Ignalina ( pl, Ignalino) is a city in eastern

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 known as a tourist destination in the

Aukštaitija National Park __NOTOC__ Aukštaitija National Park is a national park in north-eastern Lithuania, about 100 km north of Vilnius. Established in 1974, it is the oldest of the five national parks in Lithuania. At first it was named Lithuanian SSR National P ...

. Ignalina is also famous for the

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant ( lt, Ignalinos atominė elektrinė, IAE) is a decommissioned two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power station in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina. Due to the plant's sim ...

in nearby

Visaginas Visaginas () is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only town in ...

Legend

It is said that Ignalina has got its name from two lovers Lina, daughter of duke Budrys, and Ignas, captive of the crusaders, whom people cursed and drowned in Ilgis Lake. Lina and Ignas are quite popular Lithuanian names.

History

Archeological findings and artefacts - mounds show that people lived in the territory of Ignalina already in 9th century. It is supposed that the territory of Ignalina earlier belonged to the ancient land of

Nalšia Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen, Nalse) was an ancient land (regional duchy, a subject of Polatsk) in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it wa ...

, which was mentioned in 1229–1298. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s and hidronyms demonstrate that it was inhabited by the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

tribe

Selonians The Selonians ( lv, sēļi; lt, sėliai, from liv, sälli – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged wit ...

. Even though there is archeological evidence that people lived in Ignalina area in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...

, Ignalina was mentioned only in 1840. It started to grow only after the

Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

was built in 1860. It is regarded as one of the new industrial cities. After World War I, the area was disputed between Poland and Lithuania. It was occupied by troops of Lucjan Żeligowski, and internationally recognized as part of the

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

in 1923. Nonetheless, Lithuania continued to claim this territory. Before September 1939, Ignalina (Ignalino) was situated in the Wilno Voivodeship. Following the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

, Ignalina became the capital of Ignalina eldership. More than half of the population was Jewish, 1200 people before the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. During World War II, in 1941, Jews were imprisoned in a

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

and exploited through forced labour. They are later murdered in mass executions. In 1950 city become a capital of

Ignalina District Municipality Ignalina District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Structure District structure: * 2 cities – Dūkštas and Ignalina; * 3 towns – Mielagėnai, Rimšė and Tverečius; * 726 villages. * Ignalina District Municipal ...

in Vilnius County. In 1995 Ignalina District Municipality become a part of

Utena County Utena County ( lt, Utenos Apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the country's most sparsely populated county. The capital and the largest city in the county is Utena, which is from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. On 1 July ...

Sports

Lithuanian Winter Sports Center is located in Ignalina near Šiekštys or Žaliasis ''(Green)'' Lake. During the winter Sports Center offers mountain skiing,

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

, ski equipment rental services, ski lifts,

freeskiing Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combi ...

instructors. In the summer there are boats or water bikes rental, tracks for roller skates, mountain bikes. Also, there is the shooting range, Sports and Entertainment Center, “Žuvėdra” amusement park. In Ignalina, there are organizing pedestrian, hiking, bicycle and car routes in the interesting places. In the summer there are popular

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

, boat or water bikes trips. Ignalina used to be the main

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

venue in Lithuania until the 1970s when this sport was discontinued in the country.

Nature and geography

Ignalina located in the

. It is a town above 9 lakes. Ignalina is surrounded by woods and waters. Town takes pride in nine lakes named Gavys, Gavaitis, Ilgys, Šiekštys, Mekšrinis, Paplovinis, Palaukinis, Agarinis and Gulbinis. In the

there are more than 200 lakes.

Places of interest

In Ignalina and around the town there are more than 130 interesting places to visit. For example, Ignalina Regional Museum, Paliesius Manor, Monument to Ignas and Lina, Palūšė St. Joseph's Church, Bell Tower, and Chapel, which is a Cultural Monument built in the second half of XVIII century, Beekeeping Museum in Stripeikiai, which is the only beekeeping museum in Lithuania, etc. In some places there are organizing educational programs and special showcases, such as the baking of Šakotis in the restaurant "Romnesa“.

Festivals

In Ignalina, there are traditional festivals including the opening and closing of the summer season, the biannual festival "Ežerų sietuva", spring and autumn fairs, etc.

Education institutions

Ignalina Česlovas Kudaba Progymnasium Ignalina Česlovas Kudaba Progymnasium is a day, self-learning secondary school in Ignalina, Lithuania. It provides primary and middle school education programs in the Lithuanian language. It is named after Česlovas Kudaba, traveler and signator ...

* Ignalina gymnasium * Ignalina school-kindergarten "Šaltinėlis" * Ignalina Mikas Petrauskas music school

Notable people

* Jonas Kindurys (b. 1946), architect, diplomat *

Arūnas Bubnys Arūnas Bubnys (born November 7, 1961) is a Lithuanian historian and archivist. He started his studies at Vilnius University in 1985. In 1993 he received a Ph.D for the thesis ''Lietuvių antinacinė rezistencija 1941–1944 m.'' ( en, Lithuanian A ...

(b. 1961), historian *

Mantas Strolia Mantas Strolia (born February 28, 1986) is a Lithuanian cross-country skier since 2005. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished 18th in the team sprint and 46th in the individual sprint events. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Champions ...

(b. 1986), skier *

Algimantas Šalna Algimantas Šalna (also transliterated Shalna, born 12 September 1959) is a former Lithuanian, Soviet biathlete. Šalna won gold medals during the World Championships as a relayist in 1983 and 1985. As a member of the Soviet relay team, he won ...

(b. 1960), biathlete * Ričardas Griaznovas (b. 1973), biathlete * Igoris Ščekočichinas (b. 1980), biathlete *

Tomas Kaukėnas Tomas Kaukėnas (born 1 May 1990) is a Lithuanian biathlete. He competes at the Biathlon World Cup. Kaukėnas best result in the World Championships is 22nd place in sprint event in 2013. In 2014 Kaukėnas was selected to represent Lithuania in ...

(b. 1990), biathlete * Diana Rasimovičiūtė (b. 1984), biathlete * Modestas Vaičiulis (b. 1989), skier * Aurelija Tamašauskaitė (b. 1999), swimmer * Valdas Ozarinskas (b. 1961), architect

Twin towns – sister cities

Ignalina is twinned with: * Büren, Germany *

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other s ...

, Norway *

Prachatice Prachatice (; german: Prachatitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts Prac ...

, Czech Republic *

Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, around north of Warsaw. It has 4,109 inhabitants (2013). History The stronghold was founded in the 10th century, shortly after the ...

, Poland

References

External links

City official website

Česlovas Kudaba progymnasium official website

Mikas Petrauskas music school official website

Gymnasium official website

School-kindergarten "Šaltinėlis" official website
{{Utena County Cities in Utena County Cities in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Ski areas and resorts in Lithuania Sventsyansky Uyezd Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939) Holocaust locations in Lithuania Ignalina District Municipality