Kėdainiai Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Kėdainiai

City

Kėdainiai old town

Coat of arms

Kėdainiai

Location in Lithuania

Country

Lithuania

Ethnographic region

Aukštaitija

County

Kaunas County

Municipality

Kėdainiai district municipality

Eldership

Kėdainiai town eldership

Capital of

Kėdainiai district municipality
Kėdainiai town eldership

First mentioned

1372

Granted city rights

1590

Neighbourhoods

List

Babėnai
Jonušava
Justinava
Old Town

Government

• Type

Municipal Council

Population

(2017)

• Total

24,093

Time zone

UTC+2 (EET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+3 (EEST)

Website

http://www.kedainiai.lt/

Kėdainiai, also known by several other names) is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located 51 km (32 mi) north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2017^[update] was 24,093. Its old town dates to the 17th century.

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.

History
World War II
Soviet period
Independent Lithuania
Cultural activities
Images for kids
See also

History

St.George's church and Nevėžis River in Kėdainiai City - Lithuania

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.

Operation Barbarossa - The bottom sign points to a POW camp

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.

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

World War II

Kėdainiai air base

During Operation Barbarossa, Kėdainiai was occupied by the German Army in the summer of 1941. On August 28, 1941, the entire Jewish community of Kėdainiai, 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.

Soviet period

City hall and monument of Radziwill

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 Kėdainiai chemical plant, Lifosa 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.

Independent Lithuania

Bicycle in Kėdainiai Regional Museum

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.

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.

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

Since 1994 a School of Polish Language exists.