Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

with a population of . It is located in

Kaunas County Kaunas County ( lt, Kauno apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania. It is in the centre of the country, and its capital is Kaunas. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished. Symbols The county's coat of arms can be blazon ...

in central Lithuania, north east of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. ''

Achema Achema is the largest fertilizer producer in the Baltic states. It is located in the city of Jonava in central Lithuania. In 2011 Achema employed about 1700 workers and reached 2.2 billion Litas revenues (about 640 million Euros), net profit wa ...

'', the largest fertilizer factory in the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

, is located nearby. The city is sometimes called "the capital of midsummer holiday" ( lt. – ''Joninės'').

History

Jonava was officially established as a city in the 18th century during the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1750, the first wooden church was built in Jonava. In 1778, a beer brewery was operating in the town. Around 1812,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and his army invaded the town and its surrounding villages. In 1923, Jonava was officially recognised as a city-status settlement and in 1950 it became the centre of the municipality. The city had a large Jewish population before World War II - in 1893 92% of the population was Jewish and in 1941 it was 80%. In 1932 there were 250 shops owned by Jewish families, a Jewish bank, 7 synagogues and a Jewish school. During World War II Jonava was attacked by Nazi Germany. A Christian church and five Jewish synagogues were destroyed. The Jews of the city were killed in two massacres, in August and September 1941. A total of 2,108 people were executed by an

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...

of Germans and

Lithuanian Self-Defence Units Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

. 200 remaining Jews were kept prisoners at the Kaunas ghetto. After the war, the city built the largest fertilizer factory in the

and Jonava become one of the 4 biggest industrial cities in Lithuania.

Environmental catastrophe

An explosion occurred in the chemical fertilizers factory on 20 March 1989, causing a leakage of nearly 7,500 tonnes of liquid ammonia. The catastrophe developed further into a fire within the

nitrophosphate The nitrophosphate process (also known as the Odda process) is a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the municipality of Odda, Norway around 1927. The process involves acidifying phosphate ro ...

facility and fertilizer storehouses polluting the atmosphere with products of their combustion, such as nitrous oxide and chlorine. The toxic cloud drifted towards Ukmergė, Širvintos and Kėdainiai. The concentration of ammonia surpassed the permissible level by a factor of 150 in Upninkai, at 10 km from the disaster site. One day after the accident, a toxic cloud 7 km wide and 50 km long was recorded between Jonava and Kėdainiai. Seven people died during the fire and leakage of ammonia immediately afterward, 29 people became handicapped, and a large number of people suffered from acute respiratory and cardiac attacks. The true extent of damages and health impact from the event is however unknown. What is known is that exposure to ammonia prenatally, especially at a young age can cause serious

brain damage Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...

Administrative divisions

Jonava is divided into 13 city regions: *Senamiestis *Girelė *Miškų ūkis *Paneriai *Lietava *Lakštingalos *Juodmena *Geležinkelio stotis *Baldininkai *Rimkai *Kosmonautai *Skaruliai *Virbalai

Demography

Historical population

Sport

The city has its own "physical culture and sports center" with

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, swimming pool and

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

. It has already been announced that the city is going to build a new large indoor arena "BC Jonava".

Football

Jonava has 2

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

teams * FK Jonava is playing in the A Lyga – First Football Division of Lithuania *

FK Jonava B FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

- second team of FK Jonava, playing in the Third Division of Lithuania

Athletics

The marathon runners sport club Maratonas won 4 medals at

Vilnius Marathon The Rimi Vilnius Marathon is an annual road marathon event, held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The main sponsor of the marathon is Rimi. Race offers marathon, half marathon, 10k, 5k and children run experience. The course includes the most beautiful ...

Basketball

Jonava has a basketball team, founded in 1969; Jonava SK Malsta playing in the National Basketball League (''Nacionalinė Krepšinio Lyga''). There is also a women's basketball team called BC Jonava which won bronze medals in the women's Second Basketball Division ( Nacionalinė moterų krepšinio lyga).

Volleyball

Jonava has a strong women's volleyball team Achema-KKSC that playing in the highest league A Grupė. In 2010 Jonava held the international "''Alfredas Ogonauskas Memorial Volleyball Championship''".

Competitions

Jonava also hosts some less regular competitions. During the traditional midsummer holiday there was "Jonas's Republic President Cup" of Rally

Slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

events. In summer seasons there are some occasional cycling tournaments or cross country competitions.

Education

Jonava adult education center Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Interna ...

* Jonava Jeronimas Ralys Gymnasium *

Jonava Justinas Vareikis Progymnasium Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Internat ...

* Jonava Lietava comprehensive school *

Jonava Neris comprehensive school Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Internat ...

Jonava Raimundas Samulevičius Progymnasium Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Internat ...

* Jonava Old Town Gymnasium *

Janina Miščiukaitė art school Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Jonava is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Děčín Děčín (; german: Tetschen, 1942–1945: ''Tetschen–Bodenbach'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It is the 7th largest municipality in the country by area. Administrative parts D ...

, Czech Republic * Jõgeva, Estonia * Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland * Riihimäki, Finland * Pucioasa, Romania *

Smila Smila ( uk, Сміла ) is a city located on Dnieper Upland near the Tyasmyn River, in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Smila urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Climate Climate in the ci ...

, Ukraine *

Vadul lui Vodă Vadul lui Vodă is a town in the Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial ...

, Moldova * Zugdidi, Georgia

Notable residents

Linas Balčiūnas Linas Balčiūnas (born 14 February 1978 in Jonava) is a Lithuanian former road and track cyclist, who represented Lithuania at 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. During the 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, he won a gold medal at the Mosco ...

, (born 1978), olympic cyclist *

Arnoldas Burkovskis Arnoldas Burkovskis (born 1967 in Jonava) is a Lithuanian financer bank manager, head of Turto Bankas, a former politician, and deputy Minister of Economy of Lithuania. Early life He graduated 1984 from Jonava 3rd Middle School. Burkovskis ...

(born 1967), manager * Vydas Dolinskas, (born 1970), art scientist *

Israel Davidson Israel Davidson (1870, Jonava, Lithuania⁣ – 1939, Great Neck, New York) was an American writer and publisher of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish heritage. He has been recognized as one of the leading American Hebrew writers in his era. His m ...

(1870-1939), writer *

Dominykas Galkevičius Dominykas Galkevičius (born 16 October 1986, in Jonava) is a Lithuanian retired football midfielder and current head coach of Kauno Žalgiris' B-team. Career Club In November 2010, he came on trial to Serbian side Red Star Belgrade. In 2011, h ...

(born 1986), footballer *

S. J. Goldsmith S. J. Goldsmith ( he, שמואל יוסף גולדשמידט; born Shmuel Yosef Goldshmidt; 18 April 1910 – 18 January 1995), also known as Sam Goldsmith, was a journalist, author, and editor of Lithuanian Jewish heritage in the European Jewish ...

(1915–1995), journalist and editor * Laurynas Gucevičius, architect *

Andrius Janukonis Andrius Janukonis (born 1971 in Jonava) is Lithuanian business jurist and entrepreneur. He is Chairman of the Board of UAB ICOR and Supervisory Board Chairman of AB City Service. Biography Andrius Janukonis graduated in 1988 from Jonava 3rd H ...

, (born 1971), businessman * Grigorijus Kanovičius, (born 1929), Jewish writer *

Dainius Kreivys Dainius Kreivys (born 8 April 1970 in Jonava) is a Lithuanian businessman and politician who served as the Minister of Economy of Lithuania from 2008 to 2011 and is a member of Seimas since 2012. He is a member of the conservative political p ...

, (born 1970), politician, Minister of Economy * Juozapas Antanas Kosakovskis, general, Napoleon aide *

Darius Maskoliūnas Darius Maskoliūnas (born 6 January 1971) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, coach, and politician. He is currently the assistant basketball coach of FC Barcelona, and the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball ...

, (born 1971), basketball player *

Abra Abrahamas Meirsonas Abra may refer to: Places * Abra, Burkina Faso * Abra, Ivory Coast * Abra (province), a province of the Philippines ** Abra's at-large congressional district ** Legislative district of Abra * Abra de Ilog, a municipality of Occidental Mindoro ...

, Harvard professor of neurosurgery *

Janina Miščiukaitė Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

(1948–2008), singer *

Abraham Myerson Abraham Myerson (1881–1948) was a Lithuanian neurologist, psychiatrist, clinician, pathologist, and researcher. He had a special interest in the heredity of psychiatric and neurologic disease. Early life and education Myerson was born in Lithua ...

, (1881-1948), neurologist, psychiatric, sociologist *

Jeronimas Ralys Jeronimas is a male Lithuanian given name, derived from Hieronymus. Notable people with the name include: *Jeronimas Kačinskas (1907–2005), Lithuanian-born American composer * Jeronimas Milius (born 1984), Lithuanian singer and Eurovision Song ...

(1876–1921), translator and medic *

Ričardas Tamulis Ričardas Tamulis (22 July 1938 – 22 April 2008) was an amateur Lithuanian welterweight boxer who won the European title in 1961, 1963 and 1965 and an Olympic silver medal in 1964. Tamulis took up boxing in 1953 and won the Soviet welterweig ...

(1938–2008), boxer *

Artūras Zuokas Artūras Zuokas (born 21 February 1968) is a Lithuanian politician. He is the Chairman of the political party Lithuanian Freedom Union. He was the Mayor of Vilnius from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015. From 2008 to 2009 he was a member ...

, (born 1968), businessman, former Vilnius mayor

Gallery

File:Abraomaskulvietispaminklas.jpg, Abraomas Kulvietis monument File:Jonava library.jpg, Library of Jonava File:Santavres fontanai.jpg, Fountains in Santarvė squad File:Misciukaites mokykla.jpg,

Janina Miščiukaitė School of Art Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ...

File:Jonavos savivaldybe.jpg, House of municipality government File:05 2011 Jonava.jpg, Sąjūdis square File:Jonavos holokausto kapai.jpg, Location of the mass grave where 2,108 Jews were massacred in 1941 File:Jonavos Šv. apaštalo Jokūbo bažnyčia.jpg, Church of St. James the Apostle in Jonava

References

External links

Jonava Web Page

Portal of Jonava

Article on occasion of the 20th anniversary of ecologic catastrophe in Jonava fertilizers factory
* {{Authority control Cities in Kaunas County Cities in Lithuania Jonava District Municipality Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Kovensky Uyezd Shtetls Holocaust locations in Lithuania