Vilna is a historic village in
central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy.
Geography
Central Alberta is bordere ...
, Canada.
Vilna is located in
Smoky Lake County
Smoky Lake County is a municipal district in north-eastern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 12, its municipal office is located in the Town of Smoky Lake.
Geography Communities and localities
The following urban munici ...
, on
Highway 28, northeast of the city of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
. ''Bonnie Lake Provincial Recreation Area'' is located north of the community, on the shores of
Bonnie Lake
Bonnie Lake is a small lake in Alberta, Canada. It is located outside of Vilna, Alberta, north of Highway 28, and is part of the North Saskatchewan River basin.
The lake has a surface of and reaches a maximum depth of , while the average depth ...
.
History
Vilna was founded in 1907, mostly by central European settlers, and started to develop in 1919, when the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
reached this area. It was named in 1920 after the
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 ...
n capital city of
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, similarly to the community of
Wilno
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 ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Before 1920, the local post office was named "Villette". Vilna was incorporated as a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
on June 13, 1923.
On February 5, 1967, Vilna experienced a
meteor air burst
A meteor air burst is a type of air burst in which a meteor explodes after entering a planetary body's atmosphere. This fate leads them to be called fireballs or bolides, with the brightest air bursts known as superbolides. Such meteoroids were ...
with a yield estimated at about 600 tonnes of TNT (2.5 TJ). Subsequently, two very small
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
fragments were found – and which are now stored at University of Alberta, in Edmonton.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, the Village of Vilna had a population of 268 living in 108 of its 119 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 290. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In the
2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Vilna recorded a population of 290 living in 114 of its 143 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 249. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
The Village of Vilna's 2012 municipal census counted a population of 290.
Attractions
The town claims to be home to the world's largest metal sculpture
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
.
Roadside attractions
- Vilna mushrooms
See also
*List of communities in Alberta
The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal district ...
*List of villages in Alberta
A village is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta villages are created when communities with populations of at least 300 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller ...
References
External links
*
{{Subdivisions of Alberta, villages=yes
1923 establishments in Alberta
Villages in Alberta