Kėdainiai

{{Redirect|Kaiden|the given name|Caden (given name)}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Kėdainiai |nickname = |settlement_type = City |pushpin_map = Lithuania |pushpin_label_position =  |pushpin_map_caption = Location of Kėdainiai |image_shield = Coat of arms of Kedainiai (Lithuania).svg |image_flag = Kėdainių Vėliava.png |image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 270 | image_style = border:1; | perrow = 1/2/2/2 |image1 = Didžioji street in Kėdainiai001.jpg |caption1 = Didžioji Street of the old town |image2 = Kėdainiai town hall 130252401.jpg |caption2 = Kėdainiai Town Hall |image3 = Evangelical Reformed Church in Kėdainiai, Lithuania in 2007.jpg |caption3 = Evangelical Reformed Church |image4 = Church of St. George in Kėdainiai, Lithuania in 2007.jpg |caption4 = Catholic Church of St. George |image5 = Kėdainiai (Kiejdany) - market square (2).JPG |caption5 = Old architecture in Market Square |image6 = Church of St. Joseph and its belfry in Kėdainiai, Lithuania in 2007.jpg |caption6 = Catholic Church of St. Joseph and its belfry |image7 = Nevėžis River flowing through Kėdainiai, Lithuania in 2021.jpg |caption7 = Nevėžis river flowing through Kėdainiai }} |coordinates = {{coord|55|17|N|23|58|E|region:LT_type:city(31000)|display=it}} |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{LTU}} |subdivision_type1 = Ethnographic region |subdivision_name1 = Aukštaitija |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = 20px Kaunas County |subdivision_type3 = Municipality |subdivision_name3 = Kėdainiai district municipality |subdivision_type4 = Eldership |subdivision_name4 = Kėdainiai City Eldership |subdivision_type6 = Capital of |subdivision_name6 = Kėdainiai district municipality<br>Kėdainiai City Eldership |established_date = 1372 |established_title = First mentioned |established_date2 = 1590 |established_title2= Granted city rights |parts_type = Neighbourhoods  |parts_style = coll  |parts =  |p1 = Babėnai |p2 = Jonušava |p3 = Justinava |p4 = Old Town |government_type = Municipal Council |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Valentinas Tamulis<ref>{{cite news|publisher=15min.lt|title=Būsimieji merai švenčia, apie darbus galvos rytoj|url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/kandidatai-jau-jaucia-pergales-skoni-56-1117170|access-date=24 March 2019| date = 18 March 2019|language=lt }}</ref> |area_total_km2 = 26.97 |area_metro_km2 = |elevation_m = 39 |population_total = 23447 |population_as_of = 2023 |population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym ={{lang|en|Kėdainians}} (English)<br /> {{lang|lt|kėdainiškiai}} (Lithuanian) |timezone=EET |utc_offset=+2 |timezone_DST=EEST |utc_offset_DST=+3 |postal_code_type = Postal code |postal_code = 57xxx |website= {{URL|https://kedainiai.lt/}} }}

'''Kėdainiai''' ({{IPA|lt|kʲeːˈdâːɪ.nʲɛɪ̯ˑ|lang|Kedainiai.ogg}}) is a city in Lithuania.<ref name="savivaldybe">{{cite web |title=Kėdainių kraštas |url=https://www.kedainiai.lt/turistui/kedainiu-krastas/61 |website=Kėdainių rajono savivaldybė |access-date=24 November 2024 |language=lt}}</ref> It is located on the banks of the Nevėžis river {{Convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city.<ref name="KedainiaiVle">{{cite web |title=Kėdainiai |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kedainiai/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=24 November 2024 |language=lt}}</ref> One of the oldest settlements in the country, Kėdainiai was first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, and became a city in 1590. Its population {{As of|2022|lc=y}} was 23,051.<ref name="KedainiaiVle"/><ref name="KedainiuIstorijaVle">{{cite web |last1=Drungilas |first1=Jonas |title=Kėdainių istorija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kedainiu-istorija/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=24 November 2024 |language=lt}}</ref> The Kėdainiai Old Town dates to the 17th century and many of its historical buildings were preserved.<ref name=sam/><ref name="KedainiuArchitektura">{{cite web |title=Kėdainių architektūra |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kedainiu-architektura/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=24 November 2024 |language=lt}}</ref>

The town is the administrative centre of the Kėdainiai District Municipality. The geographical centre of Lithuania is in the nearby village of Ruoščiai in the eldership of Dotnuva.

Other smaller villages circle the territory in a distance of five miles or a little further from the {{Interlanguage link|St. George's Church of Kėdainiai|lt=St. George's Church of Kėdainiai|lt|Kėdainių šv. Jurgio bažnyčia}} — Lančiūnava, {{ILL|Kapliai|lt}}, Labūnava, Josvainiai, Dotnuva, and Kalnaberžė.

==Names== The city has been known by other names: ''Kiejdany'' in Polish, ''Keidan'' ({{Lang|yi|קיידאן}}) in Yiddish,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3xqMEseAQwC&dq=kedainiai+keidan&pg=PA48|title=The Litvaks|first=Dov|last=Levin|publisher=Berg Publishers|year=2000|page=48 | isbn=978-1-57181-264-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=An Old and New World {{!}} קיידאן {{!}} Keidan {{!}} Kedainiai|url=https://keidaner.com/043an-old-and-new-world/|access-date=2020-10-01|website=keidaner.com}}</ref> and ''Kedahnen'' in German. Kėdainiai other alternate forms include Kidan, Kaidan, Keidany, Keydan, Kiedamjzeÿ <ref>{{cite map|first=Joan|last=Blaeu|year=1662|title=LIVONIA vulgo Lyefland|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LIVONIA_vulgo_Lyefland-Joan_Blaeu,_1662.jpg}}</ref> ("j" /e/), Kuidany, and Kidainiai.<ref>Library of Congress Authority control Name Headings. HEADING: Kėdainiai (Lithuania). Accessed 2009-09-14.</ref>

==History== [[File:Pochod Szwedow do Kiejdan.jpg|thumb|left|''The March of Swedes for Kiejdany'' (Kėdainiai), Józef Brandt, (1889)]]

The area was the site of several battles during "The Deluge", the 17th century war between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. In 1655 a short-lived treaty with Sweden, the Union of Kėdainiai, was signed by two members of Radziwiłł family in their Kėdainiai castle. While little remains of the Radziwiłł castle, the crypt of the Calvinist church (1631) houses the family mausoleum, including the tombs of Krzysztof Radziwiłł and his son Janusz.

Scottish Protestants arrived in the late 16th and 17th centuries, encouraged by the conversion of Anna Radziwill; the community exerted considerable influence in the city and persisted until the mid-19th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8hg_LcAusLQC&dq=Kedainiai+-wikipedia&pg=PA111|title=Network North: Scottish kin, commercial and covert association in Northern Europe, 1603-1746|first=Steve|last=Murdoch|year=2006|publisher=BRILL | isbn=978-90-04-14664-8}}</ref> The grouping of the buildings around the town square still include the imposing homes of merchants known as the "Scottish Houses". These include; the George Anderson House, the John Arnot House, the George Bennet House, the James Gray House, the Steel Property, and the surviving basement of the Alexander Gordon house.<ref>Algirdas Juknevičius & Vaidas Špečkauskas, ''Scottish Heritage in Kėdainiai'' (Vilnius: Savastis, 2015), pp. 11–31.</ref>

A local custom called on all visitors to bring a stone to be used in the town's construction.<ref name=sam>{{cite web|url=http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Tevuzeme/kedainiai.en.htm|title=Kėdainiai|publisher=Samogitian Cultural Association Editorial Board|access-date=2009-07-03|archive-date=2020-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220155430/http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Tevuzeme/kedainiai.en.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 1st Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in the town in 1790.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gembarzewski|first=Bronisław|title=Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831|year=1925|language=pl|publisher=Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej|location=Warszawa|page=10}}</ref>

===World War II=== [[File:Kėdainiai_in_19th_c.jpg|thumb|left|Kėdainiai in 19th century by Napoleon Orda]] In 1940, the town was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union. During Operation Barbarossa, Kėdainiai was occupied by the German Army in the summer of 1941. On August 28, 1941, the entire Jewish community of Kėdainiai, a community which had inhabited the area for 500 years, were killed under the direction of German Special Police Battalions, with the aid of the local Lithuanian population. The Jewish population prior to the Holocaust was 3000.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Martin|title=The Second World War: A Complete History|year=2004|publisher=Macmillan Publishers|isbn=978-0-8050-7623-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwWLz7iIUvEC&dq=Kedainiai+history&pg=RA2-PA214|page=214}}</ref>

===Soviet occupation=== [[File:Lifosa_DJI_0059.jpg|thumb|right|''Lifosa'' AB chemical plant in Kėdainiai]] During the Cold War, it was home to Kėdainiai air base, a major Soviet military airlift facility.

For many years, Kėdainiai was known for its chemical and food processing industries. The Kėdainiai chemical plant, Lifosa, began operations in January 1963. Publicized as a milestone in the industrialization of Lithuania, it emitted significant quantities of sulfuric acid and was the subject of ecological protests in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZM3elztZ5UC&pg=PA237|title=Synthetic planet: chemical politics and the hazards of modern life|first=Monica J.|last=Casper|year=2003|publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-415-93355-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xykPQpitT&pg=RA1-PA187|title=Ecological Modernisation Around the World: Perspectives and Critical Debates|author=A. P. J. Mol, David Allan Sonnenfeld|year=2000|publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-7146-5064-7}}</ref>

===Independent Lithuania=== Following years of stagnation, old enterprises have come back to life in Kėdainiai since Lithuanian independence in 1990, and new ones have been established, contributing to the city's status as a regional economic stronghold.<ref name=ked>{{cite web|url=http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/en/kauno_apskritis/kedainiu_rajono_savivaldybe.html|title=Kėdainiai district municipality|publisher=Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania|access-date=2009-06-11|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200312/http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/en/kauno_apskritis/kedainiu_rajono_savivaldybe.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Demographics== {{historical populations| width = 10em| cols = 5 |align=center| percentages = pagr |1823|3000 |1833|2597 |1865|3455 |1895|4368 |1897|6113 |1923|7415 |1931|7761 |1939|8662 |1959|10580 |1966|15900 |1970|19795 |1974|24500 |1976|26600 |1979|27886 |1989|33840 |2001|32048 |2006|31308 |2011|26648 |2018|23367 | source = [https://kresy.genealodzy.pl/gub_wil_87/kowno_wlasc.html 1902], [http://www.epaveldas.lt/recordDescription/LNB/C1B0002365127 1923], [https://knyga.lietuvai.lt/w/images/7/79/Lietuvos_gyventoj%C5%B3_sura%C5%A1ymas_1959_ir_1970.pdf 1959 & 1970], [https://knyga.lietuvai.lt/wiki/Indeksas:Lietuvos_gyventoj%C5%B3_sura%C5%A1ymas_1979.pdf 1979], [https://knyga.lietuvai.lt/wiki/Indeksas:Lietuvos_gyventoj%C5%B3_sura%C5%A1ymas_1989.pdf 1989], [https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/212976/Kauno_apskritis.pdf/8593b78f-5d58-4f1a-aed1-d108f07398ae 2001], [http://statistics.bookdesign.lt/table_125_02.htm?lang=en 2011]}}

==Transportation== Kėdainiai is accessed by Via Baltica highway from Kaunas and Panevėžys, and by rail from Vilnius, Klaipėda and Šiauliai. It is also served by Kaunas International Airport, the second largest airport in Lithuania, located in Karmėlava.

==Culture== [[File:Pomnik_Janusza_Radziwiłła_w_Kiejdanach.JPG|thumb|Monument for Prince Jonušas Radvila]] [[File:Minaretas_Kėdainiuose.jpg|thumb|upright|Kėdainiai minaret, built by a local Russian general in memory of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878]]

The Kėdainiai Regional Museum, established in 1922, now operates four branches: a Multicultural Centre, the mausoleum of the Dukes Radziwill, the house of Juozas Paukštelis, and the Museum of Wooden Sculptures of V.Ulevičius.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kedainiumuziejus.lt/Pub/default.aspx?Page=HistEN|publisher=Kėdainiai Regional Museum|title=Museum History|access-date=2009-06-11|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142353/http://www.kedainiumuziejus.lt/Pub/default.aspx?Page=HistEN|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Since the city is known as the cucumber capital of Lithuania, it sponsors an annual cucumber festival.<ref name=ked/>

In 2013, the band Bastille shot a music video for their single "Things We Lost in the Fire" in Kėdainiai.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The free festival features an exclusive performance by the popular band Bastille|url=https://madeinvilnius.lt/en/entertainment/festivals/an-exclusive-performance-by-the-popular-group-bastille-at-the-free-festival/|website=MadeinVilnius.lt|date=17 July 2023|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en|first=|last=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260130182523/https://madeinvilnius.lt/en/entertainment/festivals/an-exclusive-performance-by-the-popular-group-bastille-at-the-free-festival/|archive-date=30 January 2026|url-status=live}}</ref>

A small Polish minority of 329 (0,61%)<ref>Number of inhabitants of Kėdainiai district municipality by ethnicity, {{cite web |url=http://web.stat.gov.lt/uploads/docs/Population_by_ethnicity_municipality.xls |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002135215/http://web.stat.gov.lt/uploads/docs/Population_by_ethnicity_municipality.xls |archive-date=2013-10-02 }} ''Lithuanian census of 2011''</ref> people live in Kėdainiai district municipality, but only 30 people participate in ''Stowarzyszenie Polaków Kiejdan'' (The Kėdainiai Polish Association), the elder people; their cultural activities involve public celebrations of Polish Day of Independence and Day of the Constitution of Third of May, as well as organizing a festival of Polish culture. Since 1994, the Kėdainiai Polish Language School operates here.<ref>Świat Polonii, [http://www.wspolnota-polska.org.pl/index.php?id=kr40618] ''Dni Kultury Polskiej na Laudzie 18-20 czerwca 2004 r.''</ref><ref>http://www.knypava.lt {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194355/http://www.knypava.lt/2013/08/14/kedainiuose-giliai-saknis-ileide-ir-lenkai/|date=2014-01-02}} [http://www.knypava.lt/2013/08/14/kedainiuose-giliai-saknis-ileide-ir-lenkai/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194355/http://www.knypava.lt/2013/08/14/kedainiuose-giliai-saknis-ileide-ir-lenkai/|date=2014-01-02}} Kėdainiuose giliai šaknis įleidę ir lenkai</ref>

==Education== * Jonušas Radvila College ({{Lang|lt|Kėdainių Jonušo Radvilos studijų centras}}) * Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium * Kėdainiai Šviesioji gymnasium

==Sport== Basketball club BC Nevėžis, which participate in Lithuanian basketball league. Football club FK Nevėžis, named after the nearby river plays in second-tier league I Lyga. Other football teams include FK Lifosa and FK Nevėžis-2, the reserve team of Nevėžis.

==Mayors of Kėdainiai== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !rowspan=2 | Mayor !colspan=2 | Term of office !rowspan=2 | Political party |- !Took office !Left office |- | colspan="4" | '''Independent Lithuania''' |- | Petras Baguška | 1990 | 1994 | |- | Vigimantas Kisielius | 1995 | 1997 | Homeland Union |- | Viktoras Muntianas | 1997 | 2004 | Labour Party |- | Virginija Baltraitienė | 12 November 2004 | 12 December 2005 | Labour Party |- | Nijolė Naujokienė | 2005 | 2011 | Labour Party |- | Rimantas Diliūnas | 2011 | 2015 | Labour Party |- | Saulius Grinkevičius | 17 April 2015 | 2019 | Liberal Movement |- | Valentinas Tamulis | 17 March 2019 | ''Incumbent'' | Valentino Tamulio komanda – mūsų krašto sėkmei |}

==Notable citizens==  * Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655) - Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, magnate * Antanas Mackevičius, a priest and a leader of the 1863 uprising * Czesław Miłosz, Polish writer, Nobel Prize winner. Born in Šeteniai village * Mikalojus Daukša, Lithuanian writer, translator * Martin (Moshe) Kagan, a leader of the anti-Nazi resistance group HaShomer HaTzair * Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen, rabbi and prolific author * Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan (1890–1924), prominent Orthodox rabbi. * Moshe Leib Lilienblum, Jewish scholar and author * Viktoras Muntianas, Lithuanian politician, former Speaker of the Seimas * Juozas Paukštelis, author * Juozas Urbšys, Lithuanian diplomat. Born in Šeteniai village * Shlomo Zalman Zoref, re-established the Ashkenazi community in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1811 *Bernard G Richards (b. March 9, 1877 Dov-Gershon Rabinovich in Keidan, Lithuania - d. 25 June 1971 in the US) author and Jewish leader.

==Twin towns – sister cities== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania}} Kėdainiai is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas|url=https://www.kedainiai.lt/savivalda/tarptautinis-bendradarbiavimas/96|website=kedainiai.lt|publisher=Kėdainiai|language=lt|access-date=2021-03-23|archive-date=2021-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127091509/https://www.kedainiai.lt/savivalda/tarptautinis-bendradarbiavimas/96|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *{{flagicon|POL}} Brodnica, Poland *{{flagicon|ROU}} Fălticeni, Romania *{{flagicon|EST}} Kohtla-Järve, Estonia *{{flagicon|POL}} Łobez, Poland *{{flagicon|UKR}} Melitopol, Ukraine *{{flagicon|GER}} Sömmerda, Germany *{{flagicon|SWE}} Svalöv, Sweden *{{flagicon|GEO}} Telavi, Georgia {{div col end}}

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="130"> Kedainiai7. 2007-05-06.jpg|City Hall and Monument of Janusz Radziwiłł The old-town of Kėdainiai001.jpg|Kranto II street in the old town Senoji street Kedainiai.JPG|Senoji Street in the old town Kedainiai15. 2007-05-06.jpg|Kėdainiai Old Town Kėdainių senamiestis2.jpg|Kėdainiai Old Town Kedainiai14. 2007-05-06.jpg|Didžioji street Nevezis009.JPG|Nevėžis river in city center Kėdainiai (Kiejdany) - new synagogue.JPG|Kėdainiai new synagogue Kiejdany orthodox church.jpg|Holy Transfiguration Church </gallery>

==See also== * Kėdainiai railway station

==References== * {{Wikivoyage-inline|Kėdainiai}} * [https://kedainiai.lt/ kedainiai.lt] * [http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Tevuzeme/kedainiai.en.htm History of Kėdainiai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220155430/http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Tevuzeme/kedainiai.en.htm |date=2020-02-20 }} * [https://kedainiutvic.lt/tourism/en/ - Kėdainiai tourist and business information center] * [http://forward.com/articles/141461/ Article on Kedainiai's Jewish community] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070112050429/http://www.jrk.lt/ JRK Center] College of Janusz Radziwiłł

;Notes {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kedainiai}} Category:Kėdainiai Category:Cities in Kaunas County Category:Cities in Lithuania Category:Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Category:Kovensky Uyezd Category:Holocaust locations in Lithuania