Ignalina (; ) is a city in eastern

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 known as a tourist destination in the Aukštaitija National Park. Ignalina is also famous for the now decommissioned

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant () is a Nuclear decommissioning, decommissioned two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power plant, nuclear power station in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina. Due to the plant' ...

in nearby

Visaginas Visaginas () is a city in northeastern Lithuania. It is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the now decommissioned I ...

Legend

It is said that Ignalina got its name from two lovers Lina, daughter of duke Budrys, and Ignas, captive of the crusaders, whom people cursed and drowned in Ilgis Lake. Lina and Ignas are quite popular Lithuanian names.

History

Archeological findings and artefacts - mounds show that people lived in the territory of Ignalina already in 9th century. It is supposed that the territory of Ignalina earlier belonged to the ancient land of

Nalšia Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen, Nalse) was an ancient land in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it was fully incorporated into the Grand Duc ...

, which was mentioned in 1229–1298. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s and hidronyms demonstrate that it was inhabited by the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

tribe

Selonians The Selonians (; , from – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged with neighbouring tribes, contributing ...

. Even though there is archeological evidence that people lived in Ignalina area in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, Ignalina was mentioned only in 1840. It started to grow only after the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway was built in 1860. It is regarded as one of the new industrial cities. After World War I, the area was disputed between Poland and Lithuania. It was occupied by troops of Lucjan Żeligowski, and internationally recognized as part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

in 1923. Nonetheless, Lithuania continued to claim this territory. Before September 1939, Ignalina (Ignalino) was situated in the Wilno Voivodeship. Following the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, Ignalina became the capital of Ignalina eldership. More than half of the population was Jewish, 1200 people before the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. During World War II, in 1941, Jews were imprisoned in a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

and exploited through forced labour. They are later murdered in mass executions. In 1950 city become a capital of

Ignalina District Municipality Ignalina District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Structure District structure: * 2 cities – Dūkštas and Ignalina; * 3 towns – Mielagėnai, Rimšė and Tverečius; * 726 villages. * Ignalina District Municipality ...

in Vilnius County. In 1995 Ignalina District Municipality become a part of

Utena County Utena County () is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the country's most sparsely populated county. The capital and the largest city in the county is Utena, which is from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. On 1 July 2010, the county admini ...

Retail

A few supermarkets exist such as "Maxima XX", "Iki", "Norfa XL" (being rebuilt to "Norfa XXL"), "Čia", "Aibė", 2 local supermarkets "Danalta", multiple flower shops, fishing equipment stores as well as a few clothing stores, and "Lile" bakery. "Senukai", "Gieva" and "Statybų Takas" are some home improvement stores.

Sports

Lithuanian Winter Sports Center is located in Ignalina near Šiekštys or Žaliasis ''(Green)'' Lake. During the winter Sports Center offers mountain skiing,

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

, ski equipment rental services, ski lifts,

freeskiing Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combi ...

instructors. In the summer there are boats or water bikes rental, tracks for roller skates, mountain bikes. Also, there is the shooting range, Sports and Entertainment Center, “Žuvėdra” amusement park. In Ignalina, there are organizing pedestrian, hiking, bicycle and car routes in the interesting places. In the summer there are popular

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

, boat or water bikes trips. Ignalina used to be the main

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

venue in Lithuania until the 1970s when this sport was discontinued in the country.

Nature and geography

Ignalina located in the Aukštaitija National Park. It is a town above 9 lakes. Ignalina is surrounded by woods and waters. Town takes pride in nine lakes named Gavys, Gavaitis, Ilgys, Šiekštys, Mekšrinis, Paplovinis, Palaukinis, Agarinis and Gulbinis. In the

there are more than 200 lakes.

Places of interest

In Ignalina and around the town there are more than 130 interesting places to visit. For example, Ignalina Regional Museum, Paliesius Manor, Monument to Ignas and Lina, Palūšė St. Joseph's Church, Bell Tower, and Chapel, which is a Cultural Monument built in the second half of XVIII century, Beekeeping Museum in Stripeikiai, which is the only beekeeping museum in Lithuania, etc. In some places there are organizing educational programs and special showcases, such as the baking of Šakotis in the restaurant "Romnesa“.

Festivals

In Ignalina, there are traditional festivals including the opening and closing of the summer season, the biannual festival "Ežerų sietuva", spring and autumn fairs, etc.

Education institutions

* Ignalina Česlovas Kudaba Gymnasium * Ignalina school-kindergarten "Šaltinėlis" * Ignalina Mikas Petrauskas music school

Notable people

Arūnas Bubnys Arūnas Bubnys (born November 7, 1961) is a Lithuanian historian and archivist. He started his studies at Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and l ...

(b. 1961), historian *

Mantas Strolia Mantas Strolia (born February 28, 1986) is a Lithuanian cross-country skier since 2005. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished 18th in the team sprint and 46th in the individual sprint events. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Champions ...

(b. 1986), skier *

Algimantas Šalna Algimantas Šalna (also transliterated Shalna, born 12 September 1959) is a former Lithuanian, Soviet biathlete. Šalna won gold medals during the World Championships as a relayist in 1983 and 1985. As a member of the Soviet relay team, he won ...

(b. 1960), biathlete * Tomas Kaukėnas (b. 1990), biathlete *

Diana Rasimovičiūtė Diana Rasimovičiūtė (born 25 February 1984, in Ignalina) is a Lithuanian athlete who competes in biathlon events. She represented Lithuania in five Winter Olympics from 2002 to 2018. She has also won two silver medals at the Biathlon European C ...

(b. 1984), biathlete *

Modestas Vaičiulis Modestas Vaičiulis (born 11 April 1989) is a Lithuanian cross-country skier since 2007. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished 18th in the team sprint and 54th in the individual sprint events. Vaičiulius returned to represent Li ...

(b. 1989), skier *

Aurelija Tamašauskaitė Aurelija Tamašauskaitė (born 22 May 1996) is a Lithuanian modern pentathlete. She began competing in 2011. Tamašauskaitė represented Lithuania at the 2022 European Modern Pentathlon Championships, where she won bronze medal in women's team ...

(b. 1999), swimmer * Paulius Golubickas (b. 1999), Professional Lithuanian footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Ignalina is twinned with: * Büren, Germany *

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

, Norway *

Prachatice Prachatice (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monumen ...

, Czech Republic *

Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze Lake, Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, around north of Warsaw. It has 4,109 inhabitants (2013). History The stronghold was founded in the 10th century, shortly ...

, Poland *

Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi ( ) is a small List of cities in Ukraine, city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city res ...

Ukraine

References

External links

City official website

Česlovas Kudaba progymnasium official website

Mikas Petrauskas music school official website

Gymnasium official website

School-kindergarten "Šaltinėlis" official website
{{Utena County Cities in Utena County Cities in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Ski areas and resorts in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania Ignalina District Municipality