Utena, Lithuania

History

Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261. The settlement was a major center of Nalšia. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when it fell under the Russian Empire rule. From 1802 it belonged to the Vilna Governorate until 1843 when it became a part of the Kovno Governorate. The town grew rapidly after the St.Petersburg-Warsaw road was constructed between 1830 and 1835. In 1835–1836, the Utena Postage Station for horse post with lodging houses and stables was constructed, which was used or passed by the Russian tsars, French writer Honoré de Balzac, Russian painter Ilya Repin, Lithuanian poet Antanas Baranauskas, Lithuanian national movement figure Jonas Basanavičius, etc. In 1899 a narrow gauge railway line, connecting Panevėžys-Utena-Švenčionys, was constructed. At the end of the 19th century two big fires devastated the town.

Germany occupied Utena from 1915 to 1918, until the Soviet Bolsheviks took over. Following the defeat of Soviets, in June 1919, Utena became a district center in independent Lithuania.

Utena, known as the shtetl Utyan in Yiddish, historically had a Jewish population. In 1941, approximately 2,000 Jews were rounded up in the town, which was then under the Nazi occupation, and shot in the Rašė Forest about 2 km to the north.

Demography

Population

According to the 2021 census, the city population was 25,343 people, of which:

• Lithuanians – 95.61% (24,232)
• Russians – 2.20% (558)
• Poles – 0.63% (160)
• Ukrainians – 0.17% (42)
• Belarusians – 0.15% (37)
• Others / did not specify – 1.26% (320)

| 1939 | 6,276 | 1959 | 7,066 | 1979 | 23,461 | 1989 | 34,430 | 1999 | 36,100 | 2005 | 33,086 | 2006 | 32,881 | 2007 | 32,789 | 2008 | 32,572 | 2009 | 32,476 | 2010 | 31,940

Geography

Utena is located in northeastern Lithuania. The city covers 15.1 km2 and is the eighth-largest city by area in Lithuania. Four rivers cross the city territory: Vyžuona, Krašuona, Vieša and Utenėlė. There are also two lakes in Utena, Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis.

Districts

The city is divided into 10 districts:

• Aukštakalnis
• Ąžuolija
• Centras (Center)
• Dauniškis
• Pramonės rajonas (Industrial district)
• Rašė
• Vyturiai
• Šilinė
• Grybeliai
• Krašuona

Parks and gardens

• City Garden
• Vyžuona Park
• Dauniškis Park
• Krašuona Park
• Aukštakalnis Pine Forest
• Rašė Park
• Utenėlė Park
• Vieša Park
• Monkey park

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Utena has a humid continental climate (Dfb). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Lithuania occurred in Utena: -42.9 C on 1 February 1956. |Jan record high C = 7.7 |Feb record high C = 13.3 |Mar record high C = 19.5 |Apr record high C = 26.8 |May record high C = 30.8 |Jun record high C = 31.7 |Jul record high C = 34.4 |Aug record high C = 32.0 |Sep record high C = 28.4 |Oct record high C = 23.4 |Nov record high C = 15.9 |Dec record high C = 10.5 |year record high C = |Jan record low C = -38.9 |Feb record low C = -42.9 |Mar record low C = -33.7 |Apr record low C = -17.6 |May record low C = -4.6 |Jun record low C = -1.5 |Jul record low C = 3.7 |Aug record low C = -0.1 |Sep record low C = -5.2 |Oct record low C = -13.2 |Nov record low C = -20.0 |Dec record low C = -31.3 |year record low C = | access-date = March 27, 2023}}}}

Sport

FK Utenis Utena plays in A Lyga and BC Juventus plays in LKL.

Hometown of Jonas Valančiūnas of the Denver Nuggets.

Aidenas Malašinskas is the best handball player in Lithuania (2019, 2021).

Twin towns – sister cities

Utena is twinned with:

• POL Chełm, Poland
• UKR Kovel, Ukraine
• SWE Lidköping, Sweden
• ITA Pontinia, Italy
• LVA Preiļi, Latvia
• LVA Rēzekne, Latvia
• CZE Třeboň, Czech Republic
• PSE Beit Sahour, Palestine

Gallery

File:Utena, Dauniškis ezers - panoramio.jpg|Dauniškis Lake, 2015 File:Dauniskis 2020.jpg|Lake Dauniškis, 2020 File:Utena, tvenkinys.JPG|View of a pond File:Utena. Sentikių cerkvės priekis.JPG|Church of the Old Believers File:Utenos rajono savivaldybė.JPG|Utena City Council File:Utena, Marijos koplyčia.JPG|Memorial for the Lithuanian partisans File:Utena, krašto muziejus.JPG|Museum of local history File:Utena, ekspozicija lauke.JPG|Museum exposition in the city square

References

References

1. (2002). "Utenos Enciklopedija (English summary)". Utenos A. ir M. Miškinių viešoji biblioteka.
2. "Utena".
3. "Utena County - Geography and history".
4. "Utenos krašto enciklopedija".
5. "Muziejus Utenos Senajame pašte".
6. "Utena (Utyan)".
7. "During World war II and afterwards".
8. "Gyventojų skaičius".
9. (2009). "Gyventojų skaičius Utenos apskrityje ir savivaldybėse 2005 - 2009 metų pradžioje". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
10. (2009). "Gyventojų skaičius metų pradžioje. Požymiai: miestas - Rodiklių duomenų bazėje". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
11. "Meteorologiniai rekordai Lietuvoje".
12. "Klimato duomenys 1991-2020".
13. "Tarptautiniai ryšiai". Utena.