Alanta (dialectal Aukštaitian name ''Alunta'', , Yiddish אַוואָנטע) is a small town in Molėtai district municipality,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2011, Alanta had 348 residents. It is situated at the crossing of two roads: Molėtai–

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see #Name, other names) is a ski resort city in Lithuania, west of Utena, Lithuania, Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščia ...

and

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 ...

–Alanta–

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Municipality. Ukmergė (Vilkmergė) was mentioned for the first time as a ...

. The town's St. Jacob's church was built in 1909. The Synagogue of Alanta is one of only 17 surviving wooden synagogues in Lithuania.

Etymology of the name

The name of the town is derived from the Alanta River, tributary of Virinta. The name of the river is derived from an ancient Lithuanian verb "''alėti''", which means 'to stream merrily' or 'to run'.

History

In 1436, Sigismund Kestutaitis granted Alanta to Kristinas Astikas to commend him for his aid in defeating

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

in the Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435). In the 16th century, the town's

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was built, and in 1581 the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Stefan Batory gifted Alanta to Gáspár Békés (), a Hungarian general. After 1598 the town belonged to Radziwiłł family and from 1828 until the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it belonged to the Pamarnacki family. From the 18th century to the Lithuanian Uprising of 1863, Alanta had a parish school. Alanta suffered heavily from many wars, including Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire,

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, because of its location on the crossing of two important roads. The entire Jewish community of 30 families, which comprised the majority of the population of Alanta, was killed during the Holocaust in August 1941. Alanta has a rare, surviving wooden synagogue.Center for Jewish Art (2004). "Preserved Wooden Synagogues in Lithuania". The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved on December 17, 2008.

Palace of Alanta estate

The palace of the estate, which houses a library and an ethnographic museum, has been renovated and its park trimmed. The founder of the Alanta library, Elvyra Satkūnaitė, was named "The best librarian of Lithuania" in 1996.

References

External links

*
Website of Alanta

{{Authority control Towns in Lithuania Towns in Utena County Vilkomirsky Uyezd Molėtai District Municipality