UKMERGĖ

Text: Vin Karnila

When in Lithuania you would do well to take a short drive from Kaunas or Vilnius to the city of Ukmergė. Here you will not only find an absolutely charming community but you will also be in one of the oldest communities still in existence in Lithuania.

To begin we should take a look at the name. The city took its original name Vilkmergė from the Vilkmergėlė River which was initially called Vilkmergė and assumed a diminutive form after the growth of the settlement. It is commonly thought that the name may be translated as "she-wolf", from the combination of Vilkas (wolf) and Merga (maiden). According to local legend, Vilkmergė was a girl raised by wolves, who bridged the divide between animals and humans, in the same way as Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli. "Ukmergė", by contrast, is "farm girl" (Lith. ūkis = farm). The original name has been adopted by the local soccer team, "Vilkmergė" as well as the popular HBH Vilkmergė beer.

Ukmergė girl and wolf

To put Ukmergės historical significance in the proper perspective I would like to share with you this comparison of three other locations that represent historical Lithuania

Ukmergė was first mentioned as a settlement in 1333.

Kernavė, the "ancient capital" of Lithuania, was first mentioned in 1279.

Vilnius was first mentioned in written sources in 1323

The name of Trakai was first mentioned in Teutonic Knights chronicles in 1337

In the 1300s Ukmergė was essentially a wooden fortress that stood on a hill, near the confluence of the Vilkmergė River and the Šventoji River. Ukmergė was repeatedly attacked by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order in 1333, 1365, 1378, 1386. Finally during the last attack in 1391 Ukmergė was burned to the ground and had to be completely rebuilt.

A hill fort in Ukmergė's old town

The region began to adopt Christianity, along with the rest of Lithuania, in 1386. In the following year, 1387, its first Catholic church, St. Peter and St. Paul, was built. It should be emphasized that this was one of the first Roman Catholic churches established in Lithuania.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church

1 September 1435 the Battle of Pabaiskas was fought near Ukmergė. This was a very significant battle in Lithuanian history in that it reduced the power of the Livonian Order as its army was defeated, Grand Master killed, and many senior officers taken prisoners. The damage to the Livonian Order caused by the battle is often compared to the consequences that the Battle of Grunwald (1410) had on the Teutonic Knights. Some time after the battle the town was granted municipal rights and written sources dating from 1486 referred to it as a city. King Sigismund the Old confirmed these rights. During the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the city had been the center of "powiat" (county government) in the Vilnius Voivodeship (province/state).

In 1655, the Swedish and Russian armies plundered the city. Because of these incessant wars, the growth of Ukmergė suffered many setbacks. In the years 1711–1712, the bubonic plague swept through the town and wreaked havoc upon its population. In 1792, by the initiative of the city's representative in the Great Sejm, Jozef Dominik Kossakowski and King Stanisław August Poniatowski renewed the town's municipal rights and gave it its current coat of arms.

Coat of Arms of Ukmergė

In the 1700s and 1800s the town and the area once again was effected by outside sources. In 1795, Ukmergė along, with most of Lithuania, was annexed by Russia, becoming a part of the Vilna Governorate (created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795).

In 1812, the Battle of Deltuva, between the Russian and French armies, occurred not far from Ukmergė and Napoleon's army raided the town during the French invasion of Russia. During the November Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1831, the city remained in the hands of rebel elements for several months.

In 1843, by order of tsar Nicholas I, the town became a part of the newly established Kovno Governorate. In 1863, the city participated in the January Uprising against Russia. The uprising began as a spontaneous protest by young Lithuanians and Poles against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army, and was soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers and various politicians.

Here are a few interesting events that happened in the late 1800s

In 1874 the future president of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, was born in Užulėnis near Ukmergė, and was educated in the local school.

In 1876 a match factory was established in Ukmergė.

In 1877 a fire again ravaged the town – We can't find any documentation indicating the fire was caused by the match factory but it is a very strange coincidence don't you think?

In 1882 a printing-house was opened.

In 1899 thirteen people were punished for distributing books written in the Lithuanian language, which was prohibited at that time by Russia.

The 20th century brought a myriad of events

One very notable event occurred in 1918 after Lithuania declared its independence, the city's name was changed from Vilkmergė to Ukmergė.

In 1919 Bolshevik forces occupied the city during the Lithuanian–Soviet War, but it was soon liberated by the Lithuanian army led by Jonas Variakojis. Over five hundred Bolshevik prisoners were taken during the "Battle of Ukmergė".

Soviet POWs

In 1918 an iron foundry was established.

In 1920, the Lithuanian army stopped Polish incursions into the rest of the country, after a series of battles that were waged to establish borders between the two newly re-established countries.

Also in 1920 an electric plant, a printing house and 120 other small businesses were opened.

The city had five newspapers until 1939.

In 1930 a monument named "Lituania Restituta" was erected to commemorate the first decade of restored Lithuanian independence.

Ukmergė's monument to independence, "Lituania Restituta"

In 1940, after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, deportations of people from the town began. When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union and its occupied territories, on June 22, 1941, the retreating Soviets gave instructions to their operatives to kill some one hundred and twenty prisoners. Fortunately most of them escaped. Tragically eight of them were tortured to death.

During the German occupation, the Nazis rounded up and murdered about 10,000 members of the town's Jewish population. During World War II, the city center suffered from extensive bomb damage.

For many years after the return of the Soviets, the city's people organized and participated in resistance movements, the deportation of the city's population to Siberia continued and in 1950 the monument to Lithuania's Independence was destroyed. The city reconstructed it in 1990, even before the restoration of Lithuania's independence was declared.

Ukmergė became an unwilling factor in the Cold War when in 1964, two coupled Soviet nuclear missile bases were built in the woods near Ukmergė. Each had four surface launch pads, semi-underground hangars to store the missiles and several accessory buildings. The bases were mentioned in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. Today while they both are in ruined state they are freely accessible to public.

As I said before, Ukmergė is a very charming community. A walk through the center of town will reward you with an opportunity to see many old buildings. While many have been restored there still are some that are in need of restoration. This is no problem though because with a slight squint of the eyes and a little imagination these buildings will appear in their original grandeur. If you visit during the summer months the town center is aglow with blooming flowers and a stroll down the streets on a warm summer's eve is quite enjoyable.

Town center at night

As you drive into the center of Ukmergė you get quite an interesting contrast. In one area you see a new shopping center, you drive by a hospital and a municiple building then you are driving through areas where many older homes are located. Atesting to their age, many of these homes are located only about one meter from the street.

To really get an idea of the history of this area you should make it a point to visit the Ukmergė Museum at 5 Kestucio Square in Ukmerge.

Displays of archaeology, ethnography, numismatics, textile, art, iconography telling the history of the land from the primitive communal system to our days are exhibited in three halls of the museum.
A big part of the archaeological exposition consists of finds from Obeliai burial-ground dated back to the 5-15th centuries.
Ethnographic displays acquaint visitors with the household of olden times in Ukmerge region.
A part of the exposition is devoted to the First Grand Duke Gediminas Infantry Regiment, which was distributed in Ukmerge in 1923-1939 and played a significant role in the public life of the city.

So if you are in Lithuania you would do well to visit this area of both ancient and recent history. It's a nice day trip from Kaunas or Vilnius. If you want to stay the night there are a few hotels and motels in the area or go to

http://www.atostogoskaime.lt/en/  and enjoy some Village Tourism.

Su pagarbe – Vin Karnila