Vilkija

Vilkija (pronunciation ) (Polish: Wilki) is situated in the Kaunas district municipality, Lithuania. It is located 25 km (16 mi) north-west of Kaunas. It's right on the north side of the river Nemunas, the most important river in Lithuania.

Vilkija
City
Coat of arms
Vilkija
Location of Vilkija
Coordinates: 55°3′0″N 23°35′0″E
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionAukštaitija
County Kaunas County
MunicipalityKaunas district municipality
EldershipVilkija eldership
Capital ofVilkija eldership
First mentioned1364
Granted city rights1792
Population
 (2005)
 • Total2,326
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Etymology

The name of Vilkija originated when people living on the opposite side of Nemunas heard the packs of wolves howling in the surroundings of the place where contemporary Vilkija is situated. From then on, this land is called Vilkija and this name may have been derived from words vilkų gauja meaning a pack of wolves.

History

During summer and fall 1941, mass executions of 800 Jews were perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen of Germans and Lithuanian nationalists. Murdered Jews were from Vilkija and nearby villages.[1]

Notable people
Street in Vilkija
  • Folklorist Antanas Juška (1819–1880) lived in Vilkija 1862–1864.
  • In the end of 1863 one of the revolt leaders Antanas Mackevičius (1828–1863) was captured close to Vilkija and later taken to Kaunas to be executed.
  • Writer Petras Cvirka (1909–1947) studied in Vilkija 1922–1926.

References
  1. http://www.holocaustatlas.lt/EN/#a_atlas/search//page//item/59/


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