HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kupiškis (;
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
: קופישוק) is a city in northeastern
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 ...
. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality, mainly known for its sculptures and fourth biggest water reservoir in Lithuania. Kupiškis is located on the
Lėvuo The Lėvuo is a river in Northern Lithuania, a right tributary of the river Mūša.Kupa The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from in Roman Empire, Roman times; ) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with a length of serving as the border between Croati ...
rivers. The name of the town comes from the Kupa River. The Gediminas Bridge crosses the Kupa River. There are six parts of the town, which are named: * ''Centras'' (Center or Old Town; the oldest buildings in the town hall, sanitation and utility buildings, library, church, high school, blocks of flats, detached houses) * ''Krantinė'' (high-rise housing complex between 4 and 5 floors, detached houses, shopping malls, preschool, primary school) * ''Kraštiečiai'' (high-rise housing complex between 2 and 6 floors, shopping malls, preschool) * ''Račiupėnai'' (a residential area; detached houses, middle school, business and technological school, bus station) * ''Zuntė'' (a residential area; detached houses) * ''Pramoninė teritorija'' (Industrial district; factories, warehouses, train station)


History

Archeological finds provide evidence that even in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC people dwelt in the surroundings of Kupiškis. However, there is no information on when the very settlement was founded. The findings around the Aukštupėnai mound show that in the 8th century a wooden defence castle stood there and it functioned as defensive. In the oldest days the area of Kupiškis was inhabited by Selonian tribes. It is believed that the castle on the Kupiškis (Aukštupėnai) Mound was destroyed by the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...
during the
Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Crusade, Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Pope, Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12th–13th century. Overview Historic ...
in ~1240. Kupiškis began to form around the market square and for many years the town structure of 6-9 streets remained unchanged. The earliest known surviving mentioning of Kupiškis in historical sources dates to 1480 when a local of Kupiškis, Stanislaus Johannis de Cupyschky ("de Cupyschky" literally means "from Kupiškis"), has applied as student to the
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. In 1529 historical source the town was mentioned as a property of Grand Duke
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...
, the ruler of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
. However, the
royal manor The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...
of Kupiškis was likely established in the early or middle of the 15th century. From 1561 to 1565 Kupiškis was a center of small ruler's center, belonging to the Upytė district and later the
Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Municipality. Ukmergė (Vilkmergė) was mentioned for the first time as a ...
district. At that time the main road from
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 ...
to
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 ...
led via Kupiškis and the local peasants of Kupiškis area were known for success in growing
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
. The town was often mentioned in 1561–1565 historical sources because during the
Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...
the Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania often marched through the town. In 1616, the first
Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was built in Kupiškis. In 1781, the first school of the Lancasterian System was established. In the first half of the 18th century the first
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
building in Kupiškis was built as a flax warehouse and has survived. In 1844, the town had 1950 residents of who 973 were Catholics. The railway line from
Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
to
Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
to
Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
was built in 1873 and stimulated the growth of the town despite suffering from wars and occupations. In the second half of the 19th century the merchants of
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 ...
warehouses were in Kupiškis. A
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
was opened in the town before 1880. In 1888 during 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 ...
a forbidden
Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...
literature press house was established in the town. Moreover, in 1885–1904 a secret school operated which trained Lithuanian in-home teachers. In 1905 Kupiškis already had 3910 residents and in it operated five wind mills and one water mill of which three mills has survived. In 1905 anti-
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 ...
demonstrations took place in Kupiškis. In 1913
electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
lighting was installed in the town. During the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
the population of the town decreased to less than 3000 residents and because of it its towns rights were temporarily suspended, however the establishment of barracks of the
Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...
has improved the residents situation. In 1935 the
Lithuanian Americans Lithuanian Americans refer to American citizens and residents of Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population in the United States. ...
has built a cooperative house in the town with small shops, bank and hotel, and it was the town's first building with
central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. A central heating system has a Furnace (central heating), furnace that converts fuel or electricity to heat through processes. The he ...
. Following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania 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 Soviets has
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
37 residents of Kupiškis to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. The
Lithuanian partisans Lithuanian partisans () were partisans who waged guerrilla warfare in Lithuania against the Soviet Union in 1944–1953. Similar anti-Soviet resistance groups, also known as Forest Brothers and cursed soldiers, fought against Soviet rule in E ...
of Algimantas district fought against the Soviets in Kupiškis area. After the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990, Kupiškis is the center of the Kupiškis District Municipality since 1995. In 2019 the town's central square named after Laurynas Gucevičius was reconstructed and a musical fountain was installed which elevates the water to up to 8 meters.


Population

According to the State Data Agency, the population of Kupiškis as of January 1, 2024 was 6,105. The ethnic composition of the Kupiškis district municipality, according to the 2001 census, was: *23,965 (97.3%)
Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
*430 (1.7%)
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
*64 (0.3%)
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
*49 (0.2%)
Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
*38 (0.2%)
Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...
*82 (0.3%) Other nationalities


Jews in Kupiškis

Kupiškis, known in
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
as ''Kupishok'' or ''Kupishik'', was home to 1,444 Jews before
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 Jewish population basically constituted about 42% of the town's population as of 1939. In the summer of 1941, all of the Jewish men, women, and children in the town were herded into a makeshift ghetto and tormented for about two days, and starved of food and were denied even water, and were then marched in groups to a cemetery reserved for atheists, where they were shot and buried in unmarked pits. In the aftermath of the war, Christian midwives from the Jewish Hospital in Panevezys compiled a list of more than 800 names of the murdered Jews. However, historians estimate that 1,500 to 2,000 Jews were killed by the Nazi and their collaborators "Kupiškis self-defense unit". A German national named Werner Loew, who had been pretending to be a communist, while teaching the German language at the local gymnasium in Kupiskis, decided to seize control of the town in July 1941 and became the self appointed "commandant" of the town. He had then engaged the services of a small band of deserting soldiers who were part of the Soviet Red Army's 618th artillery unit, who had previously been deployed to Kupiskis in 1940. These Lithuanian former soldiers of the Red Army, were led by Lieutenant Antanas Gudelis, who later became the commander of a unit of executioners under Loew's personal direction. The Great
Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
in Kupiškis was built of stone. The red brick portion was a Misnagdim Synagogue. The Great Synagogue was used as the "Culture House" during the Soviet period. The Misnagdim portion is now used as a boiler room for heating the main building which now contains the Public Library and Wall of Memory Holocaust Memorial erected on July 13, 2004. The Memorial dedication service was initiated and attended by Jewish descendants of the residents of Kupiskis. They held a worship service, the first since the destruction of the Jewish community in 1941, in the library which was once the synagogue. Rabbi Michael Mayersohn of Orange County, CA, whose paternal grandparents had lived in Kupiskis, led the historic worship service. Amongst the many Jewish families from Kupiskis who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators was the Kacevas family, of which six family members were wiped out in one particular action. A detailed list compiled by the Christian midwives of the known Jewish victims bares testimony to the heinous nature of these and many other murders of the members unfortunate Jewish community, amongst whom were many children. The date for this particular action was the 28th of June 1941. The names of the Jewish victims who were murdered in this one particular action which lasted for two days, are contained on this list, and are reflected on the Wall of Memory Holocaust Memorial in the foyer of the former Misnagdim Synagogue, which is now the public library building. Some non Jewish residents of the town, such as Dr Franzkevicius tried to hide and protect some Jewish residents, however unfortunately none of those who were being protected survived.


Educational institutions


Schools

*Kupiškis Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius Gymnasium (High School) (for students from 14 to 18) *Kupiškis Povilas Matulionis Progymnasium (for students from 6 to 14) *Kupiškis Technological And Business School (for students from 16 to 21)


Art schools

*Kupiškis Arts School


Preschools

*Varpelis *Obelėlė *Saulutė


Sport

* FC Kupiškis football club; * Kupiškio centrinis stadionas.


Twin towns – sister cities

Kupiškis is twinned with: * Balvi, Latvia *
Jēkabpils Municipality Jēkabpils Municipality () is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Ābeļi Parish, Dignāja Parish, Dunava Parish, Kalna Parish, Leimaņi Parish, Rubene Parish and Zasa Parish. During the Adm ...
, Latvia * Kežmarok, Slovakia * Lanchkhuti, Georgia * Manevychi Raion, Ukraine *
Rēzekne Municipality Rēzekne Municipality () is a municipality in Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Audriņi parish, Bērzgale parish, Čornaja parish, Dricāni parish, Feimaņi parish, Gaigalava parish, Griškāni par ...
, Latvia * Sztum, Poland *
Zgierz Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021, it had a population of 54,974. Located within the historic Łęczyca Land, it is the capital of Zgie ...
, Poland


Notable people

* Laurynas Gucevičius, a Polish-Lithuanian architect, was born in the village of Migonys near Kupiškis. * Jonas Černius, former prime minister of Lithuania, was born in this town.


References


External links


Virtual Tour of Kupiškis
*
Kupiškis district municipality official site



Kupiškis City photos on Miestai.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupiskis Cities in Lithuania Cities in Panevėžys County Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Vilkomirsky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Lithuania Kupiškis District Municipality