Bukiškis (or Bukiškės) is a village in

Avižieniai Eldership Avižieniai Eldership () is an eldership in Lithuania, located in Vilnius District Municipality, northwest of Vilnius. It is the most populous eldership in the municipality. Geography The eldership has a hillfort with a cultural layer dated ...

Vilnius District Municipality Vilnius District Municipality () is one of the 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It surrounds the capital city of Vilnius on three sides. The municipality is also bordered by Trakai District Municipality, Trakai district and Elektr ...

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 ...

. According to the 2021 census it had population of 1,154, an increase from 922 recorded in the 2011 census, from 822 in 2001, and from 930 in 1989.

History

The name Bukiškis or Bukiškės is derived from Lithuanian surnames Bukas, Bukauskas, Bukis, Bukys or Bukevičius. The original name of the village – Gedvydžiai, however, bears a possible connection to

Gedvydas Gedvydas (or Edivid) (believed to have died ca. 1253) was one of the sons of Dausprungas and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Gedvydas together with his brother Tautvilas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. Gedvydas' bro ...

, a Lithuanian medieval duke, whose patrimonial lands could be situated somewhere in the environs of the present day Bukiškis. Bukiškis manor belonged to Radziwiłł family, but after the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

of 1863, the property was confiscated by the Russian administration and transferred to Russian general Alexander Bozherianov from

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, who suppressed the aforementioned uprising. Trying to convert the local Catholics to Russian Orthodox faith, Bozherianov built an Orthodox church in Bukiškis.Bukiškės
/ref> During the Soviet rule, an agricultural school was opened in Bukiškis. In the beginning of the XXI century, because of the convenient location near the capital, there are a lot of construction works in and around Bukiškis and the number of inhabitants is steadily growing.

References

{{Vilnius County Villages in Vilnius County Vilnius District Municipality