Alanta (dialectal Aukštaitian name ''Alunta'', pl, Owanta, Yiddish אַוואָנטע) is a small town in

Molėtai district municipality Molėtai () ( pl, Malaty) is a town in north eastern Lithuania surrounded by lakes. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2013 census, it had 6,302 inhabitants. The tow ...

, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2011, Alanta had 348 residents. It is situated at the crossing of two roads:

Molėtai Molėtai () ( pl, Malaty) is a town in north eastern Lithuania surrounded by lakes. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2013 census, it had 6,302 inhabitants. The to ...

–

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

and

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...

–Alanta–

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; pl, Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. Etymology and variant names The city took its original name ''Vilkmergė'' from t ...

. The town's St. Jacob's church was built in 1909. The Synagogue of Alanta is one of only 17 surviving wooden synagogues in Lithuania.

Etymology of the name

The name of the town is derived from the Alanta River, tributary of Virinta. The name of the river is derived from an ancient Lithuanian verb "''alėti''", which means 'to stream merrily' or 'to run'.

History

In 1436,

Sigismund Kestutaitis Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

granted Alanta to

Kristinas Astikas Kristinas Astikas (1363 in Trakai – 1442 or 1444) was a leading Lithuanian noble and statesman of the Astikai family. Kristinas was a supporter and a companion of Vytautas the Great, his brother Sigismund Kestutaitis and nephew Casimir Jagie ...

to commend him for his aid in defeating

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

in the

Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435) Lithuanian Civil War may refer to: * Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), a war between Jogaila and his uncle Kęstutis with son Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), a war between Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1432 ...

. In the 16th century, the town's

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

was built, and in 1581 the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

Stefan Batory Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

gifted Alanta to

Gáspár Békés Gáspár is a Hungarian masculine given name, equivalent to English Jasper, and may refer to: *Gáspár Bekes (1520–1579), Hungarian nobleman *Gáspár Boldizsár ( fl. 1990s), Hungarian sprint canoer *Gáspár Borbás (1884–1976), Hungarian f ...

( lt, Kasparas Bekešas), a Hungarian general. After 1598 the town belonged to Radziwiłł family and from 1828 until the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it belonged to the Pamarnacki family. From the 18th century to the Lithuanian

Uprising of 1863 The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, Alanta had a parish school. Alanta suffered heavily from many wars, including Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire,

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, because of its location on the crossing of two important roads. The entire Jewish community of 30 families, which comprised the majority of the population of Alanta, was killed during the Holocaust in August 1941. Alanta has a rare, surviving wooden synagogue.Center for Jewish Art (2004). "Preserved Wooden Synagogues in Lithuania". The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved on December 17, 2008.

Palace of Alanta estate

The palace of the estate, which houses a library and an ethnographic museum, has been renovated and its park trimmed. The founder of the Alanta library, Elvyra Satkūnaitė, was named "The best librarian of Lithuania" in 1996.

References

External links

*
Website of Alanta

{{Utena County Towns in Lithuania Towns in Utena County Vilkomirsky Uyezd Molėtai District Municipality