Biržai (, also known by several
alternative names) is a city in northern
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 ...
. Famous for its reconstructed
Biržai Castle manor, the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
breweries.
Name
The exact origin of the city name is not known, but it is derived from the
Lithuanian word (which means ''
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
'').
The name of the city in other languages includes ; , (and pre-1917 ); .
It is simplified to ''Birzai'' in English.
History
The city's first written mention dates to 1455. The construction of
Biržai Castle began in 1586, and the town was granted
Magdeburg Rights
Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
in 1589. In 1575, as preparation for the castle's construction, a
dam was built at the confluence of the
Agluona and
Apaščia Rivers, and the artificial
Lake Širvėna, covering about , was created. It is the oldest surviving
artificial lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...
in Lithuania.
The town's history is closely associated with the
Radziwiłł family (Lithuanian: Radvila).
Jerzy Radziwiłł was the first noble to settle in the city. Later, after his daughter,
Barbara Radziwiłł married the
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 ...
and
King of Poland
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
Sigismund II Augustus in 1547, the power and influence of the family grew immensely. The Radvila family established a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church and school, and the town became a cultural center of the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
in Lithuania.
The local community of
Lithuanian Jews
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar , Population
Litvaks ({{Langx, yi, ליטװאַקעס) or Lita'im ({{Langx, he, לִיטָאִים) are Jews who historically resided in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuan ...
, which settled in the
Duchy of Biržai at the end of the 16th century, was influential, establishing an interest-free loan society, two major flour mills, and an international
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
export business.
The
Islamic
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
Lipka Tatars performed military, police, and postal duties for the Radziwill family.
During the
Wars with Sweden,
Biržai Castle was an important point of defense. In 1625,
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
,
Monarchy of Sweden, king of Sweden, attacked the castle with 8,000 soldiers and it was forced to surrender. The castle was left in ruins and was rebuilt, only to be burnt in 1655. In 1662–1669, it was rebuilt again in the
Renaissance style. On 9 March 1701,
August II the Strong and
Peter I of Russia
Peter I (, ;
– ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...
(Peter the Great) signed a pact in the castle to unite their forces against Sweden. However, in 1704 the castle was completely destroyed and was left in ruins until its restoration in the 1990s.
The town's population suffered greatly due to wars and religious conflicts between the Protestants and Catholics. In the late 18th century, Biržai lost its town rights. The Radziwiłłs lost their wealth and influence, and Biržai was sold to the
Tyszkiewicz family to cover debts in 1811. In 1849–1862, the Tyszkiewicz family built the
neoclassic Astravas Manor palace across the lake from the site of the original castle.
In 1869 the town had about 2,600 residents. Thirty years later the population had grown to 4,400.
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 ...
, the entire Jewish population of Biržai was annihilated. 15 Jews were shot to death by German soldiers at the Biržai Jewish cemetery in July 1941. On 8 August 1941,
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
and Lithuanian collaborators murdered the entire Jewish population of the town, some 2,400 people, by shooting them to death at a mass grave in a forest grove outside the town.
The town was almost completely burned down during the war. Oldtown was destroyed.
In 1968 the population reached 10,000. Currently there are 10,146 people living in Biržai.
Architecture
After the unrest and conflicts settled down, 19th-century wooden residential house building styles prevailed. The ongoing industrial revolution at the time meant that asbestos or metal-sheet roofing was common. With the majority of buildings being wooden, masonry buildings eventually emerged to battle cold winters and hot summers. In the early 20th century, central roads were cobblestone. During the World Wars, the old town was destroyed and the majority of wooden buildings in the main street burned down.
During the
Soviet rule, the town's population grew to twice its previous size. To accommodate the growth, around 60 new apartment buildings were constructed and main streets asphalted. There was also an increase in new houses being built from bricks instead of wood, and the majority of them were left unplastered.
With the help of the European Union's Development Assistance grants, the town was able to regain a unique style: Since 2014, numerous apartment building renovations were carried out with more planned. The road infrastructure is also being improved and some new construction, built to attract visitors and to restore the historic appearance, is in progress.
Geography
The northern part of the town, along with Lake Širvėna, lies within
Biržai Regional Park. About 9,000
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...
s have been identified in the park,
formed abruptly after
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
in the soil has been dissolved by underground water. Some of these holes are dry, while others have become small ponds or lakes filled with water from the many underground rivers and streams. New holes appear annually. According to local legend, the 20-meter-deep sinkhole known as ''Karves ola'' (Cow's Cave) was discovered by a farmer after his cow disappeared. A tunnel at its bottom leads to a cave and underground lake.
Climate
Notable people
*
Rimantas Bagdonas, wrestler, world champion (1965)
*
Jurgis Bielinis, publicist and one of the main organizers of illegal book-smuggling (
knygnešiai) at the time of the
Lithuanian press ban
The Lithuanian press ban () was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet, in force from 1865 to 1904, within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications t ...
*
Kazys Binkis, poet, playwright
*
Romualdas Brazauskas, basketball referee
*
Bernardas Brazdžionis, poet
*
Vladas Garastas, basketball coach
*
Pinchas HaKohen Lintup (1851–1924), rabbi of Hasidic community
*
Vidmantas Jažauskas, Lithuanian painter
*
Petras Kalpokas, painter
*
Mantas Kvedaravičius, film maker and anthropologist
*
Vytautas Laisonas, Lithuanian national painter
*
Jonas Mekas, film maker
*
Alfonsas Petrulis, signatory of the
Act of Independence of Lithuania
*
Jerzy Radziwiłł,
Great Hetman of Lithuania
*
Žydrūnas Savickas, strongman
*
Jokūbas Šernas, signatory of the
Act of Independence of Lithuania
*
Austra Skujytė, olympic silver medal winner
*
Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz
*
Balys Sruoga, poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist
*
Elchonon Wasserman, Lithuanian rabbi, disciple of
Chofetz Chaim
*
Deimantė Žilinskienė, Vice-Rector of
Kazimieras Simonavičius University in
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 ...
Sport
*
FK Širvėna Biržai (football club);
*
Biržai Stadium (The current capacity of the stadium is 1,000 seats.);
*
KK Biržai (basketball club).
External links
Virtual Tour of Biržai
References
Official website of Biržai district municipalityHistorical map of Lithuania by
Charles XIV John of Sweden, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon Anville with Birze
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birzai
Cities in Lithuania
Cities in Panevėžys County
Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania
Historic Jewish communities in Lithuania
Holocaust locations in Lithuania
Biržai District Municipality