Jonava () is the ninth largest city in

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 ...

with a population of . It is located in

Kaunas County Kaunas County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania. It is in the centre of the country, and its Capital (political), capital is Kaunas. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished. Symbols The county's coat of arms can be blazoned ...

in central Lithuania, north east of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by

Kaunas International Airport Kaunas Airport () is List of the busiest airports in the Baltic states, the second-busiest civil airport in Lithuania after Vilnius Airport and the fourth-busiest in the Baltic states. The airport is located in the central part of the country, ...

. '' Achema'', the largest fertilizer factory in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, is located nearby the city. The city is sometimes called "the capital of midsummer holiday" (). Thousands of locals and visitors annually celebrate the midsummer festival in Jonava. Each year during the midsummer holiday Jonava is declared a one-day 'Republic of Johns' (). The Jonava's Republic of Johns has thousands of citizens not only from Lithuania, but also from many foreign countries (e.g.

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, etc.). Only those who provide documents proving that their names are John ( Lithuanian: Jonas) or

Janina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

are eligible to apply for the citizenship of the Republic of Johns.

Etymology

Dominik Kossakowski, the founder of the town of Jonava and the Stalininkas of

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

, named the town "Janów" in honour of his father Jan Mikołaj Kossowski when he established the town next to the Skaruliai Manor. In other languages the town is known as: ; ; .

History

Jonava was officially established as a city in the 18th century during the times of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. In 1750, the first wooden church was built in Jonava. In 1778, a beer brewery was operating in the town. Around 1812,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and his army invaded the town and its surrounding villages. In 1923, Jonava was officially recognised as a city-status settlement and in 1950 it became the centre of the municipality. The city had a large Jewish population before World War II. In 1893, 92% of the population was Jewish and in 1941 it was 80%. In 1932 there were 250 shops owned by Jewish families, a Jewish bank, 7 synagogues and a Jewish school. During World War II Jonava was attacked by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. A Christian church and five Jewish synagogues were destroyed. The Jews of the city were killed in two massacres, in August and September 1941. A total of 2,108 people were executed by an

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...

of Germans and Lithuanian Self-Defence Units. 200 remaining Jews were kept prisoners at the

Kaunas ghetto The Kovno Ghetto was a ghetto established by Nazi Germany to hold the Lithuanian Jews of Kaunas, Kaunas (Kovno) during the Holocaust. At its peak, the ghetto held 29,000 people, most of whom were later sent to Concentration camps, concentratio ...

. After the war, the city built the largest fertilizer factory in the

and Jonava become one of the 4 biggest industrial cities in Lithuania.

Environmental catastrophe

An explosion occurred in the chemical fertilizers factory on 20 March 1989, causing a leakage of nearly 7,500 tonnes of liquid

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

. The catastrophe developed further into a fire within the nitrophosphate facility and

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

storehouses polluting the atmosphere with products of their

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

, such as

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

and

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

. The

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

cloud drifted towards

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 ...

, Širvintos and

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

. The

concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...

of ammonia surpassed the permissible level by a factor of 150 in Upninkai, at 10 km from the disaster site. One day after the accident, a toxic cloud 7 km wide and 50 km long was recorded between Jonava and

. Seven people died during the fire and leakage of ammonia immediately afterward, 29 people became handicapped, and a large number of people suffered from acute respiratory and cardiac attacks. The true extent of damages and health impact from the event is however unknown. What is known is that exposure to ammonia prenatally, especially at a young age can cause serious

brain damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

Administrative divisions

Jonava is divided into 13 city regions: *Senamiestis *Girelė *Miškų ūkis *Paneriai *Lietava *Lakštingalos *Juodmena *Geležinkelio stotis *Baldininkai *Rimkai *Kosmonautai *Skaruliai *Virbalai

Demography

Population

According to the 2021 census, the city population was 27,381 people, of which: *

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

– 88.03% (24,104) *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

– 7.14% (1,956) *

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

– 1.19% (327) *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

– 0.76% (207) *

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

– 0.59% (161) * Others / did not specify – 2.28% (624)

Sport

The city has its own "physical culture and sports center" with

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

, swimming pool and

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

. It has already been announced that the city is going to build a new large indoor arena "BC Jonava".

Football

Jonava has 2

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

teams * FK Jonava is playing in the

A Lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...

– First Football Division of Lithuania * FK Jonava B - second team of FK Jonava, playing in the Third Division of Lithuania

Athletics

The marathon runners sport club Maratonas won 4 medals at Vilnius Marathon.

Basketball

Jonava has a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team, founded in 1969; Jonava SK Malsta playing in the National Basketball League (''Nacionalinė Krepšinio Lyga''). There is also a women's basketball team called BC Jonava which won bronze medals in the women's Second Basketball Division ( Nacionalinė moterų krepšinio lyga).

Volleyball

Jonava has a strong women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team Achema-KKSC that playing in the highest league A Grupė. In 2010 Jonava held the international "''Alfredas Ogonauskas Memorial Volleyball Championship''".

Competitions

Jonava also hosts some less regular competitions. During the traditional

midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...

holiday there was "Jonas's Republic President Cup" of

Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

Slalom events. In summer seasons there are some occasional

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

tournaments or cross country competitions.

Education

* Jonava adult education center * Jonava Jeronimas Ralys Gymnasium * Jonava Justinas Vareikis Progymnasium * Jonava Lietava comprehensive school * Jonava Neris comprehensive school * Jonava Raimundas Samulevičius Progymnasium * Jonava Old Town Gymnasium * Janina Miščiukaitė art school

Twin towns — sister cities

Jonava is twinned with: *

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

, Czech Republic *

Jõgeva Jõgeva is a small town in Estonia with a population of around 5000 people. It is the capital of Jõgeva Parish and Jõgeva County. History Jõgeva was first mentioned in 1599 as ''Jagiwa'' manor, being established only recently on the lands ...

, Estonia *

Kędzierzyn-Koźle Kędzierzyn-Koźle () is a city in south-western Poland, the administrative center of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County. With 58,899 inhabitants as of 2021, it is the second most-populous city in the Opole Voivodeship. Founded from the merger of the prev ...

, Poland *

Riihimäki Riihimäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and La ...

, Finland *

Pucioasa Pucioasa () is a town in Dâmbovița County, Muntenia, Romania. It administers six villages: Bela, Diaconești, Glodeni, Malurile, Miculești, and Pucioasa-Sat. The town is located on the middle course of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River, ...

, Romania *

Smila Smila ( ) is a city located on Dnieper Upland near the Tyasmyn River, in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine. The Tiasmyn River, a tributary of the Dnieper River, flows through the city. In January 2022, the estimated population was 6 ...

, Ukraine * Vadul lui Vodă, Moldova * Zugdidi, Georgia

Notable residents

* Linas Balčiūnas, (born 1978), olympic cyclist * Arnoldas Burkovskis (born 1967), manager * Vydas Dolinskas, (born 1970), art scientist * Israel Davidson (1870–1939), writer * Dominykas Galkevičius (born 1986), footballer * S. J. Goldsmith (1915–1995), journalist and editor * Laurynas Gucevičius, architect *

Andrius Janukonis Andrius Janukonis (born 1971 in Jonava) is a Lithuanian business jurist and entrepreneur. He is Chairman of the Board of UAB ICOR and Supervisory Board Chairman of AB City Service. Biography Andrius Janukonis graduated in 1988 from Jonava 3r ...

, (born 1971), businessman * Grigorijus Kanovičius, (born 1929), Jewish writer * Dainius Kreivys, (born 1970), politician, Minister of Economy * Juozapas Antanas Kosakovskis, general, Napoleon aide * Darius Maskoliūnas, (born 1971), basketball player * Abra Abrahamas Meirsonas, Harvard professor of neurosurgery * Janina Miščiukaitė (1948–2008), singer * Abraham Myerson, (1881–1948), neurologist, psychiatric, sociologist * Jeronimas Ralys (1876–1921), translator and medic *

Ričardas Tamulis Ričardas Tamulis (22 July 1938 – 22 April 2008) was an amateur Lithuanian welterweight boxer who won the European title in 1961, 1963 and 1965 and an Olympic silver medal in 1964. Tamulis took up boxing in 1953 and won the Soviet welterweig ...

(1938–2008), boxer *

Artūras Zuokas Artūras Zuokas (born 21 February 1968) is a Lithuanian journalist, businessman and politician who served as the mayor of the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015, and as member of Lithuania's unicameral pa ...

, (born 1968), businessman, former Vilnius mayor

Gallery

Jonava Railway Station in Jonava, Lithuania in 2023.jpg, Jonava Railway Station Jonavos I tvenkinys - panoramio.jpg, Pond in Jonava Dviraciu_taku_parkas_02.jpg, Bike lane with a monument Jonava, politechnikos mokykla.JPG, Polytechnic School of Jonava Lietavos pagrindinė mokykla (kelias).JPG, "Lietava" Secondary School Jonava library.jpg, Library of Jonava Jonava Culture Center in Jonava, Lithuania in 2021.jpg, Jonava Culture Center Laikrodžio a..JPG, Jonas Basanavičius Street Central stadium of Jonava.jpg, Central stadium of Jonava The railway bridge in Jonava001.jpg, Railway bridge over

Neris The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its ma ...

Jonavos Holokausto vieta Girelės kaime - panoramio.jpg, Monument for

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 ...

victims in Girelė village File:Celebration of Joninės in Jonava, Lithuania in 2008.jpg, Celebration of Saint Jonas's Festival in Jonava

References

External links

Jonava Web Page

Portal of Jonava

Article on occasion of the 20th anniversary of ecologic catastrophe in Jonava fertilizers factory
* {{Authority control Cities in Kaunas County Cities in Lithuania Jonava District Municipality Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Kovensky Uyezd Historic Jewish communities in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania