Utena
Utena (ⓘ) 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]
Utena | |
|---|---|
City | |
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.svg.png.webp) 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 region | Aukštaitija |
| County |  Utena County |
| Municipality | Utena district municipality |
| Eldership | Utena town eldership |
| Capital of | Utena district municipality Utena town eldership Utena rural eldership |
| First mentioned | 1261 |
| Granted city rights | 1599 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Alvydas Katinas |
| Area | |
| • City | 15.3 km2 (5.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 113 m (371 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • City | 25,397 |
| • Density | 1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 48,378 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 28xxx |
| Area code | (+370) 389 |
| Website | utena |
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 more attractive for recreation and tourism. In 2007, Utena won a Silver Award in category B (towns with a population between 10,001 and 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.
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Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261.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 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.[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
According to the 2021 census, the city population was 25,343 people, of which:[4]
- 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)
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| Source: [5][6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Lithuania occurred in Utena: −42.9 °C (−45.2 °F) on 1 February 1956.[7]
| Climate data for Utena (1961−1990 normals, extremes 1925−1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
13.3 (55.9) |
19.5 (67.1) |
26.8 (80.2) |
30.8 (87.4) |
31.7 (89.1) |
34.4 (93.9) |
32.0 (89.6) |
28.4 (83.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
15.9 (60.6) |
10.5 (50.9) |
34.4 (93.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −3.2 (26.2) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
2.9 (37.2) |
10.5 (50.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.3 (72.1) |
21.5 (70.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
3.7 (38.7) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
10.0 (50.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.0 (21.2) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
15.6 (60.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
15.9 (60.6) |
11.4 (52.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
5.8 (42.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −9.1 (15.6) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
1.2 (34.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.8 (51.4) |
7.3 (45.1) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
1.7 (35.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −38.9 (−38.0) |
−42.9 (−45.2) |
−33.7 (−28.7) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
3.7 (38.7) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
−20.0 (−4.0) |
−31.3 (−24.3) |
−42.9 (−45.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 39 (1.5) |
31 (1.2) |
37 (1.5) |
47 (1.9) |
53 (2.1) |
69 (2.7) |
73 (2.9) |
75 (3.0) |
66 (2.6) |
50 (2.0) |
57 (2.2) |
53 (2.1) |
650 (25.7) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 34.9 | 63.6 | 140.2 | 206.8 | 259.8 | 263.1 | 251.1 | 231.8 | 160.9 | 92.5 | 25.6 | 20.4 | 1,750.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: infoclimat.fr (sunshine 1991-2020)[9] | |||||||||||||
Sport
FK Utenis Utena plays in A Lyga and BC Juventus plays in LKL.
Hometown of Jonas Valančiūnas of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Aidenas Malašinskas is the best handball player in Lithuania (2019, 2021).
Twin towns – sister cities
Gallery
Dauniškis Lake, 2015
Dauniškis Lake, 2020
Musical fountains
View of a pond
Church of the Old Believers
Utena City Council
Memorial for the Lithuanian partisans
Tourist Information Centre (and a former railway station)
Museum exposition in the city square
References
- "Utenos Enciklopedija (English summary)". Utenos Enciklopedija. Utenos A. ir M. Miškinių viešoji biblioteka. 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
- "Utena (Utyan)".
- "During World war II and afterwards".
- "Gyventojų skaičius" [Population]. State Data Agency of Lithuania. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- "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 22 July 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- "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 20 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- "Meteorologiniai rekordai Lietuvoje" [Meteorological records in Lithuania]. Lietuvos hidrometeorologijos tarnyba. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- "Nida Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- "Normales et records pour la période 1991-2020 à Utena". infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- "Tarptautiniai ryšiai". utena.lt (in Lithuanian). Utena. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
