Utena

Utena (, 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. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.

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Utena was first mentioned in historical documents dating back to 1261.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.

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 to the north.

Population
According to the 2021 census, the city population was 25,343 people, of which:
 * 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)

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 on 1 February 1956.

Sport
FK Utenis Utena plays in A Lyga and BC Juventus plays in LKL.

Hometown of Jonas Valančiūnas of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Aidenas Malašinskas is the best handball player in Lithuania (2019, 2021).

Twin towns – sister cities
Utena is twinned with:


 * 🇵🇱 Chełm, Poland
 * 🇺🇦 Kovel, Ukraine
 * 🇸🇪 Lidköping, Sweden
 * 🇮🇹 Pontinia, Italy
 * 🇱🇻 Preiļi, Latvia
 * 🇱🇻 Rēzekne, Latvia
 * 🇨🇿 Třeboň, Czech Republic
 * 🇵🇸 Beit Sahour, Palestine