Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

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 of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Trakai Palatinate since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the

Kaunas 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 ...

from 1843 to 1915. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, it served as the

temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania ( lt, Laikinoji sostinė) was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was part of Poland from 1920 ...

, when Vilnius was seized and controlled by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, the interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. It contributed to Kaunas being named as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to be designated as a UNESCO City of Design. Kaunas has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2022, together with Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg and Novi Sad, Serbia. The city is the capital of

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 ...

, and the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the

Kaunas District Municipality Kaunas District Municipality (''Kauno rajono savivaldybė'') is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kaunas, which does not belong to the municipality but is a separate administrative unit. It surround ...

. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and is near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water in the whole of Lithuania. As defined by Eurostat, the population of Kaunas functional urban area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 383,764 (as of 2017), while according to statistics of Kaunas territorial health insurance fund, there are 447,946 permanent inhabitants (as of 2022) in Kaunas and Kaunas district municipalities combined.

Etymology

The city's name is of

Lithuanian 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 ...

origin and most likely derives from a

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

. Before Lithuania regained independence, the city was generally known in English as ''Kovno'', the traditional Slavicized form of its name. The Polish name is ' ; the

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

name is , ' . An earlier Russian name was ', although ' has been used since 1940. The

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

name is ', and the names in German include ' and '. The city and its elderates also have names in other languages (see Names of Kaunas in other languages and names of Kaunas elderates in other languages).

Folk history

A 16th century legend claims, that Kaunas was established by the Romans in ancient times. These Romans were supposedly led by a patrician named Palemon, who had three sons: Barcus, Kunas and Sperus. Palemon fled from Rome because he feared the mad Emperor Nero. Palemon, his sons and other relatives travelled to Lithuania. After Palemon's death, his sons divided his land. Kunas got the land where Kaunas now stands. He built a fortress near the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers and the city that grew up there was named after him. A suburban region in the vicinity is named "Palemonas".

Coat of arms

On 30 June 1993, the historical coat of arms of Kaunas city was re-established by a special

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

decree. The coat of arms features a white

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...

with a golden cross between its horns, set against a deep red background. The aurochs was the original heraldic symbol of the city, established in 1400. The heraldic seal of Kaunas, introduced in the early 15th century during the reign of Grand Duke Vytautas, is the oldest city heraldic seal known in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The current emblem was the result of much study and discussion on the part of the Lithuanian

Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

Commission, and realized by the artist Raimondas Miknevičius. An aurochs has replaced a wisent, which was depicted in the Soviet-era emblem that was used since 1969. Blazon: ''Gules, an

passant guardant argent ensigned with a cross Or between his horns.'' Kaunas also has a greater coat of arms, which is mainly used for purposes of Kaunas city representation. The sailor, three golden balls, and Latin text ''"Diligite justitiam qui judicatis terram"'' ( English: Cherish justice, you who judge the earth) in the greater coat of arms refers to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

, patron saint of merchants and seafarers, who was regarded as a heavenly guardian of Kaunas by Queen

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

History

Early history

According to the archeological excavations, the richest collections of ceramics and other artifacts found at the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris rivers are from the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and first millennium BC. During that time, people settled in some territories of the present Kaunas: the confluence of the two longest rivers of Lithuania area, Eiguliai, Lampėdžiai, Linkuva, Kaniūkai, Marvelė, Pajiesys, Romainiai, Petrašiūnai, Sargėnai, and Veršvai sites.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

A settlement had been established on the site of the current Kaunas old town, at the confluence of two large rivers, at least by the 10th century AD. Kaunas is first mentioned in written sources in 1361 when the brick Kaunas Castle was constructed. In 1362, the castle was captured after a siege and destroyed by the Teutonic Order. Commander Vaidotas of the Kaunas castle

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, with 36 men, tried to break through but was taken prisoner. It was one of the largest and important military victories of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Kaunas castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1408, the town was granted Magdeburg rights by Vytautas the Great and became a centre of Kaunas Powiat in Trakai Voivodeship in 1413. Vytautas ceded Kaunas the right to own the scales used for weighing the goods brought to the city or packed on site, wax processing, and woolen cloth-trimming facilities. The power of the self-governing Kaunas was shared by three interrelated major institutions: ''vaitas'' (the Mayor), the Magistrate (12 lay judges and 4 burgomasters), and the so-called Benchers' Court (12 persons). Kaunas began to gain prominence, since it was at an intersection of trade routes and a river port. In 1441 Kaunas joined the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

, and Hansa merchant office Kontor was opened—the only one in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 16th century, Kaunas also had a public school and a hospital and was one of the best-formed towns in the whole country. In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city several times, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

during the Great Northern War. The

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

struck the area in 1657 and 1708, killing many residents. Fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732.

Russian Empire

Kaunas Priest Seminary, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff

After the third and final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire and became a part of Vilna Governorate. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

in 1812, the Grand Army of

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 ...

passed through Kaunas twice, devastating the city both times. A hill fort mound in Kaunas is named Napoleon's Hill. To prevent possible easy access through the city and protect the western borders of Russia, the Kovno Fortress was built. It is still visible throughout the town. Kovno Governorate, with a centre in Kovno (Kaunas), was formed in 1843. In 1862, a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Imperial Germany was built, making Kaunas a significant railway hub with one of the first railway tunnels in the Empire, completed in 1861. In 1898 the first power plant in Lithuania started operating. After the unsuccessful

January Uprising 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 ...

against the Russian Empire, the tsarist authority moved the Catholic Seminary of Varniai, prominent bishop

Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius ( pl, , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Bio ...

and Samogitian diocese institutions to Kaunas, where they were given the former Bernardine Monastery Palace and St. George the Martyr Church. Only selected noblemen were permitted to study in the Seminary, with the only exception being peasant son

Antanas Baranauskas Antanas Baranauskas ( la, Antonius Baranovski, pl, Antoni Baranowski; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' An ...

, who illegally received the nobleman documents from

Karolina Praniauskaitė Karolina Proniewska () or Karolina Praniauskaitė (1828–1859) was a romantic Polish-LithuanianLithuanian language, rather than Russian, and greatly influenced the spirit of the seminarians by narrating about the ancient Lithuania and especially its earthwork mounds. Later, many of the Seminary students were active in Lithuanian

book smuggling Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers ( lt, knygnešys, plural: lt, knygnešiaĩ, label=none) transported Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ba ...

; its chief main objective was to resist the Russification policy. Kaunas Spiritual Seminary finally became completely Lithuanian when in 1909 professor

Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian Na ...

became the rector of the Seminary, and replaced use of the Polish language for teaching with the Lithuanian language. Prior to the Second World War, Kaunas, like many cities in Eastern Europe, had a significant Jewish population. According to the Russian census of 1897, Jews numbered 25,500, 35.3% of the total of 73,500. The population was recorded as 25.8% Russian, 22.7% Polish, 6.6% Lithuanian. It established numerous schools and synagogues and were important for centuries to the culture and business of the city. During the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

's Great Retreat of World War I, Paul von Hindenburg's German Tenth Army occupied Kaunas in August 1915.

Interwar Lithuania

Historical Presidential Palace in Kaunas (2017)

Antanas Smetona inspects the Lithuanian Army soldiers

Communists with the Lithuanian Army soldiers

After Vilnius was occupied by the Red Army in 1919, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania established its main base in Kaunas during the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles ( lt, Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Berm ...

. Later, after the capital, Vilnius, had been annexed by the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, Kaunas became the

. It would hold this position until 28 October 1939, when the Red Army handed Vilnius over to Lithuania after its invasion of Poland. The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania first met in Kaunas on 15 May 1920. It passed some important laws, particularly on land reform, on the national currency, and adopted a new constitution. The military coup d'état took place in Kaunas on 17 December 1926. It was largely organized by the military, especially general

Povilas Plechavičius Povilas Plechavičius (1 February 1890 – 19 December 1973) was an Imperial Russian and then Lithuanian military officer and statesman. In the service of Lithuania he rose to the rank of General of the army in the interwar period. He is best kn ...

, and resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected Government and President Kazys Grinius with a conservative nationalist

authoritarian Government Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political '' status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic ...

led by Antanas Smetona. Shortly afterwards, tension between Antanas Smetona and

Augustinas Voldemaras Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing ...

, supported by the Iron Wolf Association, arose seeking to gain authority. After the unsuccessful coup attempt in June 1934, Voldemaras was imprisoned for four years and received an amnesty on condition that he leave the country. During the

, Kaunas was nicknamed as the ''Little Paris'' because of its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, Art Deco architecture, Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural style buildings as well as popular furniture, interior design of the time and widespread café culture. The interim capital and the country itself also had a Western standard of living with sufficiently high salaries and low prices. At the time, qualified workers there were earning very similar

real wages Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account f ...

to workers in Germany, Italy,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and France, the country also had a surprisingly high natural increase in population of 9.7 and the

industrial production Industrial production is a measure of output of the industrial sector of the economy. The industrial sector includes manufacturing, mining, and utilities. Although these sectors contribute only a small portion of gross domestic product (GDP), the ...

of Lithuania increased by 160% from 1913 to 1940. Between the World Wars, industry prospered in Kaunas, which was the largest city in Lithuania. Under the direction of Mayor Jonas Vileišis (1921–1931) Kaunas grew rapidly and was extensively modernised. A water and waste water system, costing more than 15 million Lithuanian litas, was put in place, the city expanded from , more than 2,500 buildings were built, plus three modern bridges over the Neris and Nemunas rivers. All of the city's streets were paved, horse-drawn transportation was replaced with modern bus lines, new suburbs were planned and built ( Žaliakalnis neighbourhood in particular), and new parks and squares were established. The foundations of a social security system were laid, three new schools were built, and new

public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...

, including the Vincas Kudirka library, were established. Vileišis maintained many contacts in other

European cities This list ranks metropolitan areas in Europe by their population according to three different sources; it includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million. Sources List includes metropolitan areas according only studies of ...

, and as a result, Kaunas was an active participant in European urban life. The city also was a particularly important centre for the Lithuanian Armed Forces. In January 1919, during the

, the

War School of Kaunas War School of Kaunas ( lt, Kauno karo mokykla) was a military school for junior officers in Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. It was established in January 1919 during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence copying the example of Russian 4- ...

was established and started to train soldiers who were soon sent to the front to strengthen the fighting Lithuanian Armed Forces. Part of the Lithuanian armoured vehicles military unit was moved to Žaliakalnis, armed with advanced and brand new tanks, including the famous Renault FT, Vickers-Armstrong Model 1933 and Model 1936. In May 1919, the Lithuanian Aircraft State Factory was founded in Freda to repair and to supply the army with military aircraft. It was considerably modernized by

Antanas Gustaitis Antanas Gustaitis (March 26, 1898 – October 16, 1941) was an officer in the Lithuanian Armed Forces who modernized the Lithuanian Air Force, which at that time was part of the Lithuanian Army. He was the architect or aeronautical engineer who ...

and started to build Lithuanian ANBO military aircraft. The exceptional discipline and regularity caused the

Lithuanian Air Force The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF ( lt, Lietuvos karinės oro pajėgos, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian armed forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units ...

to be an example for other military units. The ANBO 41 was far ahead of the most modern foreign reconnaissance aircraft of that time in structural features, and most importantly in speed and in rate of climb. In 1934–1935, the first mass trial of the Nazis in Europe was held in Kaunas in which the convicted were sentenced to imprisonments in a heavy labor prison and to capital punishment. At the time, Kaunas had a Jewish population of 35,000–40,000, about one quarter of the city's total population. Jews made up much of the city's commercial, artisan, and professional sectors. Kaunas was a centre of Jewish learning, and the yeshiva in Slobodka ( Vilijampolė) was one of Europe's most prestigious institutes of higher Jewish learning. Kaunas had a rich and varied

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewi ...

. There were almost 100 Jewish organizations, 40 synagogues, many Yiddish schools, 4 Hebrew

high schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, a Jewish hospital, and scores of Jewish-owned businesses. It was also an important Zionist centre. Initially prior to World War II, Lithuania declared

neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction ...

. However, on 7 October 1939, the Lithuanian delegation departed to Moscow, where it later had to sign the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty because of the unfavorable situation. The treaty resulted in five Soviet military bases with 20,000 troops established across Lithuania in exchange for Lithuania's historical capital Vilnius. According to the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence

Kazys Musteikis Kazys Musteikis (November 22, 1894 – June 6, 1977) was a Lithuanian military brigadier general, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence in 1938–1940. Biography On September 1939 in the beginning of the Invasion of Poland and the World War ...

, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Juozas Urbšys Juozas Urbšys (29 February 1896 – 30 April 1991) was a prominent interwar Lithuanian diplomat, the last head of foreign affairs in independent interwar Lithuania,Gerhard L. Weinberg. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. 1994 p.946 ...

initially told that Lithuanians refused Vilnius Region as well as the Russian garrisons, but the nervous Joseph Stalin replied, "No matter if you take Vilnius or not, the Russian garrisons will enter Lithuania anyway". He also informed Juozas Urbšys about the Soviet–German secret protocols and showed maps of the spheres of influence. Two of the military bases with thousands of Soviet soldiers were established close to Kaunas in Prienai and Gaižiūnai. Despite regaining the beloved historical capital, the Presidency and the Government remained in Kaunas. On 14 June 1940, just before midnight, the last meeting of the Lithuanian government was held in Kaunas. During it, the ultimatum presented by the Soviet Union was debated. President Antanas Smetona categorically declined to accept most of the ultimatum's demands, argued for military resistance and was supported by Kazys Musteikis, Konstantinas Šakenis,

Kazimieras Jokantas Kazimieras is a Lithuanian form of the masculine name Casimir. Its female form is Kazimiera. Its diminutive forms are Kazys and Kaziukas. Notable people with this name include: *Eugenijus Kazimieras Jovaiša (born 1940), Lithuanian painter *Kazim ...

, however the Commander of the Armed Forces

Vincas Vitkauskas Vincas Vitkauskas (4 October 1890 – 3 March 1965) was a Lithuanian general. He became commander of the Lithuanian Army after the resignation of Stasys Raštikis in January 1940. In this capacity, Vitkauskas opposed armed resistance to the Sovi ...

, Divisional General Stasys Raštikis, Kazys Bizauskas, Antanas Merkys and most of the Lithuanian government members decided that it would be impossible, especially the previously-stationed Soviet soldiers, and accepted the ultimatum. On that night before officially accepting the ultimatum, the Soviet forces executed the Lithuanian border guard near the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

border. In the morning, the Lithuanian Government resigned, and the president left the country to avoid the fate of the Soviets' puppets and in the hope of forming a government-in-exile. Soon the Red Army flooded Lithuania through the Belarus–Lithuania border with more than 200,000 soldiers and took control of the most important cities, including Kaunas where the heads of state resided. The Lithuanian Armed Forces were ordered not to resist, and the

remained on the ground. At the time, the Lithuanian Armed Forces had 26,084 soldiers (of which 1,728 officers) and 2,031 civil servants. While the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, subordinate to the army commander, had over 62,000 members, of which about 70% were farmers and agricultural workers. After the occupation, the Soviets immediately took brutal action against the high-ranking officials of the state. Both targets of the ultimatum, Minister of the Interior Kazys Skučas and the Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania Augustinas Povilaitis, were transported to Moscow and later executed.

, Kazys Bizauskas,

Vytautas Petrulis Vytautas Petrulis (born February 3, 1890 in Katelišės, near Vabalninkas; executed in 1942, near Uchta, RSFSR) was a Lithuanian politician, one of the main figures in the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, and an accountant. He is often n ...

, Jonas Masiliūnas, Antanas Tamošaitis also faced that fate, and President Aleksandras Stulginskis,

, Leonas Bistras, Antanas Merkys,

Pranas Dovydaitis Pranas Dovydaitis (; 2 December 1886 – 4 November 1942) was a Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister of Lithuania, teacher, encyclopedist, editor, and professor. Biography Pranas Dovydaitis was born in Marijampolė County, Runkiai and at ...

Petras Klimas Petras Klimas (, 23 February 1891 - 16 January 1969) was a Lithuanian diplomat, author, historian, and one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Klimas attended law school at the University of Moscow. After graduatin ...

, Donatas Malinauskas and thousands of others were deported. Stasys Raštikis, persuaded by his wife, secretly crossed the German border. After realizing this, NKVD started terror against the Raštikis family. His wife was separated from their one-year-old daughter and brutally interrogated at Kaunas Prison, his old father Bernardas Raštikis, three daughters, two brothers and sister were deported to Siberia. Soldiers, officers, senior officers and generals of the Lithuanian Army and LRU members, who were seen as a threat to the occupiers, were quickly arrested, interrogated and released to the reserve, deported to the concentration camps or executed, which made many, trying to avoid that fate, join the Lithuanian partisan forces. The army itself was initially renamed the Lithuanian People's Army but was later reorganised into the 29th Rifle Corps of the Soviet Union.

Soviet occupation and June Uprising

In June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied and

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

Lithuania in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Vladimir Dekanozov, a Soviet emissary from Moscow, gained effective power in Lithuania. Shortly afterwards, on 17 June 1940 the puppet People's Government of Lithuania was formed, which consistently destroyed Lithuanian society and political institutions and opened the way for the Communist Party to establish itself. To establish the legitimacy of the government and design the plans of Lithuania's "legal accession to the USSR", on 1 July, the Seimas of Lithuania was dismissed, and elections to the puppet People's Seimas were announced. The controlled (passports had imprints) and falsified elections to the People's Seimas were won by the Lithuanian Labour People's Union, which obeyed the occupiers' proposal to "ask" the Soviet authorities to have Lithuania admitted to the Soviet Union. LAF fighters lead the arrested Commissar of the Red Army

LAF fighters lead the arrested Commissar of the Red Army

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1984-102-25A, Kaunas, Litauische Aktivisten

LAF rebels inspects the deprived Soviet T-38 tank

Session of the Provisional Government of Lithuania

After the occupation, the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service did not recognize the new occupiers' authority and started the diplomatic liberation campaign of Lithuania. In 1941, Kazys Škirpa, Leonas Prapuolenis,

Juozas Ambrazevičius Juozas Ambrazevičius or Juozas Brazaitis (December 9, 1903 in Trakiškiai, Marijampolė parish – November 28, 1974 in South Orange, New Jersey South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Ess ...

and their supporters, including the former Commander of the Lithuanian Army General Stasys Raštikis, whose whole family was deported to Siberia, began organizing an uprising. After realizing the reality of the repressive and brutal Soviet rule, in the early morning of 22 June 1941 (the first day when the Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union), Lithuanians began the June Uprising, which was organized by the Lithuanian Activist Front, in Kaunas, where its main forces were concentrated. The uprising soon expanded to Vilnius and other locations. Its main goal was not to fight the Soviets but to secure the city from the inside (secure organizations, institutions, enterprises) and declare independence. By the evening of 22 June, the Lithuanians had controlled the Presidential Palace, post office, telephone and telegraph, and radio station. Control of Vilnius and most of the rest of Lithuanian territory was also shortly taken over by the rebels. Multiple Red Army divisions stationed around Kaunas, including the brutal 1st Motor Rifle Division NKVD responsible for the June deportation, and the puppet

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

regime commanders were forced to flee into the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

through the Daugava River. The commander of the Red Army's 188th Rifle Division colonel Piotr Ivanov reported to the 11th Army Staff that during the retreat of his division through Kaunas "local counterrevolutionaries from the shelters deliberately fired on the Red Army, the detachments suffering heavy losses of soldiers and military equipment". About 5,000 occupants were killed in Lithuania. On 23 June 1941 at 9:28 am '' Tautiška giesmė'', the national anthem of Lithuania, was played on the radio in Kaunas. Many people listened to the Lithuanian national anthem with tears in their eyes. From Kaunas radio broadcasts, Lithuania learned that the rebellion was taking place in the country, the insurgents took Kaunas and the Proclamation of the Independence Restoration of Lithuania and the list of the Provisional Government were announced by Leonas Prapuolenis. The message was being repeated several times in different languages. The Provisional Government hoped that Nazi Germany would re-establish Lithuanian independence or at least allow some degree of autonomy (similar to the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

), was seeking the protection of its citizens and did not support the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

' Holocaust policy. However, the Provisional Government did little to stop the anti-Jewish violence encouraged by the Nazis and the anti-Semitic leadership of the Lithuanian Activist Front.Sužiedėlis, Saulius.
The Burden of 1941
. ''Lituanus'' Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences, Volume 47, No. 4 (Winter 2001). Minister of National Defence General Stasys Raštikis met personally with the Wehrmacht generals to discuss the situation. He approached the Kaunas War Field Commandant General

Oswald Pohl Oswald Ludwig Pohl (; 30 June 1892 – 7 June 1951) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era. As the head of the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office and the head administrator of the Nazi concentration camps, he was a key figure in ...

and the Military Command Representative General Karl von Roques by trying to plead for him to spare the Jews, but they replied that the Gestapo is handling those issues and that they could not help. Furthermore, in the beginning of the occupation, the prime minister of the Provisional Government of Lithuania,

, convened the meeting in which the ministers participated together with the former President Kazys Grinius, Bishop Vincentas Brizgys and others. Ministers expressed distress at the atrocities being committed against the Jews but advised only that "despite all the measures which must be taken against the Jews for their Communist activity and harm done to the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

, partisans and individuals should avoid public executions of Jews". According to the Lithuanian-American Holocaust historian Saulius Sužiedėlis, "none of this amounted to a public scolding which alone could have persuaded at least some of the Lithuanians who had volunteered or been co-opted into participating in the killings to rethink their behavior." Lithuanian police battalions formed by the Provisional Government were eventually enlisted by the Nazis to help carry out the Holocaust. In the first issue of the daily ''Į laisvę'' (Towards Freedom) newspaper, the Independence Restoration Declaration was published, which had been previously announced on the radio. It stated that "The established Provisional Government of revived Lithuania declares the restoration of the Free and Independent State of Lithuania. The young Lithuanian state enthusiastically pledges to contribute to the organization of Europe on a new basis in front of the whole world innocent conscience. The Lithuanian Nation, exhausted from the terror of the brutal Bolsheviks, decided to build its future on the basis of national unity and social justice." and signatures. On 24 June 1941, tank units of the Red Army in Jonava were ordered to retake Kaunas. The rebels radioed the Germans for assistance. The units were bombed by the Luftwaffe and did not reach the city. It was the first coordinated Lithuanian–German action. The first German scouts, lieutenant Flohret and four privates, entered Kaunas on 24 June and found it in friendly hands. A day later the main forces marched into the city without obstruction and almost as if they were on parade.

Nazi occupation

On 26 June 1941 the German Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ordered the rebel groups to disband and disarm. Two days later Lithuanian guards and patrols were also relieved of their duties. Already in July, in a conversation the Tilsit Nazi Gestapo agent Dr

Heinz Gräfe The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contine ...

clearly stated to Stasys Raštikis that the Provisional Government was formed without German knowledge. Such a form, although not having anything against individuals, is unacceptable to the Germans. The current Provisional Government should be transformed into a National Committee or Council under the German military authority. The Nazi Germans did not recognize the new Provisional Government, but they did not take any action to dissolve it. The Provisional Government, not agreeing to continue to be an instrument of the German occupiers, disbanded itself on 5 August 1941 after signing a protest for the Germans action of suspending the Lithuanian Government powers. Members of the Provisional Government then went as a body to the Garden of the

Vytautas the Great War Museum The Vytautas the Great War Museum ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus) is a museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was built in Art Deco and early functionalism style. Originally it was established in 1921 by Vladas Nagevičius but later it was deci ...

, where they laid a wreath near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the presence of numerous audience. The Sicherheitsdienst confiscated the pictures of the wreath-laying ceremony, thinking that it could be dangerous for the German occupation policy in Lithuania. On 17 July 1941 the German civil administration was established. The government's powers were taken over by the new occupants. Nazi Germany established the

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...

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, ...

and much of Belarus, and the administrative centre for Lithuania ('' Generalbezirk Litauen'') was in Kaunas ruled by a Generalkommissar

Adrian von Renteln file:Adrian von Renteln.jpg, Theodor Adrian von Renteln Theodor Adrian von Renteln (15 September 1897 – 1946 (disputed)) was an activist and politician in Nazi Germany. During World War II, he was General Commissioner of ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' ...

Jewish community of Kaunas

Jews began settling in Kaunas in the second half of the 17th century. They were not allowed to live in the city, so most of them stayed in the Vilijampolė settlement on the right bank of the Neris river. Jewish life in Kaunas was first disrupted when the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in June 1940. The occupation was accompanied by arrests, confiscations, and the elimination of all free institutions. Jewish community organizations disappeared almost overnight. Soviet authorities confiscated the property of many Jews, while hundreds were exiled to Siberia. Japonistikos centras

As the Second World War began, there were 30,000 Jews living in Kaunas, comprising about 25% of the city's population. When the Soviet Union took over Lithuania in 1940, some Jewish Dutch residents in Lithuania approached the Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk to get a visa to the Dutch West Indies. Zwartendijk agreed to help them and Jews who had fled from German-occupied Poland also sought his assistance. In a few days, with the help of aides, Zwartendijk produced over 2,200 visas for Jews to

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. Then refugees approached Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese consul, who gave them a transit visa through the USSR to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, against the disapproval of his government. This gave many refugees an opportunity to leave Lithuania for the Russian Far East via the Trans-Siberian Railway. The fleeing Jews were refugees from German-occupied Western Poland and Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland, as well as residents of Kaunas and other Lithuania territories. The Sugihara House, where he was previously issuing transit visas, currently is a museum and the Centre For Asian Studies of Vytautas Magnus University. Following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Soviet forces fled from Kaunas. Both before and during the German occupation starting 25 June, the anti-Communists, encouraged by the anti-Semitic leadership of the Berlin-based Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF), began to attack Jews, blaming them for the Soviet repressions, especially along Jurbarko and Kriščiukaičio streets. The LAF's manifesto-type essay "What Are the Activists Fighting for?" states: "The Lithuanian Activist Front, by restoring the new Lithuania, is determined to carry out an immediate and fundamental purging of the Lithuanian nation and its land of Jews ...". Nazi authorities took advantage of the Lithuanian TDA Battalions and established a concentration camp at the Seventh Fort, one of the city's ten historic forts, and 4,000 Jews were rounded up and murdered there. The

Kaunas pogrom The Kaunas pogrom was a massacre of Jews living in Kaunas, Lithuania, that took place on 25–29 June 1941; the first days of Operation Barbarossa and the Nazi occupation of Lithuania. The most infamous incident occurred at the garage of NKVD Kau ...

was a massacre of Jewish people living in Kaunas that took place on 25–29 June 1941; the first days of the Operation Barbarossa and of Nazi occupation of Lithuania. Prior to the construction of the

Ninth Fort The Ninth Fort ( lt, Devintas Fortas) is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, which was constructed in the late 19th century. During the occupation of Kaunas and the re ...

museum on the site, archaeologists unearthed a mass grave and personal belongings of the Jewish victims. The

ress has been renovated into a memorial for the wars and is the site where nearly 50,000 Lithuanians were killed during Nazi occupation. Of these deaths, over 30,000 were Jews.

Soviet administration

Beginning in 1944, the Red Army began offensives that eventually led to the reconquest of all three of the Baltic states. Kaunas again became the major centre of resistance against the Soviet Union. From the very start of the Lithuanian partisans war, the most important partisan districts were based around Kaunas. Although

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

ended by 1953, Lithuanian opposition to Soviet rule did not. In 1956 people in the Kaunas region supported the uprising in Hungary by rioting. On All Souls' Day in 1956, the first public anti-Soviet protest rally took place in Kaunas: citizens burned candles in the Kaunas military cemetery and sang national songs, resulting in clashes with the Militsiya. On 14 May 1972, 19-year-old

Romas Kalanta Romas Kalanta (22 February 1953 – 14 May 1972) was a 19-year-old Lithuanian high school student known for his public self-immolation protesting Soviet regime in Lithuania. Kalanta's death provoked the largest post-war riots in Lithuania and i ...

, having proclaimed "Freedom for Lithuania!", immolated himself in the garden of the

Musical Theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, after making a speech denouncing the Soviet suppression of national and religious rights. The event broke into a politically-charged riot, which was forcibly dispersed by the KGB and

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

. It led to new forms of resistance: passive resistance all around Lithuania. The continuous oppression of the Catholic Church and its resistance caused the appearance of the '' Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania''. In strict conspiracy, Catholic priest Sigitas Tamkevičius (now the Archbishop Metropolitan of Kaunas) implemented this idea and its first issue was published in the Alytus district on 19 March 1972. The Kronika started a new phase of resistance in the life of Lithuania's Catholic Church and of all Lithuania fighting against the occupation by making known to the world the violation of the human rights and freedoms in Lithuania for almost two decades. On 1 November 1987, a non-sanctioned rally took place near the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, where people gathered to mark famous Lithuanian poet Maironis' 125th-birthday anniversary. On 10 June 1988, the initiating group of the Kaunas movement of Sąjūdis was formed. On 9 October 1988, the Flag of Lithuania was raised above the tower of the Military Museum. Kaunas, along with Vilnius, became the scene of nearly constant demonstrations as the Lithuanians, embarked on a process of self-discovery. The bodies of Lithuanians who died in Siberian exile were brought back to their homeland for reburial, and the anniversaries of deportations as well as the important dates in

Lithuanian history The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded many thousands of years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Lithuanians, one of the Balts, Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring la ...

began to be noted with speeches and demonstrations. On 16 February 1989 Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius, for the first time, called for the independence of Lithuania in his sermon at the Kaunas Cathedral. After the services, 200,000 persons gathered in the centre of Kaunas to participate in the dedication of a new monument to freedom to replace the monument that had been torn down by the Soviet authorities after World War II.

Restored independence

After World War II Kaunas became the main industrial city of Lithuania; it produced about a quarter of Lithuania's industrial output. After the proclamation of Lithuanian independence in 1990, Soviet attempts to suppress the rebellion focused on the

Sitkūnai Radio Station Sitkūnai Radio Station is a large facility for medium wave and shortwave broadcasting at Sitkūnai, Lithuania. The decision to build a new transmitting centre near the village of Sitkunai, about north of Kaunas was made by the Government of Lith ...

. They were defended by the citizenry of Kaunas. Pope John Paul II said Holy Mass for the faithful of the Archdiocese of Kaunas at the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica and held a meeting with the young people of Lithuania at the

S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where "s ...

, during his visit to Lithuania in 1993. Kaunas natives Vytautas Landsbergis and Valdas Adamkus became the Head of state in 1990, and, respectively, in 1998 and 2004. Since the restoration of independence, substantially improving air and land transport links with Western Europe have made Kaunas easily accessible to foreign tourists. Kaunas is famous for its basketball club, Žalgiris, which was founded in 1944 and was one of the most popular nonviolent expressions of resistance during its struggle with the CSKA Moscow. In 2011, the largest indoor arena in the

was built and was named Žalgiris Arena. Kaunas hosted finals of the EuroBasket 2011. In March 2015, Kaunas's interwar buildings received the European Heritage Label. On 10 January 2017, Kaunas's interwar modern architecture was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List. On 29 March 2017, Kaunas was named European Capital of Culture of 2022. On 28 September 2017, the winner of the M. K. Čiurlionis Concert Centre architectural competition was announced and the centre is planned to be completed by 2022, close to the Vytautas the Great Bridge.

Geography

The city covers 15,700 hectares. Parks, groves, gardens, nature reserves, and agricultural areas occupy 8,329 hectares. The city follows in suit of the country and is lowland.

Administrative divisions

Kaunas is divided into the following elderships:

Climate

Kaunas has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb) with an average annual temperature of approximately . Despite its northern location, the climate in Kaunas is relatively mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, mainly because of the Baltic Sea. Because of its latitude, Kaunas has 17 hours of daylight in midsummer but only around 7 hours in midwinter. The Kazlų Rūda Forest, west of Kaunas, creates a microclimate around the city, regulating humidity and temperature of the air, and protecting it from strong westerly winds. Summers in Kaunas are warm and pleasant with average daytime high temperatures of and lows of around , but temperatures could reach on some days. Winters are relatively cold, and sometimes snowy with average temperatures ranging from , and rarely drop below . Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild.

Religion

Prominent religious features of Kaunas include: Kaunas Cathedral, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff

* Vytautas' Church, one of the oldest churches in Lithuania and the oldest in Kaunas *

St. Gertrude Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

in Kaunas * Kaunas Cathedral Basilica, the largest

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

building in Lithuania, with a late

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

interior * St. George's Church, which was rumoured to have been turned into a dance studio during the Soviet occupation * Pažaislis monastery, an impressive complex in Baroque style * St. Francis Xavier Church * Neo-Byzantine church of St. Michael the Archangel * Christ's Resurrection Church with an unfolding panoramic view of the city *

Kaunas Synagogue Kaunas Synagogue ( lt, Kauno choralinė sinagoga) is one of two operating choral synagogues in Lithuania. It is located in Centras eldership, Kaunas. The Neo-Baroque synagogue was built in 1872. In 1902, before the Holocaust in Lithuania, it w ...

* Kaunas Mosque

Culture

Kaunas is a city centered around culture. The

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

of Kaunas is located at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers where old architectural monuments and other historical buildings are located. Located to the East of the Old Town is the city's New Town, which started developing in 1847 and got its name when it became a distinct part of the city. Central Kaunas is defined by two pedestrian streets: the 2-km-long

Laisvės alėja Laisvės Alėja (literally Liberty Boulevard or Liberty Avenue) is a prominent pedestrian street in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. It stretches between the St. Michael the Archangel's Byzantine-style church to the Central Post Office and ...

(Liberty Avenue), a central street of the city, lined by linden trees and decorated with flower beds. The

is the historical center of Kaunas. The streets in Old Town have been turned to pedestrian sidewalks, so it is best to tour the place by foot. Prominent features of the Old Town include Kaunas Castle, the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, and the historical Presidential Palace. The Town Hall in Kaunas played an important role in the Medieval Times as a center for trade, festivals, and criminals were brought here for punishment. The Town Hall was originally built with wooden frames, however, after numerous fires in 1542 they began to construct buildings with stone. The stone buildings, however, also burned down so the Town Hall that stands today was constructed in a more advanced way, which took from 1771 to 1780. The Town Hall is still a center of culture today, it holds weddings and is the home of the Museum of Ceramics. Other historical, cultural features of Kaunas include: Zaliakalnio funikulierius 2006-06-17

* Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eternal flame, and Statues of

Lithuanian national renaissance The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism ( lt, Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian ...

figures are located in the Vienybės square in front of the War museum * Kaunas Fortress, one of the largest defensive structures in Europe, occupying 65 km2 (25 sq mi), a 19–20th century military fortress, which includes a Holocaust site of the

* House of Perkūnas * Interbellum

functionalism architecture In architecture, functionalism is the principle that buildings should be designed based solely on their purpose and function. This principle is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern archi ...

complexes * Two funiculars –

Žaliakalnis Funicular Railway Žaliakalnis (literally, "the green hill") is an elderate in Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas. Žaliakalnis is located north of the old town and the city center area, between the Neris and Girstupis valleys. It is one of the largest resid ...

and the

Aleksotas Funicular Railway Aleksotas Funicular ( lt, Aleksoto funikulierius) is a funicular railway located in Aleksotas elderate of Kaunas, Lithuania. The funicular constructed on the right bank of the Nemunas River was officially opened on 6 December 1935. The track of th ...

* Lithuanian open-air Ethnographic Museum displaying the heritage of Lithuanian rural life in a vast collection of authentic resurrected buildings is situated east of Kaunas on the bank of Kaunas Reservoir in a town of Rumšiškės * Kaunas Cultural Centre of Various Nations

Museums

Kaunas is often called a city of museums, because of the abundance and variety of them. The museums in Kaunas include: * the War Museum of Vytautas the Great * the

M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum The M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum is a group of museums based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is primarily dedicated to exhibiting and publicizing the works of the painter and musician M.K. Čiurlionis (1875–1911). The museum was founded in ...

, commemorating the work of the early 20th century avant-garde artist

M. K. Čiurlionis ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respect ...

who sought to combine painting and music into a single

artistic medium Arts media is the material and tools used by an artist, composer or designer to create a work of art, for example, "pen and ink" where the pen is the tool and the ink is the material. Here is a list of types of art and the media used within tho ...

* the Žmuidzinavičius Museum (best known as the ''Devils' Museum''), which houses a collection of more than two thousand sculptures and carvings of devils from all over the world, most of them of folk provenance. Of particular interest are the Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin devils, together doing the dance of death over a playground littered with human bones * Lithuanian Aviation Museum * Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy * Historical Presidential Palace, displaying exhibits from the

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

period *

Kaunas Museum for the Blind The Kaunas Museum for the Blind ( lt, Muziejus neregiams) in Kaunas, Lithuania opened in 2005. It was the first museum for the blind in the Baltic States and one of the first in Eastern Europe. The museum, located in the catacombs underneath St. M ...

Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum The Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum ( lt, Maironio lietuvių literatūros muziejus) is located in the Siručiai Palace of Kaunas, Lithuania. The place where it is established was built in 1742 by Kaunas city court foreman Simonas Sirutis and ...

Kaunas Picture Gallery The Kaunas Picture Gallery is an art museum based in Kaunas, 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 ...

Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery The Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery is an art museum based in Kaunas, Lithuania, which is a branch of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum The M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum is a group of museums based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is prim ...

* Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments * Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum * Sugihara house-museum * The so-called ''ab'' underground printing house was a part of the

nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...

press during the Soviet times. Now it is the branch of Kaunas War Museum, located north of Kaunas in a small Saliu village, near the town of Domeikava. Although the ''AB'' printing house worked regularly, it was never detected by KGB. It was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of Lithuania in 1999. * The apartments of some famous Kaunas natives, including

Paulius Galaunė Paulius Galaunė (January 25, 1890 in Pagelažiai near Ukmergė – October 18, 1988 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian art historian, museum curator, and graphic artist. He was one of the first professional museum curators in Lithuania and was well-publ ...

, Adam Mickiewicz, Juozas Grušas, Balys Sruoga,

Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas Juozas Tumas also known by the pen name Vaižgantas (20 September 1869 – 29 April 1933) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and an activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He was a prolific writer, editor of nine periodicals, univers ...

, Salomėja Nėris, Juozas Zikaras, Vincentas Sladkevičius have been turned into public museums.

Theaters

Kaunas is notable for the diverse culture life. Kaunas Symphony Orchestra is the main venue for classical music concerts. There is an old circus tradition in Kaunas. There was established static circus in the Vytautas park of Kaunas in the beginning of the 19th century. The only professional circus organisation in Lithuania, the Baltic Circus, was founded in Kaunas in 1995. Kaunas theatres play an important role in Lithuanian society. There are at least seven professional theatres, many amateur theatres, ensembles and abundant groups of art and sports. Some of the best examples of cultural life in Kaunas are theatres of various styles: * Kaunas State Drama Theatre * Kaunas State Musical Theatre * Kaunas Pantomime Theatre *

Kaunas Chamber Theatre Kaunas city Chamber Theatre ( lt, Kauno kamerinis teatras) is a municipal theatre in Kaunas, Lithuania. The theatre was established in 1976 as Kaunas Youth Musical Studio. Its founder and long-standing director was the Lithuanian actor and opera s ...

* Kaunas Dance Theatre Aura *

Kaunas State Puppet Theatre Kaunas State Puppet Theatre ( lt, Kauno valstybinis lėlių teatras) is a puppet theatre in Kaunas, Lithuania. The professional theatre was established in 1958. Each theatrical season it offers to the spectators twenty puppet performances, and 4 ...

Cityscape

Urbanism and architecture

The city plan is mixed. The rectangular

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

at the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris rivers is rich in valuable buildings and their complexes. During the Gothic period, the Kaunas Castle (13th–16th centuries),

Old Kaunas Ducal Palace The Old Kaunas Ducal Palace is a building complex in Kaunas Old Town, at the corner of Aleksoto and Muitinės Streets. It was a psychiatric hospital, but is now owned by the Kaunas Academy of Arts institute. History The palace, which was ruin ...

(15th century),

Church of Vytautas the Great Church of Vytautas the Great or the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo bažnyčia) is a Roman Catholic church in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania, and is one of the oldest churches in the city and an import ...

(beginning of the 15th century; also known as the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Church of Saint Nicholas (late 15th century), St. George's Church and the Bernardine Monastery (1472), Church of St. Gertrude (15th–16th centuries; also has Renaissance elements), Kaunas Cathedral Basilica (construction began in the 15th century; later was reconstructed and expanded),

Kaunas Town Hall The Town Hall of Kaunas () stands in the middle of the Town Hall Square at the heart of the Old Town, Kaunas, Lithuania.The structure dates from the 16th century. It houses a Museum of Ceramics. History The Town Hall is distinguished by its slend ...

(construction began in 1542; later gained late

and early Classicism forms), House of Perkūnas (late 15th century – early 16th century), residential houses in the Town Hall Square, Vilnius and Kurpių Streets were built. The ensemble of the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Bernardine monastery (started in the late 16th century), the so-called Napoleonic House (16th century) has Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Mannerist architecture features. The Renaissance remains of Kaunas defensive fortifications have survived (2nd half of the 17th century). One of the most famous monuments of Baroque architecture is the ensemble of Pažaislis Church and Monastery (started in 1667, architects G. Frediani, C. Puttini, P. Puttini). Other Baroque style buildings:

Kaunas Lutheran Holly Trinity Church Kaunas Lutheran Holy Trinity Church ( lt, Kauno liuteronų Švč. Trejybės bažnyčia) is a Lutheran church in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the first Lutheran churches in Kaunas, built in 1683. The wooden main altar dates from ...

(1683; in 1862 Romanticism style bell tower was built, its architect was J. Woller), Corpus Christi Church (1690, in 1866 was reconstructed to an Orthodox church gained Byzantine forms), Church of St. Francis Xavier (1720; towers were built in 1725); Baroque and Classicism elements: the ensemble of the Church of the Holy Cross (1690) and the Carmelite Monastery (1777),

Siručiai Palace The Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum ( lt, Maironio lietuvių literatūros muziejus) is located in the Siručiai Palace of Kaunas, Lithuania. The place where it is established was built in 1742 by Kaunas city court foreman Simonas Sirutis and ...

(18th century; also known as Maironis House, from 1936 is used as the

). Forms of classicist architecture are typical in the

Aukštoji Freda Manor Aukštoji Freda Manor (English: The High Freda Manor) is a former residential manor in Freda, Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, ac ...

(early 19th century), post station building complex (early 19th century; architect J. Poussier). Notable buildings of the Historicism period in Kaunas are: Kaunas State Musical Theatre (1892; architect J. Golinevičius; was expanded in the 20th century), St. Michael the Archangel Church ( Neo-Byzantine style; architect K. Limarenko), brick style Saulės Gymnasium building (1913; engineer F. Malinovskis, later E. A. Frykas), Kaunas Fortress (1889). Church of St Francis Xavier and Kaunas Town Hall (2017)

Church of St Francis Xavier and Kaunas Town Hall (2017)

In the first half of the 20th century, when Kaunas became the

in 1919, the city was extensively modernized and thousands of new buildings were built. From 1918 to 1940 more than 12.000 construction permits were issued in Kaunas, which was an extremely rapid growth for a relatively small-scale city (90.000 inhabitants) that fundamentally changed the city's character.

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

prevailed in the 3rd decade of the 20th century ( Kaunas School of Arts, built in 1923,

Bank of Lithuania The Bank of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos bankas) is the central bank of the Republic of Lithuania. The Bank of Lithuania is a member of the European System of Central Banks. The chairman of the bank is Gediminas Šimkus. Until 2015, the Bank of Li ...

building, built in 1928,

Palace of Justice and the Parliament Kaunas State Philharmonic ( lt, Kauno valstybinė filharmonija) is located in the former Palace of Justice and the Parliament ( lt, Lietuvos Teisingumo ir Seimo rūmai). The building was designed by the engineer and architect Edmund Fryk. History ...

with Art Deco elements, built in 1930) and a search for the Lithuanian national style was typical (e.g. residential house of ''Ragutis'' factory, built in 1925). The styles of Classicism and Modernism intertwined in buildings built in the beginning of 1930s (e.g. Faculty of Medicine at Vytautas Magnus University, built in 1933, now belongs to the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences,

and

, built in 1936), while Modernism and national style intertwined in the Kaunas Central Post Office (architect F. Vizbaras), built in 1932,

Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club Building Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club Building ( lt, Kauno įgulos karininkų ramovė) is a building in Kaunas, Lithuania. At construction cost of over 1.27 million Lithuanian litas, it was one of the most luxurious buildings built in interwar Lithuania ...

(architect S. Kudokas and others), built in 1937. The most notable Rationalism style buildings in Kaunas are: Christ's Resurrection Church (construction began in 1933, but it was converted into a radio factory from 1952 and so it was returned to the believers only in 1990 and was reconstructed in 2005), palaces of ''Pienocentras'' (architects Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, K. Reisonas), ''Pažangos'' with Art Deco decoration elements (architect F. Vizbaras), Physical Culture (architect V. Landsbergis‑Žemkalnis, now belongs to the

Lithuanian Sports University Lithuanian Sports University or LSU is a university in Kaunas, Lithuania, specializing in sports, physical activities, and physiology. It is headquartered in Žaliakalnis neighbourhood, in close proximity to the Kaunas Sports Hall and the S. Dar ...

), ''Prekybos, pramonės ir amatų'' (1938, architect V. Landsbergis‑Žemkalnis), ''Taupomųjų kasų'' (1939; architects A. Funkas, B. Elsbergas, A. Lukošaitis; now is the primary building of Kaunas City Municipality); Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (1938; architect A. Šalkauskis), Military Research Laboratory for the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense (1938; architect V. Landsbergis‑Žemkalnis; now Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology),

Kaunas Clinics Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics ( lt, Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universiteto ligoninė Kauno klinikos) is the largest and the most advanced medical institution in Lithuania and Baltic States.DELFIDuris atv� ...

complex (1939; French architect U. Cassan), Kaunas Sports Hall (1939; engineer A. Rozenbliumas), Pasaka Cinema (1939), Romuva Cinema (1940), residential houses complex in V. Putvinskio Street (formed in 1928–1937). In 2021, an application has been submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in order to include the Kaunas modernist architecture into the List of World Heritage Sites. After World War II buildings of pseudoclassical forms were built (e.g. Kaunas railway station, built in 1953), complex engineering structures ( Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant, built in 1960). From the 7th decade of the 20th century Modernism style buildings were further developed. New residential areas were built (e.g.

Kalniečiai Polyclinic Kalniečiai Park Kalniečiai is a neighborhood of the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. In 2005, its population was 12,000 in an area of 78,39 ha. In Kalniečiai is a Kaunas VDU Rasos Gymnasium with 110 employees and Polyclinic (VšĮ ''Kauno ...

, completed in 1985), public buildings (e.g. Industrial Construction Design Institute, 1966, House for Political Education (now part of Vytautas Magnus University), 1976), shopping malls (e.g. Girstupis, 1975, Vitebskas, 1980, Kalniečių, 1986), shops (Viešnagė, 1982, Merkurijus, 1983), galleries (e.g.

, 1978,

, 1989), educational institutions (e.g. Faculty of Light Industry at Kaunas University of Technology, 1983). In the late 20th century and early 21st century, buildings were built in Kaunas based on the projects of architects V. Adomavičius (e.g. Ąžuolynas Sports Center Complex, 2003), G. Jurevičius (e.g. Peugeot, Toyota, Lexus, Honda car showrooms), A. Kančas (e.g. Aleksotas Church of St. Casimir, 1997, company Kraft Foods Lietuva administrative and laboratory buildings complex, 2001, shopping and entertainment center Akropolis, 2007), A. Karalius (building materials salon Iris, 2002, block of flats ''Aušros namai'', 2005), D. Paulauskienė (e.g. Catherine's Monastery, 2000) E. Miliūnas (e.g. Žalgiris Arena, 2001), G. Janulytė‑Bernotienė (e.g. Library and Health Sciences Information Center of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 2007, Center for Science Studies and Business of Kaunas University of Technology Santakos Valley, 2013), G. Balčytis (e.g. Kaunas Bus Station reconstruction, 2017), G. Natkevičius (e.g. Moxy Kaunas Center Hotel), A. Kaušpėdas, V. Klimavičius, D. Laurinaitienė.

Parks, leisure, and cemeteries

VMU Botanical Garden in Kaunas 2019-07-15

The city of Kaunas has a number of parks and public open spaces. It devotes 7.3% of its total land acreage to parkland. Ąžuolynas (literally, "Oak Grove") park is a main public park in the heart of Kaunas. It covers about 63 hectares and is the largest urban stand of mature oaks in Europe. To protect the unique lower landscape of Kaunas Reservoir, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park was established in the eastern edge of Kaunas in 1992. By the initiative of a prominent Lithuanian zoologist Tadas Ivanauskas and biologist Constantin von Regel the Botanical Garden was founded in 1923. It serves not only as a recreational area for public, but also serves as a showcase for local plant life, and houses various research facilities. In addition, Kaunas is home to Kaunas Zoo, the only state-operated zoo in all of Lithuania. Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, and arts is Petrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas. It is also the burial site of some signatories of the 1918 Act of Independence. There are four old

Jewish cemeteries A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot ...

within city limits. On 23 September 2018, Pope Francis visited Kaunas' Santakos Park as part of a tour of the Baltic states.

Economy

Lithuanian Shilling of Jonas Kazimieras Vaza with his portrait and Vytis (Waykimas), minted in Kaunas, 1665

Kaunas Mint The Kaunas Mint ( lt, Kauno monetų kalykla) was a Lithuanian mint which produced coins in Kaunas that operated between 1665 and 1667 and again between 1936 and 1939. History The mint was founded on 17 October 1665, during the reign of Grand Duke ...

produced coins of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 17 October 1665 to 15 January 1667 during the reign of Grand Duke John II Casimir Vasa. While during the

, another

was established in 1936 and produced coins of the Republic of Lithuania. Kaunas is a large center of industry, trade, and services in Lithuania. The most developed industries in Kaunas are amongst the food and beverage industries, textile and light industries, chemical industry, publishing and processing, pharmaceuticals, metal industry, wood processing and furniture industry. Recently information technology and electronics have become part of the business activities taking place in Kaunas. In addition, the city also has large construction industry which includes, but is not limited to commercial, housing and road construction. Primary foreign investors in Kaunas are companies from the Sweden, United States, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Russia. Head offices of several major International and Lithuanian companies are located in Kaunas, including largest Generic Pharmaceuticals producer in Lithuania " Sanitas", producer of sportswear AB " Audimas", one of the largest construction companies "

YIT YIT Oyj is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. YIT is headquartered in Helsinki and its stock is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. YIT develops and builds apartments, business premises and entire areas. YIT is al ...

Kausta", JSC "Senukai", largest producer in Lithuania of strong alcoholic drinks JSC " Stumbras", Finnish capital brewery JSC " Ragutis", JSC " Fazer Gardesis", JSC " Stora Enso Packaging", producer of pharmaceuticals, and the only producer of homoeopathic medicines in Lithuania JSC "Aconitum". Its geographic location causes Kaunas to be considered one of the largest logistics centres in Lithuania. The largest wholesale, distribution and logistics company in Lithuania and Latvia JSC "Sanitex", as well as a subsidiary of material handling and logistics company

Dematic Dematic is an American supplier of materials handling systems, software and services. With a growth rate of 21.2% in 2021 Dematic was listed as the world's second-largest materials handling systems supplier with a revenue of 3.2 billion USD. The c ...

in the Baltics have been operated in Kaunas. Currently, Kaunas Public Logistics Centre is being built by the demand of national state-owned railway company

Lithuanian Railways Lithuanian Railways ( lt, Lietuvos geležinkeliai), abbreviated LTG, is the national state-owned railway company of Lithuania. It operates most of the railway network in the country. During 2020, Lithuanian Railways transported 3.34 m ...

. The "Margasmiltė" company currently has been working on a project that concerns exploitation of Pagiriai anhydrite deposit. The project includes mining of anhydrite, a mine with underground warehouses, building the overground transport terminal, as well as an administrative building. The Pagiriai anhydrite deposit is located south from the downtown of Kaunas, at a distance to the southwest from the Garliava town. The resources of thoroughly explored anhydrite in the Pagiriai deposit amount to 81.5 million tons. The Lithuanian Central Credit Union—national cooperative federation for credit unions established in 2001, is located in Kaunas. At present the Lithuanian Central Credit Union has 61 members. There are also some innovative companies located in Kaunas, such as leading wholesaler of computer components, data storage media "ACME group", internet and TV provider, communications JSC "Mikrovisata group", developer and producer original products for TV and embedded technologies JSC "Selteka". Joint Lithuanian-German company "Net Frequency", based in Kaunas, is a multimedia and technology service provider. Kaunas is also home to R&D department of

Dassault Systemes Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, and led by son ...

producing world-leading modeling tools software CATIA. A

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

lighting assembly plant was opened in Kaunas by South Korean company LK Technology in February 2011. JSC "Baltic car equipment" is one of the leaders in Baltic countries, in the field of manufacturing electronic equipment for automobiles. It also specialises in development of new telemetry, data base creation, mobile payment projects. Kaunas Free Economic Zone established in 1996 has also attracted some investors from abroad, including the development of the new 200 MW Cogeneration Power Plant project, proposed by the Finnish capital company Fortum Heat Lithuania. Before its disestablishment, Air Lithuania had its head office in Kaunas. Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant is the largest one in Lithuania. Some notable changes are under construction and in the stage of disputes. The construction of a new landmark of Kaunas—the Žalgiris Arena—began in the autumn of 2008. It was completed in August 2011. Currently discussions are underway about the further development of the Vilijampolė district on the right bank of the Neris River and the Nemunas River, near their confluence. In October 2017, an automotive parts and technologies manufacturer

Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...

decided to invest over 95 million euros to build a new factory in Kaunas, which is the largest direct investment from a foreign country. Kaunas is also known for its

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

s, as they developed a software for the American billionaire Robert Pera's

Ubiquiti Networks Ubiquiti Inc. (formerly Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.) is an American technology company founded in San Jose, California, in 2003. Now based in New York City, Ubiquiti manufactures and sells wireless data communication and wired products for enterpris ...

product NanoStation, therefore the company established a R&D division Ubiquiti Networks Europe in Kaunas.

Demographics

1897 Russian census The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 ( pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland was excluded). It recorded demographic data as ...

revealed the following linguistic composition in the city (by

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

, out of 70,920): Kauno musulmonu mecete1

25,052 – 35% #

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

18,308 – 26% # Polish language 16,112 – 23% # Lithuanian language 4,092 – 6% #

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

3,340 – 5% # Tatar 1,084 – 2% # Other 2932 – 4% According to the official census of 1923, there were 92,446 inhabitants in Kaunas: Sinagoga Zamenhofo 7

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

– 58.9% (54,520) * Jews – 27.1% (25,044) *

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

– 4.5% (4,193) * Germans – 3.5% (3,269) * Russians – 3.2% (2,914) *

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

– 0.2% (171) * Latvians – 0.1% (123) * Other – 2.4% (2,212) Today, with almost 94% of its citizens being ethnic

, Kaunas is one of the most Lithuanian cities in the country. Ethnic composition in 2011, out of a total of 315,933: #

– 93.6% # Russians – 3.8% # Ukrainians – 0.4% #

– 0.4% #

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

– 0.2% # Other – 1.6% Ethnic composition As of the last census in 2021, out of a total population of 298,753: #

– 94.4% # Russians – 2.9% # Ukrainians – 0.3% #

– 0.4% #

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

– 0.2% # Other – 1.4%

Municipality council

Kaunas city municipality main building (2010)

Kaunas city municipality council is the governing body of the Kaunas city municipality and is responsible for municipality laws. The council is composed of 41 members (40 councillors and a mayor) all directly elected for four-year terms. The council is the member of the

Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

Mayors

* 1995–1997 – Vladas Katkevičius ( Conservative) * 1997 –

Alfonsas Andriuškevičius Alfonsas Andriuškevičius (born November 18, 1940, in Vilkaviškis, Lithuania) is a poet and art historian. He received the Lithuanian National Prize in 2007 for essay ''Rašymas dūmais'' (''Writing with Smoke'', 2004) and collection of art cri ...

( Conservative) * 1997–2000 – Henrikas Tamulis ( Conservative) * 2000 – Vytautas Šustauskas ( Liberty Union) * 2000 – Gediminas Budnikas ( Liberty Union) * 2001–2002 – Erikas Tamašauskas ( Liberal) * 2002–2003 – Giedrius Donatas Ašmys ( Social Democrat) * 2003–2007 – Arvydas Garbaravičius ( Liberal-Centrist) * 2007–2011 –

Andrius Kupčinskas Andrius is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English language name Andrew. People with the name Andrius include: * Andrius Algirdaitis (c.1325–1399), Duke of Pskov and Polotsk *Andrius Arlauskas (born 1986), Lithuanian fo ...

( Conservative) * 2011 – Rimantas Mikaitis ( Liberal) * 2011–2015 Andrius Kupčinskas ( Conservative) * since 2015 – Visvaldas Matijošaitis ( Vieningas Kaunas)

Transportation

Airports

Kaunas International Airport (KUN) is the second-busiest airport in Lithuania and fourth-busiest airport in the Baltic states. In 2016, it handled 740,448 passengers (in addition to 2,488 tons of cargo), down from the peak of 872,618 passengers in 2011. An Irish low-cost airline

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

announced Kaunas Airport as their 40th base and first in Central Europe in February 2010. The smaller

S. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport S. Darius and S. Girėnas Airport (''S. Dariaus ir S. Girėno aerodromas'') , also known as Aleksotas Airport (''Aleksoto aerodromas''), is a small airport located in Aleksotas district of Kaunas City (Lithuania), about 3 kilometres South-west fr ...

, established in 1915, is located about south of the city centre. It is one of the oldest still functioning airports in Europe used for tourism and air sports purposes and now hosts the Lithuanian Aviation Museum.

Highways

Kaunas is served by a number of major motorways. European route E67 is a highway running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Helsinki in Finland by way of Poland, Kaunas Lithuania,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

(Latvia), and Tallinn (Estonia). It is known as the

Via Baltica European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki. The route is known as the Via Baltica ...

between Warsaw and Tallinn, a distance of . It is the most important road connection between the

. Kaunas also is linked to Vilnius to its east and Klaipėda, on the Baltic Sea, via the A1 motorway and

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

(Latvia), via E262( A6) highway.

Bridges

The construction of the Kaunas Railway Tunnel and Railway Bridge across the Nemunas river helped move goods from the eastern part of Russian Empire west to the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

and Kaunas grew rapidly in the second part of the 19th century. The oldest part of Kaunas was connected with Žaliakalnis neighbourhood in 1889. The city increased once more when it was connected by bridges with Aleksotas and Vilijampolė districts in the 1920s. Since Kaunas is located at the confluence of two rivers, there were 34 bridges and viaducts built in the city at the end of 2007, including: * Vytautas the Great Bridge, connecting

with Aleksotas across the Nemunas *

M. K. Čiurlionis Bridge M. K. Čiurlionis Bridge is a bridge in Kaunas, Lithuania. It crosses the Nemunas River to connect Freda ( Aleksotas district) and Kaunas City center. The bridge is 475 meters in length and 29.4 meters in width. It carries six lanes of automobile ...

, an automotive bridge across the Nemunas *

Lampėdžiai Bridge Lampedziu tiltas

Lampėdžiai Bridge ( lt, Lampėdžių tiltas) is a ...

across the Nemunas that serves as western

bypass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

of Kaunas * Petras Vileišis Bridge, connecting

with Vilijampolė across the Neris River * Varniai Bridge, connecting Žaliakalnis with Vilijampolė across the Neris River * The Green railway bridge, built in 1862

Railways

Kaunas is an important railway hub in Lithuania. First railway connection passing through Kaunas was constructed in 1859–1861 and opened in 1862.http://www.litrail.lt/wps/portal/!ut/p/c1/pZDBDoIwDIafhQcw7TY3uI4EBUJGwpwiF8KBmCUCHozPL-jJA-Vge2q-fG3-QgNzj93L37qnn8buDjU0qj1GokwOKUcsQo1cytyauGRxijO_rnOnCLvKN2zDKDthpF1Z_sdtEYuN3JflU6rFldL45dRnCC5OjPYNzT_pqf1Lvh9eRplCXsiz1ft5DBWYdBp6sP0Ij8E5V6PPfLbTOgjeA3OhEw!!/dl2/d1/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnB3LzZfRzgzT0VGSDIwMEw3QTAyNTVKU05CTzFSVjQ!/ History of Lithuanian Railways. Construction of First Railways. Retrieved on 7 April 2011. It consisted of Kaunas Railway Tunnel and the Railway Bridge across the Nemunas river. Kaunas Railway Station is an important hub serving direct passenger connections to Vilnius and Warsaw as well as being a transit point of Pan-European corridors I and IX. Some trains run from Vilnius to

Šeštokai Šeštokai is a small town in southern Lithuania. Infrastructure The town is a transport hub as it hosts Šeštokai Intermodal Terminal and has dual gauge track as well as break-of-gauge for the 1435 mm standard gauge and 1520 mm broad gau ...

, and, Poland, through Kaunas. International route connecting Kaliningrad, Russia and Kharkiv, Ukraine, also crosses Kaunas. The first phase of the

Standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

Rail Baltica railway section from

to Kaunas was completed in 2015.

Hydrofoil

There used to be a

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

route serving

Nida port Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American ...

through Nemunas and across Curonian Lagoon. It has been repeatedly discontinued and reopened, so the most current status is unclear. The company still exists and have its boats in working condition.

Public transportation

Trolleybus in Kaunas, Solaris Trollino 12 (2019)

The public transportation system is managed by ''Kauno viešasis transportas'' (KVT). There are 14 trolleybus routes, 43

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

routes. In 2007 new electronic monthly tickets began to be introduced for public transport in Kaunas. The monthly

E-ticket An electronic ticket is a method of ticket entry, processing, and marketing for companies in the airline, railways and other transport and entertainment industries. Airline ticket E-tickets in the airline industry were devised in about 1994, and ...

cards may be bought once and might be credited with an appropriate amount of money in various ways including the Internet. Previous paper monthly tickets were in use until August 2009. Kaunas is also one of the major river ports 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, ...

and has two piers designated for tourism purposes and located on the banks of Nemunas river and Kaunas Reservoir—the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Nemunas near Kaunas and Rumšiškės. In 2015, ''Kauno autobusai'' bought four Van Hool AGG300 to serve the mostly populated 37th route. These are the longest buses used in the

. The bus station in Kaunas underwent reconstruction for six months and reopened on 23 January 2017. It is the largest and most modern bus station in Lithuania. In 2017, ''Kauno autobusai'' began planning to cardinally upgrade the trolleybuses and buses park till the end of 2019. The new Mercedes-Benz minibuses were introduced on 2 September 2019. The first new trolleybuses Škoda 26Tr Solaris were publicly introduced on 30 September 2019. In November 2019, ''Kauno autobusai'' signed a contract for 100 new model units of MAN Lion's City 12 hybrid electric buses, which replaced over half of city's old buses. Kaunas public transport has a mobile app ''Žiogas'' ( en, Grasshopper) which allow to purchase and activate digital tickets using a smartphone. After reaching the E-ticket card's monthly fee (28 Eur), the remaining trips are free of charge until the end of the month. Kaunas has two funiculars:

Žaliakalnis Funicular Žaliakalnis Funicular (English language, English: ''Green Hill Funicular'') is a funicular railway in Kaunas, Lithuania. Built in 1931, it is the oldest funicular in Lithuania and is among the oldest vehicles of such type in the world still oper ...

and

Aleksotas Funicular Aleksotas Funicular ( lt, Aleksoto funikulierius) is a funicular railway located in Aleksotas elderate of Kaunas, Lithuania. The funicular constructed on the right bank of the Nemunas River was officially opened on 6 December 1935. The track of th ...

. Both are from 1930s.

works every day from 7am to 7pm (a break from 12pm to 1pm).

works from Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm

Sports

Sports in Kaunas have a long and distinguished history. The city is home to a few historic clubs such as: LFLS Kaunas, LFLS Kaunas football club (est. 1920), LFLS Kaunas baseball club (est. 1922), Granitas Kaunas (handball club, EHF Cup champions in 1987), Žalgiris basketball club (est. 1944, EuroLeague champions in 1999). Kaunas is home to some historic venues such as: the main stadium of the city— S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno Sporto Centras (total capacity after renovation 15,315), which is also the home stadium for

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 ...

clubs from Kaunas and the Lithuanian national football team established in 1923, and Kaunas Sports Hall, completed in 1939 for the Third European Basketball Championship. S.Dariaus and S.Girėno Stadium is also used as the only large athletics stadium in Lithuania. Ice hockey was first played in Lithuania in 1922. The first Lithuanian ice hockey championship composed of four teams (LFLS, KSK, Kovas, and Macabi) was held in Kaunas, in 1926. In July 1938 Kaunas, together with Klaipėda (where sailing and rowing competitions were held), hosted the Lithuanian National Olympiad that gathered the Lithuanian athletes from all around the world. The university status

Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education Lithuanian Sports University or LSU is a university in Kaunas, Lithuania, specializing in sports, physical activities, and physiology. It is headquartered in Žaliakalnis neighbourhood, in close proximity to the Kaunas Sports Hall and the S. Dar ...

, founded during the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, is the only state-supported institution of tertiary physical education in Lithuania. The

National Football Academy Nacionalinė Futbolo Akademija (National Football Academy), commonly referred to as NFA, is the national association football centre of Lithuania; only the best players from the country train there. Established in Kaunas in 2006 with help of UEF ...

—the national centre for the training of the best Lithuanian young players of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

was established in Kaunas in 2006. BC Žalgiris is based in Kaunas. Žalgiris is considered as one of Europe's strongest basketball clubs and plays in the EuroLeague. Žalgiris plays its home games at Žalgiris Arena, the largest indoor arena in the Baltics. The arena, which aside from sports also hosts concerts, was built in time for the

European Basketball Championship EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

of 2011 and hosted the tournament's

knockout stage A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. The arena is used to host sports games as well as concerts. The city is also the birthplace or childhood home of many of the country's top basketball stars, among them Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Linas Kleiza, Donatas Motiejūnas and Šarūnas Jasikevičius. The first golf club "Elnias" in Lithuania was opened in Kaunas in 2000. Nemuno žiedas is the only in Lithuania motor racing circuit, situated in

Kačerginė Kačerginė is a small town west of Kaunas. The town of Kačerginė is located in Kaunas County, central Lithuania. Kačerginė was officially proclaimed a health resort in 1933.http://www.kacergine.lt/?lan=en Kačerginė. The history of Kačerg ...

, a small town near Kaunas. A yacht club operates in the Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park. A round of the UIM F2 World Championship is held by the site of the old Kaunas Lagoon pier every year. The powerboat race is organised by Edgaras Riabko who also competes in the event. Kaunas was one of the host cities for the

2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup The 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was held in Lithuania. ...

Education

Kaunas is often referred to as a city of students; there are about 50,000 students enrolled in its universities. The first

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

in Kaunas was mentioned in 1473. A four-form

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

school was opened in Kaunas in 1649. It was reorganized into a college in 1653. The oldest still functioning institution of higher education is

Kaunas Priest Seminary Kaunas Priest Seminary ( lt, Kauno kunigų seminarija) is the largest seminary in Lithuania serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. It is part of the Faculty of Theology of Vytautas Magnus University. Its current rector is Aurelijus Žu ...

, established in 1864. Other institutes of higher education are: * Vytautas Magnus University founded in 1922 as the University of Lithuania and renamed Vytautas Magnus in 1930. * Kaunas University of Applied Sciences (''Kaunas College'') * Lithuanian University of Health Sciences * Kaunas University of Technology – the largest technical university in the

Aleksandras Stulginskis University Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU Agriculture Academy) is a state institution of higher education and research in Lithuania, in Akademija, west of Kaunas. History After restructuring the Agronomy–Forestry Department at t ...

Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

* Mykolas Romeris University Faculty of Public Security * Vilnius Academy of Art Kaunas Faculty of Art * The Santaka Valley – Integrated Science, Studies and Business Centre (Valley) Kaunas has also a large number of public and private basic and secondary schools, as well as kindergartens and nurseries. Kaunas also has numerous libraries. The most important is the Kaunas County Public Library. It was established as the Central Library of Lithuania in 1919. A part of its collection was transferred to Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in 1963. Now the Kaunas County Public Library holds more than 2.2 million volumes in its collection and functions as a depository library of the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...

Annual events

Kaunas is best known for the

Kaunas Jazz Festival Kaunas Jazz is an annual international jazz festival in Kaunas, Lithuania. It started in 1991, soon after Lithuania declared re-establishment of independence from the Soviet Union. The festival experienced difficulties at first, due to a shaky ...

, International Operetta Festival, Photo Art Festival "Kaunas photo" or Pažaislis Music Festival, which usually run from early June until late August each year. The open-air concerts of the historical 49-bell

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

of Kaunas are held on weekends. Probably the longest established festival is the International Modern Dance Festival, which first ran in 1989. *

Kaziukas Fair Kazimieras is a Lithuanian form of the masculine name Casimir. Its female form is Kazimiera. Its diminutive forms are Kazys and Kaziukas. Notable people with this name include: *Eugenijus Kazimieras Jovaiša (born 1940), Lithuanian painter *Kazim ...

Kaunas fork (beginning of March) * International open-air "

" (April–May) * Day of Kaunas city (middle of May) * Pažaislis music festival (June–August) * Traditional folk music competition "Play, Jurgelis" (November) *

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

lighting (end of November)

Significant depictions in popular culture

* Kaunas is one of the starting towns of

in the turn-based strategy game '' Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms''. * Some scenes of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's miniseries '' Chernobyl'' were filmed in Kaunas. * HBO's miniseries ''Catherine the Great'', featuring

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

, was also filmed in the Pažaislis Monastery in Kaunas. * The 2018 historical drama film '' Ashes in the Snow'' is partly based in 1941 in Kaunas.

Notable residents

Twin towns – sister cities

Kaunas 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: *

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

, Poland * Brescia, Italy *

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, Czech Republic * Cava de' Tirreni, Italy *

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, Italy * Grenoble, France * Kharkiv, Ukraine * Linköping, Sweden *

Lippe (district) Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' ( district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lipp ...

, Germany * Los Angeles, United States * Lutsk, Ukraine * Lviv Oblast, Ukraine * Myślibórz, Poland * Odense, Denmark * Rende, Italy *

, Latvia *

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

, Israel *

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

, Argentina * Tampere, Finland *

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, Estonia * Toruń, Poland * Växjö, Sweden * Vestfold og Telemark, Norway * Vestland, Norway * Wrocław, Poland * Xiamen, China * Yaotsu, Japan

Honours

A minor planet

73059 Kaunas 73 may refer to: * 73 (number) * one of the years 73 BC, AD 73, 1973, 2073 * ''73'' (magazine), a United States-based amateur radio magazine * 73 Best regards, a popular Morse code abbreviation * ''No. 73'', a British 1980s children's TV show *Ni ...

, discovered by Lithuanian astronomers Kazimieras Černis and Justas Zdanavičius, in 2002, is named after the city of Kaunas.

References

External links

* *
Tourist Information Centre of Kaunas region

Kaunas Travel Guide
* * {{Authority control Capitals of Lithuanian counties Cities in Lithuania Cities in Kaunas County Former national capitals Holocaust locations in Lithuania Kovensky Uyezd Magdeburg rights Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Municipalities of Kaunas County Trading posts of the Hanseatic League Trakai Voivodeship

Etymology

Folk history

Coat of arms

History

Early history

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Russian Empire

Interwar Lithuania

Soviet occupation and June Uprising

Nazi occupation

Jewish community of Kaunas

Soviet administration

Restored independence

Geography

Administrative divisions

Climate

Religion

Culture

Museums

Theaters

Cityscape

Urbanism and architecture

Parks, leisure, and cemeteries

Economy

Demographics

Municipality council

Mayors

Transportation

Airports

Highways

Bridges

Railways

Hydrofoil

Public transportation

Sports

Education

Annual events

Significant depictions in popular culture

Notable residents

Twin towns – sister cities

Honours

See also

References

External links