{{Infobox settlement <!--more fields are available for this Infobox--See Template:Infobox Settlement--> | name = Baisogala | settlement_type = Town | nickname = | image_shield = Baisogalos herbas.svg | image_skyline = BZN Baisogala church front.JPG | pushpin_map = Lithuania | pushpin_label_position = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none --> | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Baisogala | coordinates = {{coord|55|38|20|N|23|43|20|E|region:LT|display=inline,title}}| | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{LTU}} | subdivision_type1 = Ethnographic region | subdivision_name1 = Aukštaitija | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Šiauliai County | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = Radviliškis district municipality | subdivision_type4 = Eldership | subdivision_name4 = Baisogala eldership | subdivision_type6 = Capital of | subdivision_name6 = Baisogala eldership | established_date = 1539 | established_title = First mentioned | established_date2 = | established_title2 = | population_total = 1,694 | population_footnotes = | population_as_of = 2011 | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 }}
'''Baisogala''' is a small town in Lithuania. It is situated on the crossroads of Kėdainiai–Šeduva and Raseiniai–Šeduva roads.<ref>{{cite book | first=Giedrė |last=Jankevičiūtė |title=Lietuva |publisher=R. Paknio leidykla | year=2006 | page=141 |isbn=9986-830-97-4|language=lt}}</ref> According to the 2021 census, it had 1,694 residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rodiklių duomenų bazė - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=d29f7ead-91fc-4259-94b6-b0ef3f7dc870#/mtable |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref>
==History== thumb|left|Baisogala Manor, 19th century [[File:Baisogala manor.jpg|thumb|Baisogala Manor, 2019]] thumb|Basiogala culture centre
Baisogala is first mentioned in written sources in 1539 when King Sigismund I the Old established a parish with seat in the town.<ref name=sem>{{cite book | last=Semaška | first=Algimantas | title=Kelionių vadovas po Lietuvą: 1000 lankytinų vietovių norintiems geriau pažinti gimtąjį kraštą | edition=4th | year=2006 | publisher=Algimantas | location=Vilnius | isbn=9986-509-90-4 | page=220|language=lt}}</ref> Archeologists discovered cemeteries from the 5th and 6th centuries near the town suggesting the people inhabited the area well before the 16th century.<ref name=el>{{cite encyclopedia | editor=Simas Sužiedėlis | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Lituanica | title=Baisogala | year=1970–1978 | publisher=Juozas Kapočius | volume=I | location=Boston, Massachusetts | pages=241–242| lccn=74-114275 }}</ref> In the 17th century, the town was granted to the Radvila family and changed hands a few times. In 1791 the town was granted city privileges according to the Magdeburg law.<ref name=el/> Eventually, the town was bought in 1830 by Joseph Komar, a former colonel of Napoleon Bonaparte.<ref name=sem/> The Komar family remained in Baisogala until 1940 when the Soviets arrested and deported the family to Kazakhstan.<ref name=sem/> Their large and decorated manor is quite well preserved and surrounded by {{convert|12|ha}} of park.
===Religion=== The first church was built by King Sigismund II Augustus, but it did not survive. The church in the present location was built in 1781 and rebuilt in 1882 with financial support from the Komar family.<ref name=sem/>
== Economy == In 2024, the government signed a deal with a German defence company Rheinmetall to build an artillery ammunition plant.<ref name="rheinmetall-plant">{{cite web|title=Rheinmetall to invest over €180m into ammunition plant in Lithuania|url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2287995/rheinmetall-to-invest-over-eur180m-into-ammunition-plant-in-lithuania|date=3 June 2024|access-date=12 December 2024|website=LRT}}</ref> The company will invest €180m into the plant, becoming a major employer in Baisogala.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rheinmetall ammo plant in Lithuania to be launched by mid-2026|url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2426990/rheinmetall-ammo-plant-in-lithuania-to-be-launched-by-mid-2026|date=29 November 2024|access-date=12 December 2024|website=LRT}}</ref> The groundbreaking ceremony for the factory was on November 4, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BNS |date=2025-11-04 |title=Rheinmetall breaks ground on ammunition factory in northern Lithuania |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2735072/rheinmetall-breaks-ground-on-ammunition-factory-in-northern-lithuania |access-date=2025-11-04 |website=lrt.lt |language=en}}</ref>
== Notable people from Baisogala ==
*Nachum Kaplan *Arvydas Každailis *Alfredas Kulpa-Kulpavičius *Estanislao Shilinsky Bachanska
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}} {{Commons category|Baisogala}} {{Siauliai County}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Towns in Lithuania Category:Towns in Šiauliai County Category:Shavelsky Uyezd