Ukmergė is a city in eastern Lithuania and lies on the banks of the Šventoji. It is the seat of the Rajongemeinde of the same name (Ukmergės rajono savivaldybė) and has the status of an administrative district within it.
It is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. For a long time
there were rumors that Ukmergė was founded in the 13th century. at
the beginning (the most popular version is 1225). This was probably
caused by the following facts: XVI century. In Bychovc's chronicle,
Dausprungas, a companion of the legendary Palemon, is called the
founder of Ukmergė, and Duke Dausprungas, the elder brother of King
Mindaugas, is actually from the 13th century. at the beginning he is
mentioned among the rulers of the land of Lithuania. However, it
should be remembered that Ukmergė was one of the important centers
of the historical Deltuva land at that time, so it is unlikely that
the neighbors could build castles - create cities here. Although the
castle and the settlement were probably here much earlier, the first
mention of Ukmergė in written sources, the official date of the
city's founding, is in 1333. In the Vartberge Chronicle, it is
written that in that year the Master of the Livonian Order "was near
Vilkenberge" (i.e. Ukmergė). During this "stay" the castle of
Ukmergė was attacked, which was repeatedly attacked and the area was
ravaged by swordsmen. The last time this wooden castle, located on a
hill in the center of the city, was burned down in 1391. During the
battles of Vytautas and Jogaila. 15th century at the beginning, on
the other side of Vilkmergėlė stream, on the current Castle Hill, a
brick castle was built, which finally fell into disrepair in the
18th century. at the end
As Deltuvai lost its strategic
importance, Ukmergė grew and became stronger. in 1486 it received
city rights after 1566. administrative reforms made Ukmergė the
settlement center of Vilnius Voivodeship. 16th century in the middle
of Ukmergė there was already an urban self-government. in 1792 city
rights granted. in 1817 The Ukmergė County Seimel demanded the
release of peasants from serfdom, but without giving them land, and
issued relevant instructions, but the tsarist authorities did not
allow the abolition of serfdom. in 1846 the first hospital was
established.
in 1916 the Jonava-Ukmergė narrow-gauge railway
was built, until it was dismantled in 1958. used to carry passengers
and cargo.
in 1919 May 3 the Bolsheviks were expelled from
Vilkmergė. In the meantime, Ukmergė was the center of the county and
a city with county rights. The first mayor was Boleslovas Dirmantas.
in 1935 first class city rights approved.
At the beginning of
the Second World War, the Jews of Ukmergė, who made up almost half
of the city's population, were killed in the Pivonia forest.
in 1946 August 3 became a city under the county. After the war, it
became the center of the district, there was a linen factory, a
machine factory "Vienybė", a repair mechanical factory, I. Meskup's
furniture, "Lelijas" unification sewing, P. Eidukevičius' leather
and footwear unification factories, a cobbler company, "Šilo" wood
processing company, Soviet farm-technical school. in 1976 in the
eastern part of the city, the Dukstynas microdistrict was built, in
the 90s, in the southern part - Pivonia. After 1980 after the
construction of the A2 Vilnius–Panevėžys highway, the city remained
on the sidelines, the flow of passing cars decreased.
in 1992
the new coat of arms of Ukmergė was approved.
The lowest annual rainfall in Lithuania was recorded in Ukmerge -
355.7 mm in 1964. The Šventoji flows through the city (the right
tributary Ukmergėlė flows into it in the center, previously called
Vilkamerga and Vilkamergėle), the Ukmergė mound stands on its right
bank, and the old town of Ukmergė is also located on this bank - a
monument of urban planning. Šventoju near the center, 2020 according to
the data, the only car transport bridge in the city - the Ukmergė
bridge, and the reinforced concrete pedestrian bridge at the central
stadium - were crossed.
There are three Catholic churches in
Ukmergė: Ukmergė St. Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul (since 1820),
Ukmergė St. Trinity (Pijori) Church (since 1863), Pasilė St. Barbora's
Church (since 1789), wooden Ukmergė St. Paneles Užtarėjas church (old
people, built in 1873), former great synagogue, local history museum
(since 1940), 4 post offices (central LT-20001), old horse post station
(1835, architect Vaclovas Ričelis), tourism and business information
center.
On the eastern edge of the city, there is the district's
central hospital, the city's largest Dukstyna cemetery, the old Vaižgant
street cemetery with a cemetery chapel, the Ukmergė Church of the
Resurrection of Christ (Orthodox), Russian Orthodox and old-time
cemeteries. On the left bank of Šventošija, there are mainly residential
areas, to the west of the highway A2 Vilnius-Panevėžys is the Pivonia
forest, to the south of it is Pašilė - the newest district of the city.
The highway bypasses the city from the east, where there are
intersections with the roads to Molėti (Grauzieci viaduct), Žemaitkiemis
(bridge over Šventja, pedestrian viaduct), Utena (Dukstyna viaduct).
In the center of the city, in the square near the House of Culture,
there is a natural monument - the Dukstyna Stone, unveiled in 1975. on
the occasion of the city's 750th anniversary; is the district court of
Ukmergė district. There is a clay deposit.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1333. In the Wartberge
Chronicle, where it is written that in that year the Master of the
Livonian Order "...was near Wilkenberge". The original Lithuanian form
of the city's name was probably Vilkamergė. Until the First World War,
it was officially called Vilkmergė (synonyms Aukmergė, Likmerė). Later
there were fluctuations, for example in 1925. the publication "Inhabited
Places of Lithuania" was written by the district of Vilkmergė, although
in 1918-1920 Ukmergė is written on the "Map of Lithuania" (also on the
updated map of 1933). 20th century At the end of the 4th decade, Ukmergė
already prevailed, and after the war, only Ukmergė was the general norm.
Although there is no universally accepted version of the origin of
the name by linguists, everyone agrees that the name originates from the
river Vilkmergėlė (present-day Ukmergėlė, right tributary of Šventoji).
And this one may have arisen from a combination of words, the first of
which was a wolf, and the second root was a girl-. The latter is
difficult to explain with Lithuanian language equivalents, but Latv.
merga, marga - "small rain" and mergat - "to lynot" suggest that merg-
could have a more general meaning of irrigation, trickle, trickle, which
would be logically applied to the surname Vilkmergė (which is also
called Vilkmerge), from which the name of the city originated. After the
city grew, the stream acquired a diminutive suffix and became
Vilkmergėle (Vilkamergėle), and later Ukmergėle.
In folk
etymology, one of the legends is told, which came from the time of the
battles with the Crusaders and explains the current name of the city. It
is said that there was a ghost in the temple of the pagans, the daughter
of the Saint fisherman. But she broke her promise to serve the gods and
fell in love with the enemy of her homeland - a crusader knight. When
they found out, they burned it. From generation to generation, people
passed on stories about aukmerge - a sacrificial girl (Aukmerge), who
eventually turned into Ukmerge.
Another legend says that in the
dark forests of these places once lived a sorceress, called Vilkmerge
(wolf girl). Tautvilas, the son of Duke Dausprung, once hunted in those
forests, and was struck by arrows and then attacked by wolves. He was
saved from destruction by that witch - a beautiful maiden who tamed and
chased away the ravenous wolves. Dausprung built a castle near Šventoji
and named it Vilkmerge in honor of the battle. This is how the name of
the city is popularly associated with the word combination wolf girl, to
whom a monument was built in Užupy.