Anykščiai (; see other names) is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

city in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, west of

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...

. The

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status in Lithuania and is a popular destination of

domestic tourism Domestic tourism is tourism involving residents of one country traveling only within that country. Such a vacation is known as a domestic vacation (British: domestic holiday or holiday at home). For large countries, such as Russia, Brazil, Canada, ...

Name

The name of the city is believed to be derived from the Lithuanian

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

Anykšta. Its name in other languages includes ; ; ; ; .

History

Archeological research in the area has revealed settlements dating from the late

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

. Anykščiai was first mentioned on 7 November 1442 as a possession of

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

. Its location on the Šventoji River, connecting it to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

via the

Neris The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its ma ...

River and Nemunas River, contributed to its development. It also lay on a land route between the cities of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. Its strategic importance led to frequent assaults by the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. The first written mention of the town dates to 1442; its first appearance on a map is dated tentatively to about 1578. Anykščiai is a place where many Lithuanian poets and writers originated - Antanas Vienuolis,

Antanas Baranauskas Antanas Baranauskas (; 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 '' Anykščių šilelis''. He used various pen names ...

Jonas Biliūnas Jonas Biliūnas (11 April 1879 – 8 December 1907) was a Lithuanian writer, poet, and a significant contributor to the national awakening of Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Early life Biliūnas was born near A ...

. It is called ''

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

of Lithuania'' for that reason. There are about 250 culturally and historically important places in Anykščiai and Anykščiai district - ''Anykščių šilelis'', to which the poem The Forest of Anykščiai of A.Baranauskas was dedicated, Puntukas boulder, the Beacon of Happiness monument, canopy walkway, horse museum, manors and old Lithuanian fort hills shrouded in mystery and legends. Prior to Lithuania re-establishing its independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Anykščiai was part of the

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. A

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

existed within the town, with a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population of 2,754 in 1900.

Wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

processing facilities, a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

, and Lithuanian and Jewish schools were established after

, when its population reached about 4,000. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, its bridges and city center were destroyed. In summer 1941, two mass executions of the local Jewish population occurred. Around 1,500 Jews were murdered by German Nazis and their local collaborators. After the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

, Anykščiai became a center of Aukštaitija partisans. Anykščiai district was the only one in Lithuania which belonged to 5 partisan military districts (apygarda) - ''Algimantas'', '' Didžiosios Kovos'', ''Vytis'', ''Vytautas'' and to a third district of ''Northern Lithuania - Aukštaitija'' by the Lithuanian Liberty Army. In 2014 in ''Šimonių giria'' (''The Šimoniai Forest'') a cognitive route was created which leads through the places of the ''Algimantas'' military district partisan paths and places.

Transportation

Anykščiai is home to a station on the Aukštaitija narrow gauge railway.

Industry

Famous in Lithuania fruit winery ''Anykščių vynas'', established in 1926 by Balys Karazija.

Notable people

* Jonas Juozapas Abelevičius, Lithuanian priest *

, poet, whose home is preserved in Anykščiai Regional Park. *

, writer *

Giedrius Titenis Giedrius Titenis (born 21 July 1989) is a Lithuanian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a four-time Olympian, a multiple-time Lithuanian record holder in the men's breaststroke, and a double swimming champion in the same disc ...

, swimmer * Antanas Vienuolis, writer * Bronė Buivydaitė, writer * Sergejus Jovaiša, basketball player

Twin towns — sister cities

Anykščiai is twinned with: * Dalaman, Turkey * Gnosjö, Sweden *

Krupina Krupina (, ) is a town in southern central Slovakia. It is part of the Banská Bystrica Region and has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name is probably derived from Slavic root ''krup''. Proto-Slavic: ''krǫpъ'', ''krǫpъjь'' � ...

, Slovakia *

Madona Madona (; ) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries of old buria ...

, Latvia *

Myrhorod Myrhorod (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the Capital city, administrative center of Myrhorod Raion. Myrhorod also hosts the administration of Myrhorod urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It is locate ...

, Ukraine *

Nepomuk Nepomuk (; ) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340. Administrative division Nepomuk ...

, Czech Republic *

Ödeshög Ödeshög () is a locality and the seat of Ödeshög Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It bo ...

, Sweden *

Omiš Omiš () is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split (city), Split, where the Cetina River meets the Adriatic ...

, Croatia * Os, Norway *

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, Norway * Devecser, Hungary *

Sejny Sejny (; ) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area (), on the Marycha river ...

, Poland *

Telavi Telavi (; ) is the main city and administrative center of the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti. As of the 2017 Census, its population was 19,751. The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombori Range at above sea level. History Th ...

, Georgia * Sevan, Armenia *

Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Stuhna, Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. First mentioned in the 10th ce ...

, Ukraine

References

Anikisht in the Yizkor (Memorial) book of Lithuanian Jewry

External links

Virtual Tour of Anykščiai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anyksciai Cities in Lithuania Cities in Utena County Ski areas and resorts in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Vilkomirsky Uyezd Historic Jewish communities in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania Anykščiai District Municipality