Biržai (, also known by several

alternative names Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

) 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 Biržai Castle (, ) is a 16th century castle in Biržai, northern Lithuania. It is located in Aukštaitija region, Panevėžys County. The castle was the first Italian-style bastion fort in Lithuania and one of the first in North-Eastern Europe. ...

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 Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

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

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 A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

was built at the confluence of the Agluona and

Apaščia River The Apaščia is a river of Biržai district municipality, Panevėžys County, northern Lithuania. It flows for 88 kilometres and has a basin area of 893 km². It is a left tributary of the Nemunėlis.Lake Širvėna 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 depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

, 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 The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...

(Lithuanian: Radvila).

Jerzy Radziwiłł Jerzy Radziwiłł (; 1480 – April 1541), nicknamed "Herkules", was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman. He was Deputy Cup-Bearer of Lithuania from 1510, voivode of Kiev Voivodeship from 1510, Field Hetman of Lithuania in 1521, castellan of ...

was the first noble to settle in the city. Later, after his daughter,

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł (, ; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was List of Polish royal consorts, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, a great b ...

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 Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

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 A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign d ...

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 The Lipka Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group and minority in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century. The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their Pagan tradi ...

performed military, police, and postal duties for the Radziwill family. During the Wars with Sweden,

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 Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. On 9 March 1701,

August II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

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 Tyszkiewicz is the name of the Tyszkiewicz family, a Polish–Lithuanian magnate noble family of Ruthenian origin. The Lithuanian equivalent is Tiškevičius; it is frequently transliterated from Russian and Belarusian as Tyshkevich. Other people ...

family to cover debts in 1811. In 1849–1862, the Tyszkiewicz family built the neoclassic

Astravas Manor Astravas Manor is a manor house, manor in the Biržai suburb of Astravas, Lithuania. History Radziwiłł Family In the mid 16th century, the Biržai area became a Duchy and the centre of territories belonging to a branch of the influential R ...

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. BirzaiCastleArsenal2018

Geography

The northern part of the town, along with Lake Širvėna, lies within

Biržai Regional Park Biržai Regional Park covers in northern Lithuania near its border with Latvia. It was established in 1992 to preserve a distinctive karst landscape. About 20% of its area is covered by forest. The park is notable for its sinkholes, created by t ...

. 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 Rimantas Bagdonas ; born November 25, 1938, in Biržai) is a Lithuanian wrestler (Greco-Roman wrestling). Biography In 1941 his mother was accused of anti-Soviet activities and exiled to Siberia, where she spent 23 years. But when Rimantas became ...

, wrestler, world champion (1965) *

Jurgis Bielinis Jurgis Bielinis (16 March 1846 – 18 January 1918) was one of the main organizers of the Lithuanian book smugglers, illegal book-smuggling at the time of the Lithuanian press ban (1864–1904). Bielinis is informally referred to as the King of B ...

, publicist and one of the main organizers of illegal book-smuggling (

knygnešiai Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers (, singular: ) smuggled Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ban on such materials in force from 1864 to 1 ...

) 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 Kazys Binkis (16 November 1893 – 27 April 1942) was a Lithuanian poet, journalist, and playwright. Biography Kazys Binkis was born on 16 November 1893 in the village of Gudeliai in Biržai District Municipality. He attended primary school at ...

, poet, playwright *

Romualdas Brazauskas Romualdas Brazauskas (born July 31, 1960 in Biržai) is a Lithuanian basketball referee. After graduation from Vilnius Pedagogical Institute in 1983, Brazauskas became a FIBA judge in 1987 and since then he has judged basketball games in the Olymp ...

, basketball referee *

Bernardas Brazdžionis Bernardas Brazdžionis (January 11, 1907 in Stebeikėliai – July 11, 2002 in Los Angeles) was a Lithuanian poet. Bernardas Brazdžionis also used various pen names, such as '' Vytė Nemunėlis'', ''Jaunasis Vaidevutis''. Biography Bernarda ...

, poet *

Vladas Garastas Vladas Garastas (born February 2, 1932, in Linkuva) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball coach and the former president of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation. Coaching career Before retirement, he coached the Soviet Union national t ...

, basketball coach * Pinchas HaKohen Lintup (1851–1924), rabbi of Hasidic community *

Vidmantas Jažauskas Vidmantas Jažauskas (born 30 November 1961 in Biržai, Lithuanian SSR) is a Lithuanian painter, book illustrator, poet, and social activist. Biography In 1991, he graduated from the Vilnius Art Institute. He teaches at the Biržai Vladas Jak ...

, Lithuanian painter *

Petras Kalpokas Petras Kalpokas (31 March 1880 in Miškinė – 5 December 1945) was a Lithuanian artist and professor. Biography Kalpokas was born on 31 March 1880 in the village of Miškinė, near Kvetkai, in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire (i ...

, painter *

Mantas Kvedaravičius Mantas Kvedaravičius (23 June 1976 – 30 March 2022) was a Lithuanian filmmaker, anthropologist, and archaeologist known for War correspondent, war reporting in hostile areas. He was killed during the Siege of Mariupol. Life and career Kved ...

, film maker and anthropologist *

Vytautas Laisonas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

, Lithuanian national painter *

Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; ; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas's work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals world ...

, film maker *

Alfonsas Petrulis Alfonsas Petrulis (1873-1928) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and journalist, and one of the twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Born near Biržai, he attended seminaries at Kaunas, Vilnius and St. Petersburg, and ...

, signatory of the

Act of Independence of Lithuania The Act of Independence of Lithuania () or the Act of February 16th, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence (),The signed document is actually titled simply , meaning 'decision' or 'resolution', and it "proclaims the restoration of the ...

, Great Hetman of Lithuania *

Žydrūnas Savickas Žydrūnas Savickas (; born July 15, 1975) is a Lithuanian former professional strongman and powerlifter. Throughout his career, he competed in and won 84 international competitions, including four World's Strongest Man titles, two IFSA Strong ...

, strongman *

Jokūbas Šernas Jokūbas Šernas (14 June 1888 – 31 July 1926) was a Lithuanian attorney, journalist, teacher and banker, one of the twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Born in Biržai, he studied law at the University of St. Peters ...

, signatory of the

Austra Skujytė Austra Skujytė (born 12 August 1979 in Biržai) is a retired Lithuanian athlete, competing in both the heptathlon and the decathlon. On 15 April 2005 in Columbia, Missouri, she broke the women's decathlon world record, with a score of 8358. ...

, olympic silver medal winner *

Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz () ()(1570–1642) was a noble of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a politician, a sponsor of Baroque music and a writer (1610+). He held numerous political offices, including voivode of Mścisław (1621–1626), v ...

Balys Sruoga Balys Sruoga (2 February 1896 – 16 October 1947) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist. He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published by the liberal wing of the Lithuanian cultura ...

, poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist *

Elchonon Wasserman Elchonon Bunim Wasserman (; ; 18746 July 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) and a noted Talmid Chacham. In the interwar perio ...

, Lithuanian rabbi, disciple of

Chofetz Chaim The ''Sefer'' ''Chofetz Chaim'' (or ''Chafetz Chaim'' or ''Hafetz Hayim'') (, trans. "Pursuer of Life") is a book by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, who is also called "the Chofetz Chaim" after it. The book deals with the Jewish laws of speech. The ...

Deimantė Žilinskienė Deimantė is a Lithuanian feminine given name. The masculine form of Deimantė is Deimantas Deimantas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. The feminine form of the Deimantas is Deimantė. People bearing the name Deimantas include: * Deimanta ...

, 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 Futbolo klubas Širvėna, commonly known as Širvėna, is a Football in Lithuania, Lithuanian Football (soccer), football club located in Biržai, center of Biržai District Municipality, Biržai District. They played in the II Lyga, Western zon ...

(football club); *

Biržai Stadium Biržai (, also known by several #Name, alternative names) is a city in northern Lithuania. Famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle Manor house, manor, the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Name The e ...

(The current capacity of the stadium is 1,000 seats.); *

KK Biržai KK, K.K., kK, k.k., or other sequences of two k's with or without punctuation may refer to: Arts and media *KK, the production code for the 1967 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Faceless Ones'' * "KK" (song), a 2014 song by Wiz Khalifa * Kk. or Kirk ...

(basketball club).

External links

Virtual Tour of Biržai

References

Official website of Biržai district municipality

Historical 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