Biržai

	Biržai
	coat of arms
	coat of arms
State :	Lithuania
District :	Panevėžys
Rajong municipality :	Biržai
Coordinates :	56 ° 12 ' N , 24 ° 45' E Coordinates: 56 ° 12 ' N , 24 ° 45' E
Area (place) :	16.35 km²
Community area :	1,476 km²
Inhabitants (place) :	10,573 (2018)
Population density :	647 inhabitants per km²
Inhabitant (municipality) :	33,498
Population density :	23 inhabitants per km²
Time zone :	EET (UTC + 2)
Telephone code :	(+370) 450
Postal code :	41001
Status:	Rajong Parish
Structure :	1 city office (core city), ; 7 state offices
Website :	www.birzai.lt
	Biržai
	Biržai

Tiškevičius Castle in Biržai

Listen to Biržai ^?^/ⁱ (German Birsen , Latvian Birži , Polish Birże ) is a city in northern Lithuania not far from the border with Latvia . It is the seat of the Rajongemeinde of the same name and a city office in the same. Biržai is located on Lake Širvenos and is known as a traditional brewing town.

history

The place was first mentioned in 1415 on the occasion of a visit by King Jogaila . In 1589 Biržai was granted town charter. The town has belonged to the Radziwiłł (Radvila) dynasty since the 16th century and was a center of the Reformation under their rule . The largest parish of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Lithuania is still located in Biržai today . In 1804 the town was sold to the Counts Tiškevičius, who had a castle built here in the 19th century, which is still in good condition today.

During the Second World War , the entire Jewish population of Biržai was murdered. 15 Jews were shot in July 1941 by German soldiers in the Jewish cemetery in Biržai. On August 8, 1941, the SS and Lithuanian collaborators murdered the entire Jewish population of the city, around 2,400 people, by shooting them at a mass grave in a forest 3 km outside the city.

Rajong Parish

The Rajonggemeinde Biržai ( Biržų rajono savivaldybė ) comprises the two cities Biržai and Vabalninkas (1106 E.), the four small towns ( miesteliai ) Kupreliškis , Nemunėlio Radviliškis , Pabiržė and Papilys , and 538 villages.

The neo-Gothic Evangelical Reformed Church in Biržai

It is divided into eight administrative districts ( seniūnijos ):

City of Biržai
Nemunėlio Radviliškis
Pabiržė
Pačeriaukštė
Papilys
Parovėja
Širvėnos based in Biržai
Vabalninkas

Buildings

Biržai town hall

Town twinning

Werder (Havel) , Germany
Grodzisk Wielkopolski , Poland

Sports

The FK Širvėna football club is based in Biržai.

Personalities

Vladas Jakubėnas (1903–1976), composer, educator and music critic

Vanda Briedienė (1932–2013), politician

Jonas Kondrotas (* 1943), agronomist and politician

Jonas Budrevičius (* 1945), politician

Zenonas Kulys (* 1947), Brigadier General

Petras Narkevičius (* 1955), engineer and politician

Lionginas Virbalas (* 1961), Roman Catholic religious chaplain and emeritus Archbishop of Kaunas

Gediminas Miškinis (* 1961), civil servant, politician and sports official

Algirdas Taminskas (* 1962), lawyer, civil lawyer and judge

Simona Milišauskaitė (* 1979), pool player

Austra Skujytė (* 1979), heptathlete

swell

^ Mass Murder of the Jews at Biržai Jewish Cemetery . In: Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania . Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
↑ Mass Murder of the Jews from Biržai at the Pakamponys Forest . In: Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania . Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Retrieved on March 14, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Biržai - collection of images, videos and audio files

Birzai and Lithuania in German

[1] Mass Murder of the Jews at Biržai Jewish Cemetery . In: Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania . Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Retrieved March 14, 2018.

[2] Mass Murder of the Jews from Biržai at the Pakamponys Forest . In: Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania . Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Retrieved on March 14, 2018.