Kedainiai

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Kedainiai is a town in Lithuania.

10 Things to See in Kedainiai
1. Kėdainiai is one of the oldest towns in Lithuania which has an impressive and historically unique place – Old town. The history of the town is counted from 1372, when Kėdainiai were first mentioned in Livonian Chronicle by Hermann Wartberge.
2. The Town Hall is one of the three, which still remain in Lithuania. It is a two-storey Renaissance style brick building of rectangular design. Earlier there had been a prison and archives in the basement of the Town Hall. Shops used the first floor. The second floor was an office of the magistrate. After the huge fire in 1770, the Town Hall was devastated. Today, art exhibitions, concerts and representative events are held there.
3. Church of Evangelical Reformats. (1631-1653) It is a splendid Renaissance style church, with four baroque towers. It looks like a stronghold. The basement of the church contains a family mausoleum of the Counts Radvilos. This is the only reconstructed burial site of highranking noblemen in Lithuania.
4. In 1653 there were formed 6 market squeres in Kėdainiai, the only example of urbanistics in Lithuania. Nowadays in Kėdainiai left 4 market squeres.
5. Minaret. There is a unique building in the outskirts of Kėdainiai. It was built by the Russian general E. Totleben.
6. Paberžė – Manor owner the Count S. Šilingas in 1787 built a wooden church, which burned down soon. A. Mackevičius, who worked as a priest in Paberžė in 1856-1863 was one of the leaders of the Insurrection of 1863. In his care in 1858 a wooden church of St. Virgin Apparition was built (and is still standing). Since 1966 when a Capuchin monk and priest Algirdas Mykolas Dobrovolskis – Father Stanislovas (1918-2005) was assigned to Paberžė, this small village became an object of attraction. People come to Paberžė not only in pain or for church rituals, but also to touch the live wisdom of the Great Master. Father Stanislovas repaired and decorated the church, cleared up the village cemetery. He placed original monuments in the churchyard and in the cemetery, established a “keeping-place” of unique canonicals, prayer-books, lamps, bells, pots, sun-shaped crosses, millstones, wood carving articles and other valuable items in the rectory and a nearby granary.
7. Šeteniai. It is the birthplace of the Nobel Prize winner, writer Česlavas Milošas. All the views of his birthplace, Česlavas Milošas described in his novel „Issa valley“. Issa – the river Nevėžis named like this. Nowadays in the place of former granary, the cultural centre of Česlavas Milošas was established. Šeteniai is also the birthplace of Juozas Urbšys – the minister of foreign affairs.
8. Geographical Centre of Lithuania (Ruoščiai village). In 1995 specialists of Lithuanian Land Planning Institute determined and marked by a large field stone the geographical centre of Lithuania (55º 19’ northern latitude and 23º 54’ eastern longitude). Following the corrected project of the architect Vytautas Kundrotas two more stones were brought symbolizing Samogitia and the Higher Lithuania.
9. Skinderiškiai Dendrology Park. This park in dendrological value is equal to batanical gardens. In 1986 this park was published like nature monument. Park‘s founder, developer, range ris forester Kęstutis Kaltenis. In 1993 he get the prize of famous naturalist ( present president of Lithuania) Valdas Adamkus. The park is charakterized by a great variety of woody plants species and varieties. Apart from varied and rich dendrological collection in the park one may find a lot of boulders – the trace of the Ice Age in our region.
10. Joint-stock company „Lifosa“. The hills of phospho gyps. It is a unique phenomenon in Lithuania. Phospho gyps – ir is a scrap of phosphoric extract. This scrap has been poured here since 1968. Now in Kėdainiai there are 21 million tones of this scrap.
And the last one by my personal opinion: Kedainiai is one of the most beautiful cities in Lithuania. It is very clean (what is a little miracle novadays), cute (if you can call city "cute") and city with soul. If you go through Kedainiai you HAVE to visit it.