Utena

Utena
Utena
City
	Flag Coat of arms
	Utena Location of Utena in Lithuania Utena Location of Utena within the Baltics Utena Location of Utena in Europe
	Coordinates: 55°30′N 25°36′E
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Aukštaitija
County	Utena County
Municipality	Utena district municipality
Eldership	Utena town eldership
Capital of	Utena district municipality ; Utena town eldership ; Utena rural eldership
First mentioned	1261
Granted city rights	1599
Government
• Mayor	Marijus Kaukėnas
Area
• City	15.3 km2 (5.9 sq mi)
Elevation	113 m (371 ft)
Population (2020)
• City	25,397
• Density	1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
• Metro	48,378
Demonym(s)	Utenian (English); uteniškiai (Lithuanian)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	28xxx
Area code	(+370) 389
Website	utena.lt

Utena (pronunciation^ⓘ, German: Utenen) 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.^[1] The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

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Utena is an industrial city. It is known for its clothing, food and beverage factories. In recent years, however, streets, public squares and large areas of the parks in the city were reconstructed and Utena is now more attractive for recreation and tourism.

The anniversary of Utena City had been held each year on the last weekend of September. Since 2013 the anniversary has been held on the first weekend of September to take advantage of better weather conditions.

History

Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261. The settlement was a major center of Nalšia. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when it fell under the Russian Empire rule. From 1802 it belonged to the Vilna Governorate until 1843 when it became a part of the Kovno Governorate. The town grew rapidly after the St.Petersburg-Warsaw road was constructed between 1830 and 1835. In 1899 a narrow gauge railway line, connecting Panevėžys-Utena-Švenčionys, was constructed. At the end of the 19th century two big fires devastated the town.

Germany occupied Utena from 1915 to 1918, until the Soviet Bolsheviks took over. Following the defeat of Soviets, in June 1919, Utena became a district center in independent Lithuania.^[5]

Utena, known as the shtetl Utyan in Yiddish, historically had a Jewish population. In 1941, approximately 2,000 Jews were rounded up in the town, which was then under the Nazi occupation, and shot in the Rašė Forest about 2 km (1.2 mi) to the north.^[6]

Demography

Population

According to the 2021 census, the city population was 25,343 people, of which:^[7]

Lithuanians – 95.61% (24,232)
Russians – 2.20% (558)
Poles – 0.63% (160)
Ukrainians – 0.17% (42)
Belarusians – 0.15% (37)
Others / did not specify – 1.26% (320)

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1939	6,276	—
1959	7,066	+0.59%
1979	23,461	+6.18%
1989	34,430	+3.91%
1999	36,100	+0.47%
2005	33,086	−1.44%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	32,881	−0.62%
2007	32,789	−0.28%
2008	32,572	−0.66%
2009	32,476	−0.29%
2010	31,940	−1.65%

Source: ^[8]^[9]

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Geography

Utena is located in northeastern Lithuania. The city covers 15.1 km² and is the eighth-largest city by area in Lithuania. Four rivers cross the city territory: Vyžuona, Krašuona, Vieša and Utenėlė. There are also two lakes in Utena, Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis.

Districts

The city is divided into 10 districts:

Aukštakalnis
Ąžuolija
Centras (Center)
Dauniškis
Pramonės rajonas (Industrial district)
Rašė
Vyturiai
Šilinė
Grybeliai
Krašuona

Parks and gardens

City Garden
Vyžuona Park
Dauniškis Park
Krašuona Park
Aukštakalnis Pine Forest
Rašė Park
Utenėlė Park
Vieša Park
Monkey park

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Utena has a humid continental climate (Dfb). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Lithuania occurred in Utena: −42.9 °C (−45.2 °F) on 1 February 1956.^[10]

More information Climate data for Utena (1961−1990 normals, extremes 1925−1990), Month ...

Climate data for Utena (1961−1990 normals, extremes 1925−1990)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	7.7 (45.9)	13.3 (55.9)	19.5 (67.1)	26.8 (80.2)	30.8 (87.4)	31.7 (89.1)	34.4 (93.9)	32.0 (89.6)	28.4 (83.1)	23.4 (74.1)	15.9 (60.6)	10.5 (50.9)	34.4 (93.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−3.2 (26.2)	−2.0 (28.4)	2.9 (37.2)	10.5 (50.9)	18.0 (64.4)	21.2 (70.2)	22.3 (72.1)	21.5 (70.7)	16.3 (61.3)	10.3 (50.5)	3.7 (38.7)	−0.9 (30.4)	10.0 (50.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−6.0 (21.2)	−5.2 (22.6)	−1.2 (29.8)	5.5 (41.9)	12.2 (54.0)	15.6 (60.1)	16.8 (62.2)	15.9 (60.6)	11.4 (52.5)	6.6 (43.9)	1.4 (34.5)	−3.2 (26.2)	5.8 (42.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.1 (15.6)	−8.7 (16.3)	−4.8 (23.4)	1.2 (34.2)	6.5 (43.7)	9.9 (49.8)	11.5 (52.7)	10.8 (51.4)	7.3 (45.1)	3.3 (37.9)	−0.9 (30.4)	−6.1 (21.0)	1.7 (35.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−38.9 (−38.0)	−42.9 (−45.2)	−33.7 (−28.7)	−17.6 (0.3)	−4.6 (23.7)	−1.5 (29.3)	3.7 (38.7)	−0.1 (31.8)	−5.2 (22.6)	−13.2 (8.2)	−20.0 (−4.0)	−31.3 (−24.3)	−42.9 (−45.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	39 (1.5)	31 (1.2)	37 (1.5)	47 (1.9)	53 (2.1)	69 (2.7)	73 (2.9)	75 (3.0)	66 (2.6)	50 (2.0)	57 (2.2)	53 (2.1)	650 (25.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	34.9	63.6	140.2	206.8	259.8	263.1	251.1	231.8	160.9	92.5	25.6	20.4	1,750.7
Source 1: NOAA^[11]
Source 2: infoclimat.fr (sunshine 1991–2020)^[12]^{[better source needed]}