The Verknė (known as Galaverknė in the upper reaches; pl, Wierzchnia) is a stream in Lithuania. It is a right tributary of the river

Neman The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ; ...

(Nemunas); their confluence is north of Birštonas. Its spring is near

Rūdiškės Rūdiškės (; pl, Rudziszki; be, Рудзішкі) is a city in the Trakai district municipality, Lithuania about 15 km south of Trakai. During the interwar period it was part of the Second Polish Republic. Until 2003 FK Vėtra was b ...

in the Trakai District Municipality where it is known as the Galaverknė and passes a chain of smaller lakes. Having left the Vilkokšnis lake, the stream is known as the Verknė. Aukštadvaris with a population of 977 (2011) is the only relatively large settlement along the river. The Verknė passes the Prienai District Municipality and forms the border of the Birštonas Municipality near its mouth. In 1960, the Verknė was impounded to create two reservoirs with hydroelectric power stations. The larger of the two is

Aukštadvaris Reservoir Aukštadvaris is a town in Trakai district municipality in Lithuania on the Verknė river. According to 2011 census, it had population of 977. Aukštadvaris features Malewski Palace, built in 1837 by Antoni Malewski, which remained with the fam ...

(; the smaller one being Jundeliškės Reservoir.

Tourism

The Verknė is one of the cleanest streams in Lithuania and is popular with kayakers and good for beginners. The first tour was made and described by the hydrologist Steponas Kolupaila. The stream is part of two regional parks with several protected areas:

Aukštadvaris Regional Park Aukštadvaris Regional Park, established in 1992, covers 17,240 hectares in southeastern Lithuania near the town of Aukštadvaris Aukštadvaris is a town in Trakai district municipality in Lithuania on the Verknė river. According to 2011 cen ...

() and

Nemunas Loops Regional Park Nemunas Loops Regional Park was established in 1992 to protect the historical, cultural, and natural character of the loops on the Neman (Nemunas) River in central Lithuania. The park occupies 25,171 hectares. 69% of its area is forested. The re ...

(). The parks were established in 1992. A series of 12 hillforts (''piliakalnis'') is located near the Verknė. Most of these forts were built or expanded between the 10th and 14th centuries. In Žydkaimis near the Vilkokšnis lake, a Jewish community was active in agriculture since the mid-19th century, even though this was banned in the

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

. The community was supported in the 1930s by ORT. In 1936, the Jews owned 63% of the land in the village, despite emigration.''A Jewish village in aid of Jewish farmers''.
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Basin

Total watershed is . The average discharge is with a maximum of . The main tributaries are Alšia and Obeltis.

Tourism

Basin

Right tributaries

Left tributaries

References

Further reading