30-430: A Jewish population of 2,754 in 1900. Wool processing facilities, a winery , and Lithuanian and Jewish schools were established after World War I , when its population reached about 4,000. During World War II , its bridges and city center were destroyed. In summer 1941, two mass executions of the local Jewish population occurred. Around 1,500 Jews were murdered by German Nazis and their local collaborators. After
45-585: A resort status in Lithuania and is a popular destination of domestic tourism . The name of the city is believed to be derived from the Lithuanian hydronym Anykšta . Its name in other languages includes Polish : Onikszty ; Russian : Они́кшты , romanized : Onikshty ; Belarusian : Ані́кшты , romanized : Anikshty ; Yiddish : אַניקשט , romanized : Aniksht ; German : Onikschten . Archeological research in
60-423: A special resort status. Of over 100 cities, only 14 have populations of over 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census , 66.7% of the population lived in cities. During the 2021 census it increased to 68.2% of the population. The smallest cities in Lithuania that have below 1,000 inhabitants. The counties are ranked by number of cities and further ranked by
75-472: Is defined by the Parliament of Lithuania as a compact urban area with more than 3,000 people, of whom at least two-thirds work in the industry or service sector. Settlements with a population of less than 3,000 but with historical city status are still considered to be cities. Smaller settlements are known as towns ( miesteliai ), and even smaller settlements are known as villages ( kaimai ). Often
90-542: The Soviet occupation , Anykščiai became a center of Aukštaitija partisans . Anykščiai district was the only one in Lithuania which belonged to 5 partisan military districts (apygarda) - Algimantas , Didžiosios Kovos , Vytis , Vytautas and to a third district of Northern Lithuania - Aukštaitija by the Lithuanian Liberty Army . In 2014 in Šimonių giria ( The Šimoniai Forest ) a cognitive route
105-580: The Teutonic Order . The first written mention of the town dates to 1442; its first appearance on a map is dated tentatively to about 1578. Anykščiai is a place where many Lithuanian poets and writers originated - Antanas Vienuolis , Antanas Baranauskas , Jonas Biliūnas . It is called Weimar of Lithuania for that reason. There are about 250 culturally and historically important places in Anykščiai and Anykščiai district - Anykščių šilelis , to which
120-579: The area has revealed settlements dating from the late Neolithic . Anykščiai was first mentioned on 7 November 1442 as a possession of Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV Jagiellon . Its location on the Šventoji River, connecting it to the Baltic Sea via the Neris River and Nemunas River, contributed to its development. It also lay on a land route between the cities of Vilnius and Riga . Its strategic importance led to frequent assaults by
135-491: The cities in Lithuania were established before the 18th century. Their location is mostly determined by trade and transportation routes. Some of the newer cities grew because of railroad construction, for example Kaišiadorys , Vievis , Radviliškis , Ignalina and Mažeikiai . In the 20th century, cities grew next to big industrial centers, for example Visaginas , Elektrėnai and Naujoji Akmenė . Five cities ( Birštonas , Druskininkai , Neringa , Palanga and Anykščiai ) have
150-543: The construction started only after the death of Andrius Valavičius in 1618. Works were sponsored by Jeronimas Valavičius, the treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1633 the main part of monastery and church was completed. In 1772–1780 a courtyard was built, in which Stations of the Cross were placed. Before World War II , Tytuvėnai was popular as a resort town due to its location among lakes and forests. In 1923,
165-648: The first execution in Tytuvėnai forest. The second one took place about a week later, when women, children and the elderly were assembled in the synagogue, then brought to the forest in several trips and shot. Victims had to undress before the execution, while local villagers who were requisitioned to dig waited nearby to cover the bodies. About 160 Jewish women, children and the elderly were shot that day. List of cities in Lithuania In Lithuania , there are 103 cities ( miestai ). The term city
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#1732776869971180-519: The official status of these smaller settlements are unclear, and people simply refer to both towns and villages as settlements ( gyvenvietės ). The cities started to form between the 13th and 14th centuries together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The first to receive city rights was Klaipėda . According to medieval law, a city could have its own fairs , taverns, guilds , courts, etc. Some former cities lost their status and are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė and Merkinė . Most of
195-590: The poem The Forest of Anykščiai of A.Baranauskas was dedicated, Puntukas boulder, the Beacon of Happiness monument, canopy walkway, horse museum, manors and old Lithuanian fort hills shrouded in mystery and legends. Prior to Lithuania re-establishing its independence after World War I , Anykščiai was part of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire . A shtetl existed within the town, with
210-473: The population of the largest one. Cities are ranked by the size of the population. Anyk%C5%A1%C4%8Diai Anykščiai ( pronunciation ; see other names ) is a ski resort city in Lithuania , 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of Utena . The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring 79 metres (259 feet) in height. Anykščiai has
225-736: The town had 1164 inhabitants; 221 of them were Jews who made their living in agriculture and small trades. There was a synagogue and a Beth-Midrash in the town. Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky was the rabbi of the Tytuvėnai Jewish community from 1926 until 1937, when he emigrated to America. During World War II, the town was under Soviet occupation from 1940, and then under German occupation from 1941 to 1944. Two mass executions in Tytuvėnai forest took place in August 1941, but before that, according to witnesses, about 30-40 Jews were taken by carts to Raseiniai and never came back. 15 Jewish men were shot during
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