Utena


Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.
Utena is an industrial city. It is known for its clothing, food and beverage factories. In recent years, however, streets, public squares and large areas of the parks in the city were reconstructed and Utena is now a more attractive for recreation and tourism. In 2007, Utena won a Silver Award in category B of the International Awards for Liveable Communities, held in London.
The anniversary of Utena City had been held each year on the last weekend of September. Since 2013 the anniversary has been held on the first weekend of September to take advantage of better weather conditions.

Geography

Utena is located in northeastern Lithuania. The city covers 15,1 km² and is the 8th largest city by area in Lithuania. Four rivers cross the city territory: Vyžuona, Krašuona, Vieša and Utenėlė. There are also two lakes in Utena, Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Lithuania occurred in Utena.

Districts

The city is divided into 10 districts:
Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when it fell under Czarist Russian rule. From 1802 it belonged to the Vilna Governorate until 1843 when it became a part of the Kovno Governorate. The town grew rapidly after the St.Petersburg-Warsaw road was constructed between 1830 and 1835. In 1899 a narrow gauge railway line, connecting Panevėžys-Utena-Švenčionys, was constructed. At the end of the 19th century two big fires devastated the town.
Germany occupied Utena from 1915–1918, until the Soviet Bolsheviks took over. In June 1919, Utena became a district center in independent Lithuania.
Utena, known as the shtetl Utyan in Yiddish, historically had a Jewish population. In 1941, approximately 2,000 Jews were rounded up in the town, which was then under the Nazi occupation and shot in the Rašė Forest about to the north.

Demography

Population

YearPopulation
19396,276
19597,066
197923,461
198934,430
199936,100
200533,086
200632,881
200732,789
200832,572
200932,476
201031,940

Sport

plays in A Lyga and BC Juventus plays in LKL.
Hometown of Jonas Valančiūnas of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Twin towns — sister cities

Utena is twinned with: