Utena

Utena (pronunciation ; Polish: Uciana) is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym.[1] The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.[1]

This article is about the city in north-east Lithuania. For the manga and/or anime series, see Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Utena
City
Coat of arms
Utena
Location of Utena in Lithuania
Utena
Location of Utena within the Baltics
Utena
Location of Utena in Europe
Coordinates: 55°30′N 25°36′E
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionAukštaitija
County Utena County
MunicipalityUtena district municipality
EldershipUtena town eldership
Capital ofUtena district municipality
Utena town eldership
Utena rural eldership
First mentioned1261
Granted city rights1599
Government
 • MayorAlvydas Katinas
Area
 • City15.3 km2 (5.9 sq mi)
Elevation
113 m (371 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • City25,397
 • Density1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
 • Metro
48,378
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
28xxx
Area code(s)(+370) 349
Websitewww.utena.lt

Utena is an industrial city. It is known for its clothing, food and beverage factories. In recent years, however, streets, public squares and large areas of the parks in the city were reconstructed and Utena is now a more attractive for recreation and tourism. In 2007, Utena won a Silver Award in category B (towns with a population 10,001 - 50,000) of the International Awards for Liveable Communities, held in London.

The anniversary of Utena City had been held each year on the last weekend of September. Since 2013 the anniversary has been held on the first weekend of September to take advantage of better weather conditions.

Geography
Map of the City

Utena is located in northeastern Lithuania. The city covers 15,1 km2 and is the 8th 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.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Lithuania occurred in Utena (-42,9 °C in 1956-02-01).

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

History
Nazi Germany army commanders meeting in Utena (June 30, 1941)
Lithuanian partisans memorial place in Utena

Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when it fell under Czarist Russian 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 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. In June 1919, Utena became a district center in independent Lithuania.[2]

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 (1.2 mi) to the north.[3]

Demography

Population
Utena church
Utena stadium
Population of Utena city[4][5]
Year Population
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

Sport

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

Hometown of Jonas Valančiūnas of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Twin towns — sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania

Utena is twinned with:[6]

References
  1. "Utenos Enciklopedija (English summary)". Utenos Enciklopedija. Utenos A. ir M. Miškinių viešoji biblioteka. 2002. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  2. http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/utena/utena1.html
  3. http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/utena/utena3.html
  4. "Gyventojų skaičius Utenos apskrityje ir savivaldybėse 2005 - 2009 metų pradžioje". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  5. "Gyventojų skaičius metų pradžioje. Požymiai: miestas - Rodiklių duomenų bazėje". Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  6. "Tarptautiniai ryšiai". utena.lt (in Lithuanian). Utena. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
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