Anykščiai (; see other names) is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

town in Lithuania, west of

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 ...

. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status in Lithuania and is a popular destination of a

domestic tourism Domestic tourism is tourism involving residents of one country traveling only within that country. Such a vacation is known as a domestic vacation (British: domestic holiday or holiday at home). For large countries with limited skill in foreign lan ...

. The city has a football club, FK Anykščiai.

Name

''Anykščiai'' is the Lithuanian name of the city. Its name in other languages includes pl, Onikszty; russian: Они́кшты, translit=Onikshty; be, Ані́кшты, translit=Anikshty; yi, אַניקשט, translit=Aniksht; german: Onikschten.

History

Narrow gauge railway - Anykščiai railway station 2

Archeological research in the area has revealed settlements dating from the late

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

. Anykščiai were first mentioned on

November 7 Events Pre-1600 * 335 – Athanasius is banished to Trier, on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. * 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. * 921 – Treaty of Bon ...

1442 Year 1442 ( MCDXLII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 18– 25 – Battle of Hermannstadt: John Hunyadi defeats an army of t ...

as a possession of

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 ...

Kazimieras Jogailaitis. Its location on the Šventoji River, connecting it to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

via the

Neris River The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, a ...

and Neman River, contributed to its development. It also lay on a land route between the cities of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

and Riga. Its strategic importance led to frequent assaults by the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. 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 were many Lithuanian poets and writers originated from -

Antanas Vienuolis Antanas Vienuolis (born Antanas Žukauskas; 7 April 1882 — 17 August 1957) was a Soviet and Lithuanian writer, dramatist and one of the most famous realistic prosaists. Biography Vienuolis was born on April 7, 1882, in Ažuožeriai, Any ...

, Antanas Baranauskas, Jonas Biliūnas. It is called ''

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

of Lithuania'' for that reason. There are about 250 culturally and historically important places in Anykščiai and Anykščiai district - ''Anykščių šilelis'', to which the poem The Forest of Anykščiai of A.Baranauskas was dedicated for, Puntukas boulder, monument Beacon of Happiness, 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 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 ...

, Anykščiai was part of the

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was forme ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. A

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

existed within the town, with a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population of 2,754 in 1900.

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

processing facilities, a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

, and Lithuanian and Jewish schools were established after

, when its population reached about 4,000. During

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 ...

, 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 collaborants. After the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

, 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'' ( ''The Great Fight''), ''Vytis'', ''Vytautas'' and to a third district of ''Northern Lithuania - Aukštaitija'' by the Lithuanian Freedom Army. In 2014 in ''Šimonių giria'' (''The Šimoniai Forest'') a cognitive route was created which leads through the places of the ''Algimantas'' military district partisan paths and places.

Industry

Famous in Lithuania fruit winery ''Anykščių vynas'', established in 1926 by Balys Karazija.

Notable natives and residents

* Józef Abelewicz, Polish theologian * Antanas Baranauskas, poet, whose home is preserved in Anykščiai Regional Park. * Jonas Biliūnas, writer *

Giedrius Titenis Giedrius Titenis (born 21 July 1989) is a Lithuanian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a four-time Olympian, a multiple-time Lithuanian record holder in the men's breaststroke, and a double swimming champion in the same discip ...

, swimmer *

, writer * Bronė Buivydaitė, writer * Greta Baldauskaitė, psychologist * Valdas Papievis, writer * Rimša Vytautas, researcher librarian, bibliographer, pedagogue * Osvaldas Janonis, Vilnius University professor, doctor of humanities, bibliographer, pedagogue * Šablevičius Bronius, Doctor of Science * Sergejus Jovaiša, basketball player

Twin towns — sister cities

Anykščiai is twinned with: *

Dalaman Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province. Dalaman Stream (''Dalaman çayı'') forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbo ...

, Turkey *

Gnosjö Gnosjö is a locality and the seat of Gnosjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,326 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 9,600. In business management, Gnosjö is known for the Gnosjö SpiritKarlsson, C ., Larsson, J. ( ...

, Sweden *

Krupina Krupina (german: Karpfen, hu, Korpona) is a town in southern central Slovakia. It is part of the Banská Bystrica Region and has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name is probably derived from Slavic root ''krup''. Proto-Slavic: '' ...

, Slovakia *

Madona Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...

, Latvia *

Myrhorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

, Ukraine *

Nepomuk Nepomuk (; german: Pomuk) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340 and whose statue can b ...

, Czech Republic * Ödeshög, Sweden * Omiš, Croatia * Os, Norway * Stavanger, Norway * Devecser, Hungary *

Sejny Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojezi ...

, Poland *

Telavi Telavi ( ka, თელავი ) is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 19,629 inhabitants (as of the year 2014). The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombo ...

, Georgia * Sevan, Armenia *

Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, uk, Васильків, lit=, translit=Vasylʹkiv, yi, וואַסלקעוו, Vasilikev) is a city located on the Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urb ...

, Ukraine

References

Anikisht in the Yizkor (Memorial) book of Lithuanian Jewry

External links

Virtual Tour of Anykščiai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anyksciai Cities in Lithuania Cities in Utena County Ski areas and resorts in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Vilkomirsky Uyezd Shtetls Holocaust locations in Lithuania Anykščiai District Municipality Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust