Molėtai


Molėtai is a town in north eastern Lithuania surrounded by lakes. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2013 census, it had 6,302 inhabitants.
The town is located about north of Vilnius and south of Utena.

History

It was first mentioned as a private property of the bishop of Vilnius in year 1387.
On August 29, 1941, 700 to 1,200 Jews were murdered in a mass execution perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen of Lithuanian nationalists. The victims of the massacre were commemorated in a march to the site, and a memorial was unveiled there, on the 75th anniversary, in 2016.
In modern times the city has Molėtai Astronomical Observatory, the only such facility in Lithuania. And Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology - the first such type of museum in the world.

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