Upninkai

Upninkai
Village
Coat of arms
Upninkai Location of Upninkai
Coordinates: 55°05′N 24°32′E / 55.083°N 24.533°ECoordinates: 55°05′N 24°32′E / 55.083°N 24.533°E
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Aukštaitija
County	Kaunas County
Municipality	Jonava district municipality
Eldership	Upninkai eldership
Capital of	Upninkai eldership
First mentioned	1422
Population (2011)
• Total	786
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Upninkai is the largest village in Jonava district, Lithuania. It is situated 8 km southwest of Vepriai on the left bank of the Šventoji River. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 786.^[1]

The church in Upninkai

History

Upninkai was first mentioned in 1442 in the will of Kristinas Astikas who was the first known lord of Upninkai lands.^[2] His son Radvila Astikas built the first church there before 1477. The village had a Protestant church from the late 16th century until 1650. During the 17th century, Upninkai competed with Ukmergė for trade and influence.^[2] In 1842, the entire town burned down and did not recover. A persistent priest converted surviving former manor's brick granary into the present Neoclassical Roman Catholic church of Archangel Michael.^[2] According to the census of 1923, Upninkai had 75 residents. The population grew more than ten-fold between 1970 and 1979, increasing from 67 to 847.^[3]

References

1. Gyventojų skaičiaus pasiskirstymas pagal teritoriją, amžių ir lytį Lietuvos Respublikos 2011 metų visuotinio gyventojų ir būstų surašymo rezultatai (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2013. p. 46.
2. Kviklys, Bronius (1965). Mūsų Lietuva (in Lithuanian). II. Boston: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 365–366. OCLC 3303503.
3. Zinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Zinkus". Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). IV. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 383. LCC 86232954.