Nemenčinė (pronunciation) is a city in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania, it is located only about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-east of Vilnius. Close to Nemenčinė forest was planted which forms a sentence Žalgiris 600 (commemorating the Battle of Grunwald) visible from the air.

Nemenčinė
City
Sculpture of Mary at the center of the city and the church
Sculpture of Mary at the center of the city and the church
Flag of Nemenčinė
Coat of arms of Nemenčinė
Nemenčinė is located in Lithuania
Nemenčinė
Nemenčinė
Location of Nemenčinė
Coordinates: 54°51′0″N 25°29′0″E / 54.85000°N 25.48333°E / 54.85000; 25.48333
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionDzūkija
County Vilnius County
MunicipalityVilnius district municipality
EldershipNemenčinė eldership
Capital ofNemenčinė eldership
First mentioned14th century
Granted town rights1955
Area
 • Total
5 km2 (2 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)Densityː 916/km2
 • Total
4,582
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Names

edit

Nemenčinė is the original name of the town reflected in historical documents and still in use today.[1] It derives from a Lithuanian word referring to the river Nemenčia.[1] Other versions of the name include Niemenczyn in Polish, Неменчын in Belarusian, Неменчине (or Нямянчине) in Russian, Nementschine in German and Nementchin (נעמענטשין) in Yiddish.

History

edit
 
Fragment of a map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1613) and Nemenčinė (Niemenizijina), shown just north of the capital Vilnius (Vilna).

Lithuanian wooden castle and the mound stood in Nemenčinė in 10-14th centuries. The settlement started to grow around the castle. In 1387, following the Christianization of Lithuania, Jogaila established the first Christian parish in Nemenčinė and built a church there. In a 1434 document Andrius Sakaitis, one of the most influential Lithuanian nobleman families during the reign of Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV Jagiellon, listed Nemenčinė as his domain. In 1554, Nemenčinė after the Volok Reform got the rights of the town.

In 1613, the town was marked on the map of the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaMagni Ducatus Lithuaniae, et Regionum Adiacentium exacta Descriptio printed in Amsterdam and financed by the Lithuanian magnate Mikalojus Kristupas Radvila Našlaitėlis.

On 20 September 1941, 403 Jews from the town were massacred in a mass execution. 128 men, 186 women and 99 children were shot by an Einsatzgruppen of local Nazi collaborators. In 1971, a monument was erected on the execution site.[2]

Ethnic composition

edit

The ethnic composition of Nemenčinė is as follows:[3]

Total population in 2011 – 5054

Total population in 2021 – 4831

International partnership

edit

Nemenčinė is twinned with three towns in Poland: Węgorzewo (Ungura), Ełk (Lukas) and Suwałki (Suvalkai). It also has a partnership agreement with Poland's West Pomeranian Voivodeship, signed in Vilnius on 19 June 2009.[4]

Sports

edit

In 14 of September 2017 Nemenčinė Biathlon Stadium was opened and become a second operating Biathlon course in Lithuania (first being Ignalina Winter Sports Centre).[5]

People

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b A. Vanagas. Lietuvos miestų vardai. p.151-152
  2. ^ "Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania".
  3. ^ Results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census of Republic of Lithuania Archived 1 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego - Współpraca Międzynarodowa
  5. ^ Atidaryta biatlono šaudykla ir rekonstruotas Nemenčinės stadionas
edit