{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox settlement <!--more fields are available for this Infobox--See Template:Infobox Settlement--> | name = Elektrėnai | nickname = | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = Elektrenai by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg | image_caption = Elektrėnai panorama | pushpin_map = Lithuania | pushpin_label_position = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none --> | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Elektrėnai | image_flag = Flag of Elektrėnai.jpg | image_shield = Elektrenai COA.svg | coordinates = {{coord|54|47|16|N|24|40|16|E|region:LT|display=inline,title}}| | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Lithuania | subdivision_type1 = Ethnographic region | subdivision_name1 = Dzūkija | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = 20px Vilnius County | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = Elektrėnai Municipality | subdivision_type4 = Eldership| | subdivision_name4 = Elektrėnai Eldership | subdivision_type6 = Capital of| | subdivision_name6 = Elektrėnai Municipality<br>Elektrėnai Eldership | established_date = 1961 | established_title = Established | established_date2 = 1962 | established_title2 = Granted city rights | population_total = 11,009 | population_as_of = 2022 | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = 524 | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = EEST | utc_offset_DST = +3 | website = {{URL|https://elektrenai.lt/}} }}
'''Elektrėnai''' ({{pronunciation|Elektrenai.ogg}}) is a city of about 11,000 inhabitants in Vilnius County, Lithuania; since 2000 it has been the capital of the Elektrėnai Municipality. It is situated between the two largest cities in Lithuania – Vilnius and Kaunas.
==History== Historically, two villages were located in the area; one of those was Perkūnkiemis (Lithuanian: ''Thunder's yard''). Elektrėnai is one of the newest towns of Lithuania, having been established during the Soviet occupation in the early 1960s as the living space for workers of the nearby power plant. It was expanded in the 1980s and early 1990s as a residence for builders and workers at the nearby Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant. The name of the new town was derived from word ''elektra'' (English: ''electricity'') – a borrowing to Lithuanian language from Greek. ''Gintarėnai'' (''gintaras'' – Lithuanian word for amber) was another name considered, but was rejected before the start of the construction. Most of the buildings in Elektrėnai are large block housing projects built during the Soviet period, with no historical buildings. The town, however, is close to Elektrėnai Reservoir, an artificial lake that was created to cool the Elektrėnai Power Plant. The water is several degrees warmer than water at the other nearby lakes.
==Ice hockey== Elektrėnai is well known for its ice hockey tradition.<ref name="ice-hockey">{{cite web|title=Elektrėnų vizitinė kortelė – unikalus statinys bei ledo ritulio fenomenas abejingų nepalieka ir už Lietuvos ribų|url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/sportas/10/1481901/elektrenu-vizitine-kortele-unikalus-statinys-bei-ledo-ritulio-fenomenas-abejingu-nepalieka-ir-uz-lietuvos-ribu|date=5 September 2021|access-date=2 May 2022|website=LRT|language=lt}}</ref> For a rather long period of time Elektrėnai was the only city in Lithuania with a well-equipped skating rink. Two National Hockey League players: Darius Kasparaitis and Dainius Zubrus were born in Elektrėnai.<ref name="ice-hockey"/> Its local ice hockey team is Energija. Inhabitants of Elektrėnai make up a considerable part of the national ice hockey team.
==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="120px" perrow="4"> File:Elektrėnai2018.jpg|Entrance to Elektrėnai from the motorway File:Elektrėnai, pakrantės tiltas.jpg|Elektrėnai Pier Bridge File:Elektrėnai Ice Palace in Elektrėnai, Lithuania by Augustas Didžgalvis.jpg|Elektrėnai Ice Palace File:Elektrėnai Swimming Pool.jpg|Swimming pool File:Church of St. Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs, in Elektrėnai, Lithuania by Augustas Didžgalvis.jpg|Church of St. Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs, in Elektrėnai File:Elektrėnai Power Plant in Elektrėnai, Lithuania by Augustas Didžgalvis.jpg|Elektrėnai Power Plant in 2023 File:Elektrenu marios 2 by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|Elektrėnai Reservoir and the Power Plant File:Elektrėnų tiltas.jpg|Elektrėnai Pier Bridge at night File:BurlentesElektrenuose1024.jpg|Windsurfing in Elektrėnai Reservoir </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.elektrenai.lt/go.php/eng/ City of Elektrėnai – History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004203308/https://www.elektrenai.lt/go.php/eng/ |date=4 October 2022 }} * [http://en.vietoves.lt/?id=JL52E7JUG Virtual Tour of Elektrėnai]
{{Commons category|Elektrėnai}} {{Vilnius County}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elektrenai}} Category:Elektrėnai Category:Cities in Lithuania Category:Cities in Vilnius County Category:Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Category:Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Category:Elektrėnai Municipality