Kėdainiai (Lithuanian:[kʲeːˈdâːɪ.nʲɛɪ̯ˑ]ⓘ) is acity inLithuania.[2] It is located on the banks of theNevėžis river 45 km (28 mi) north ofKaunas, Lithuania's second largest city.[3] One of the oldest settlements in the country, Kėdainiai was first mentioned in the 1372Livonian Chronicle ofHermann de Wartberge, and became a city in 1590. Its population as of 2022[update] was 23,051.[3][4] The Kėdainiai Old Town dates to the 17th century and many of its historical buildings were preserved.[5][6]
The city has been known by other names:Kiejdany inPolish,Keidan (קיידאן) inYiddish,[7][8] andKedahnen inGerman. Kėdainiai other alternate forms include Kidan, Kaidan, Keidany, Keydan, Kiedamjzeÿ[9] ("j" /e/), Kuidany, and Kidainiai.[10]
ScottishProtestants arrived in the late 16th and 17th centuries, encouraged by the conversion ofAnna Radziwill; the community exerted considerable influence in the city and persisted until the mid-19th century.[11] 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.[12]
A local custom called on all visitors to bring a stone to be used in the town's construction.[5]
In 1940, the town was invaded andoccupied by the Soviet Union. DuringOperation 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.[14]
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 ofsulfuric acid and was the subject of ecological protests in the 1980s.[15][16]
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.[17]
TheKėdainiai Regional Museum, established in 1922, now operates four branches: a Multicultural Centre, the mausoleum of the Dukes Radziwill, the house ofJuozas Paukštelis, and the Museum of Wooden Sculptures of V.Ulevičius.[18]
Since the city is known as thecucumber capital of Lithuania, it sponsors an annual cucumber festival.[17]
A small Polish minority of 329 (0,61%)[20] people live in Kėdainiai district municipality, but only 30 people participate inStowarzyszenie Polaków Kiejdan (The Kėdainiai Polish Association), the elder people; their cultural activities involve public celebrations of Polish Day of Independence and Day of theConstitution of Third of May, as well as organizing a festival of Polish culture. Since 1994, the Kėdainiai Polish Language School operates here.[21][22]
^Algirdas Juknevičius & Vaidas Špečkauskas,Scottish Heritage in Kėdainiai (Vilnius: Savastis, 2015), pp. 11–31.
^Gembarzewski, Bronisław (1925).Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831 (in Polish). Warszawa: Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej. p. 10.
^Number of inhabitants of Kėdainiai district municipality by ethnicity,"Archived copy". Archived fromthe original on 2013-10-02. Retrieved2014-01-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Lithuanian census of 2011
^Świat Polonii,[1]Dni Kultury Polskiej na Laudzie 18-20 czerwca 2004 r.
_-_market_square_(2).JPG)
.svg)
_-_new_synagogue.JPG)
