Vabalninkas () ( pl, Wobolniki) is a

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 ...

in the

Biržai district municipality Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The name ...

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 ...

. It is located south of

Biržai Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The nam ...

History

Vabalninkas village was mentioned in 1554, Vabalninkas estate in 1555. In 1593, Vabalninkas was assigned to

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

, wife of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

. In 1617 first wooden church was built. Jeronimas Valavičius Grand Treasurer of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

established a parish of Catholics, and a parish school. Since 1618 Vabalninkas is called a town, in 1619 Vabalninkas got a privilege to organise markets. In 1625 Vabalninkas was devastated by the Swedish army and plague. In 1644 Vabalninkas inhabitants got a privilege to make and sell craft beer. After the Soviet occupation

Lithuanian partisans The Lithuanian partisans () were partisans who waged a guerrilla warfare in Lithuania against the Soviet Union in 1944–1953. Similar anti-Soviet resistance groups, also known as Forest Brothers and cursed soldiers, fought against Soviet rule ...

Vytis military district Vytis military district (also Vytis partisan military district) is a military district of Lithuanian partisans which operated in 1944–1953 in the counties of Panevėžys and Ukmergė as well in some parts of the Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is ...

were active, namely the ''Pilėnų tėvūnija'' (''Pilėnai detachment'').

Notable residents

* Stefanija Ladigienė (1901–1967), ateitininkai activist, teacher, publicist, exile. * Vladas Būtėnas (1923–1993), journalist, publicist. * Edmundas Lapinskas (1936), agronomist, professor. * Justas Tolvaišis (1954–2008), illustrator, graphic artist. *

Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach ( he, אלעזר מנחם מן שך, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, heading the non-Hasidic ''Litvak'' Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, rabbi. Cities in Lithuania Cities in Panevėžys County Trakai Voivodeship Ponevezhsky Uyezd Biržai District Municipality {{PanevėžysCounty-geo-stub