Utena is a city in northeastern Lithuania, on the Utena highlands
(part of the Aukštaičiai highlands), 92 km north of Vilnius. Center
of Utena county and Utena district municipality, Utena city ward,
neighborhood ward center.
The Church of the Ascension of
Christ in Utena is standing (built in 1884; the old cemetery is next
to it), the small Orthodox Church of the Ascension of the Lord in
Utena, the Church of the Elders in Utena (since 1991), the new
Church of Divine Providence in Utena (consecrated in 2005) , Utena
Baptist Church, Synagogue. There is a cultural center, a family and
child welfare center, a tourist information center, two post offices
(central LT-28001), Utena Regional Museum (since 1929). There is a
water supply tower (historical monument), the post office (the old
post office, 19th century classicism, architect Vaclav Ričelis),
Utena St. Chapel of the Virgin Mary, the Martyrs' Queen in memory of
the partisans of Eastern Aukštaitija (on the Hill of the Martyrs
near Lake Dauniškis), monument to J. Basanavičius (on the central
street of the city).
In the north of Utena is the central
hospital of the district. Trotting races are held in the city in the
summer at the Raše Hippodrome.
Utena is a water-based place name. The surroundings are full of water names with the root uten-: lakes Utenas, Vyžuonaitis and Utenykštis, river Utenėlė (or Utenaitė). It is most likely that the city is named after Utenėlė stream, which used to be called simply Utena, and acquired a diminutive suffix as the city grew. The crusaders called the city Uten, Utten, Vitena and other names in their writings.
Utena is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania. Archaeological
research of the Narkūnai mounds confirmed the previous assumptions of
scientists that the old Utena was about 3-5 km southwest of the present
city near the Narkūnai mounds. The settlement appeared there as early as
II thousand. at the end of B.C. According to K. Būga, the southern
boundary of the territory inhabited by the Sele tribe passed through the
mountain.
According to the legendary version of the Lithuanian
annals (Bychovc's Chronicle), the city of Utena was founded by the
Lithuanian prince Utenis, after whom the city is named. According to the
chronicle of M. Stryjkovskis, the city was founded by Utenis, the son of
the grand duke of Lithuania and Žemaica, the grand duke of Naugarduk
Kukovaitis. After his father's death in 1221 Utenis built a monument
(idol) by the Šventoji river near Deltuva, after which a forest grew,
named after Kukovaitis.
In written sources, the name of Utena was
mentioned for the first time in 1261, when King Mindaugas, in a letter
to the Order of Swordsmen, transferred the lands of Utten for the help
provided.
13th-14th centuries the mighty Utena castle was built
on the big hill, and the settlement is located next to it. According to
the chronicles, in 1281 Duke Daumant, who ruled the castle, and whose
brother Narimant, in revenge for his abducted wife, surrounded Utena
with his army. Defeated, Daumantas was forced to flee to Pskov.
Herman Wartbergietis wrote that in 1373 the Livonian Magistrate Vilhelm
de Vimersheim devastated the lands of Witten, and in 1375 the ravaged
lands of Utten.
in 1433 January 30 - in 1444 February 9 during
the war, swordsmen repeatedly terrorized the Utena region, and in August
the castle was destroyed by enemies and the mounds lost their defensive
significance. Then the settlement was moved to the current, economically
more convenient location.
1416 the first church of Utena was
built. The town became the ward of the castle, although the role of the
castle was played by the Grand Duke's estate at that time. 1499 The
Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander appointed Mykola Glinskis as the
governor of Utena. 1599 Utena received a trading privilege. This led to
the growth of the city. 16th century at the end of the 17th century in
the beginning, the town was re-planned according to a rectangular
standard plan. A square market square was created in its center.
During the Northern War (1700-1721) Utena was destroyed and destroyed by
the Swedish army that invaded Lithuania. 18th century a parochial school
was opened. in 1781 visited her on 7, 1798 - 20 children. After the
division of the Republic of the Two Peoples, the Utena estate passed
into private hands.
The town began to recover when, until 1836,
the St. Petersburg-Warsaw highway was built. This is the first highway
in Lithuania, the Zarasai-Kaunas section was built in 1830-1836. Better
conditions were created for trade and the growth of the city. By the
highway in 1835-1836. A horse post station with lodgings and stables was
built at the time and was the largest establishment in Utena. in 1854
the construction of the Petersburg-Warsaw telegraph line through Zaras
and Utena began, and a telegraph station was installed at the post
station. in 1869 built in St. Utena Church of Sergius of Radonezh. in
1879 most of Utena burned. 1895-1899 the Panevėžys-Pastovius
narrow-gauge railway was built through Utena.
in 1918 a telephone
exchange was established at the post office. 1915-1918 occupied by
Germany, then by the Soviets, who were pushed out with the help of the
German army in 1919. June 1 1924 or 1926 city rights granted. in 1941
During the Nazi occupation, about 2,000 of the city's Jews were shot.
Around 1950 Old-timers started moving to the city from the
surrounding areas (Šeimaties, Sirvydžių, Nečėnai, Stalilioniškii), whose
parish in 1980 had about 1000 believers.
The current city seems
to have climbed out of its historical traditional place - deep valleys,
embraced Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis lakes, reached Vyžuonas river,
Skaistašilis forest.
in 1954 a medical school was established. in
1955 Utena Psychiatric Hospital was opened at the end of autumn.
Industry developed during the Soviet era:
1960 – factory of
laboratory electric furnaces,
in 1967 – Marytė Melnikaitė knitwear
and haberdashery production unification,
in 1976 – meat plant;
in
1980 – milk plant;
in 1977 – non-alcoholic beverage combine (produced
by Pepsicola and Fanta);
in 1980 – tractor repair factory;
in 1984
- factory of reinforced concrete structures.
There was also a
polytechnic, a vocational technical school. in 1979 The Utena post
office moved from the old post station to the new building.
in
1996 the current coat of arms of Utena was confirmed - a golden
horseshoe, a symbol of happiness.
Krašuona and its tributary Vieša flow through Utena. Krašuona in the
city center changes its name to Vyžuona from its confluence with
Vyžuonėle, which flows out of Vyžuonaitis lake. The tributaries of
Vyžuona are Utenėlė (or Utenaitė) and Rašė. There are two lakes in Telkš
- Vyžuonaitis and Dauniškis.
in 1956 February 1 In Utena, the
coldest record for the whole of Lithuania was recorded: -42.9 °C. in
1986 in June there was a record wind (40 m/s).
There is a city
park. Stone of Stūks Utena with a bowl (archaeological monument). The
Wedding Hill stands near the Kloviniai Dam.
1599 The trade privilege granted to Utena did not grant other
self-government rights, the town remained the center of the county. Only
in 1791 the city was granted the rights of Magdeburg, but the
townspeople did not take advantage of them, because soon the entire
region passed to Russia. The lands of Utena belonged to Ukmergė county.
During World War I, Utena became the center of the county (cruise).
in 1918 The Bolsheviks who occupied the city had established their own
revolutionary committee, but in 1919 June 2 The 1st infantry regiment of
the Lithuanian army, led by officer Kazys Ladyga, liberated the city and
the city municipality was formed and Utena county was established, which
was abolished only in 1950. During the USSR occupation, Utena had no
real self-government.
in 1990 the municipal council of Utena
district was elected, and since 1995 the city has the status of a
separate ward in the municipality.
The factory of laboratory electric furnaces was built in 1960. four
kilometers from Utena, in Narkūnai. in 1967 the first production was
made by a knitwear factory, and in 1975 after connecting the Zarasai
knitwear-haberdashery company, it became the largest industrial company
in the city.
Such well-known companies at home and abroad are
currently operating in Utena - UAB "Švyturys-Utenos alus", AB "Utenos
trikotažas", "Utenos meat", AB "Rokiškio sūris" branch of Utena.
Exiles and post-war struggles
In 1941, during the first Soviet
occupation, 955 people were deported from Utena. During the second
occupation, deportations took place between 1944 and 1953, and 2,600 Ute
residents were deported. 834 partisans and their supporters died in the
post-war battles with the occupying Soviet army and its local
collaborators in the vicinity of Utena.
in 2011 28,997 people lived:
Lithuanians – 95.91% (27811);
Russians – 2.41% (699);
Poles - 0.5% (145);
Ukrainians – 0.17%
(50);
Belarusians – 0.15% (42);
Latvians – 0.04% (12);
Others -
0.82% (238).
in 2001 33,860 people lived:
Lithuanians – 96.03%
(32515);
Russians – 2.57% (869);
Poles - 0.5% (170);
Ukrainians
– 0.19% (65);
Belarusians – 0.12% (40);
Latvians – 0.05% (16);
Others - 0.55% (185).
Writer Konstantinas Jasiukaitis (1882–1941) is buried in the old city
cemetery, near Vytautas Square, on whose grave in 1983 a roof pillar was
built (folk craftsman S. Karanauskas).
Jeronimas Uborevičius
(1896–1937), a Soviet officer from the Utena region, in whose memory a
monument stood in the city center during the Soviet era.
Adolfas
Šapoka (1906–1961), Lithuanian historian, pedagogue.
Bernard Loun
(Boruch Lac) (1921-2021), inventor of the defibrillator, winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize.
Nijolė Virginija Bražėnaitė (1923–2023) -
pathologist, doctor of medicine, Lithuanian figure in the United States
Irena Budriūnienė-Jurgelėnaitė (1936–2021), choir director and
pedagogue.
Vytautas Straižys (1936–2021), astronomer.
Saulius
Šaltenis (b. 1945), prose writer, playwright, publicist, editor.
Regina Maželytė-Taurinskienė (1952–2020), graphic artist, teacher.
Simona Krupeckaitė (b. 1982), cyclist.
Mindaugas Survila (b. 1983),
cameraman, director, conservationist.
Jonas Valančiūnas (b. 1992),
basketball player.
in 1897 according to the population census, 2,405 persons of Jewish
nationality lived in Utena, which accounted for about 75% of the city's
population.
in 1923 2485 Jews lived in Utena.
in 1941
January 1 According to the Statistics Board, 5,443 Jews lived in the
entire Utena county, which accounted for 4.73% of the county's total
population.
Before World War II, several thousand Lithuanian
citizens of Jewish nationality lived in Utena and its surroundings:
In Utena - out of about 7 thousand. more than half of the population was
Jewish;
In the hinterland - about 360;
49 families in Vyžuonas;
Leliūnai – 10 families;
also in Kuktiškės, Tauragnui, Radeikia.
More than 90 percent the Germans and the Lithuanians who helped them
were killed. According to the data of the State Jewish Museum of
Vilniaus Gaon, only in 1941 4,603 Jewish men, women and children were
killed in Utena and Molėtai between July and August.
The
extermination of the Jews was organized from Kaunas, where General
(German SS-V Brigadeführer) Franz Walter Stahlecker (German Franz Walter
Stahlecker) resided. His goal was to create Lithuanians for revenge - it
was difficult, but groups of killers were formed from the families of
victims and criminals.
Pits in the Raše pine forest were dug in
advance (Biržietis pit, Šapoka and others). They were about 25 meters
long, 4 m wide, and 3 m deep. About 20 pits were prepared.
From
the ghetto on Ežero Street, Jews were driven to the pits in groups of
approximately 50 people - they were shot in the pits and at the pits.
P.Petrauskas, B.Zitikis, S.Malinauskas (Utena police chief), A.Šveckas,
Laukys and 8 other persons participated.