Kaunas

Kaunas is the second town of Lithuania, and the most important river port of the Baltic States, on the Niémen.

History

Founded before the year 1000 after J. - C., this city was strengthened by the Lithuanians with to resist the Chevaliers Teutoniques. The city became Polish at the end of the 16th century and was acquired by the Russian after the third partition of Poland, in 1795. From 1920 to 1940, it was Capitale of independent Lithuania, whereas Vilnius was in Poland. It was annexed by the Soviet Union, under the terms of the Pacte germano-Soviet of 1939, then occupied by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944 which gave up it on arrival of the Red Army .

Leaves the Jews in Kaunas

At the time of the Pogrom of Kaunas, partisans Lithuanian anticommunists massacred 3.800 Jews. The exact number of the victims is known with precision thanks to the report/ratio Jäger which entered the totality of the Jews assassinated in Lithuania. During the occupation Nazi, a Death camp was established there, the strong Neuvième towards which the 73e convoy of deportation of the Jews of France was sent, the 15 May 1944: 878 deportees of which the 2/3 were directed towards the Estonia and only 22 were still in life in 1945. It is as with the strong Neuvième and in the close forests as were exterminated the Jews of the Ghetto of Kaunas (Kovno).

Population

Population: 381.300 inhabitants in 2001.

The town of Kaunas is twinned with Grenoble since 1997. Kaunas has a club of very famous Basket-ball: the Žalgiris .

Monuments to be visited

  • Town hall Baroque.
  • House of Perkuno (Gothic style , built towards 1500).

Museums

Art

  • the museum of the devil (Museum of Antanas Žmuidzinavicius)
  • the gallery of drawings of Kaunas
  • the museum Mykolas Žilinskas
  • the national museum of art Mr. K. Čiurlionis
    • the museum includes/understands a large collection of works of Čiurlionis as of the various artists who marked Lithuania
  • the museum of ceramics
  • the museum devoted to L. Truikys and Mr. Rakauskaite

History

  • the museum of the strong ninth
  • the museum of the deportation and resistance (paper medium in French)
  • the house Sugihara
  • the military museum Vytautas Magnis
  • the museum of the KGB (section of kaunas)

Others

  • the museum of medicine and pharmacy in Lithuania
  • the museum of the writer Juozas Grušas
  • the museum of the Lithuanian music P. Stulga

Origin of the name

Even if there is no certainty, one can suppose a medieval adjective low kaunas having meant . Kaunas would be thus the city built on a low ground. The name is written or was written Kowno in Polish, Russian Kovno in and German Kauen in .

Aeronautics

Kaunas will accommodate this summer the championships of Europe of gliding in the standard, world categories and club. The best pilots of Europe will clash in the sky of the area, from July 28th to August 11th, 2007, of which the Team of France which has good lucks reach the best places.

Personalities related to the commune

Twinnings

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