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KaunasColumbia Encyclopedia entry: Kaunas
Kaunaskou'näs, Pol. Kowno, Rus. Kovno, city (1993 pop. 429,000), in Lithuania, on the Neman River. It is a river port and an industrial center with industries producing machinery, chemicals, plastics, and textiles. Over 85% of the population is Lithuanian. Probably founded as a fortress at the end of the 10th cent., Kaunas was a medieval trading center and a Lithuanian stronghold against the Teutonic Knights. It passed to a united Lithuanian–Polish state in 1569 and to Russia in the third partition of Poland (1795). Although strongly fortified by the Russians, it was captured (1915) by the Germans in World War I. From 1918 to 1940, Kaunas was the provisional capital of Lithuania—Vilnius (which Lithuania claimed as its rightful capital) being held by Poland until 1939. Kaunas was occupied by German forces from 1941 to 1944. During the German occupation the Jews of Kaunas (about 30% of the prewar population) were virtually exterminated. Before evacuating at the approach of Soviet troops the Germans destroyed much of the city. Nearby are a 16th-century town hall, the ruins of a castle (14th–15th cent.), the Vytautus church (15th cent.), and a noted 17th-century monastery. The city has a university (founded 1922), a polytechnical institute (founded 1950), a medical institute (founded 1951), and several museums.
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Wikipedia search results for: Kaunas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaunas. They were defended by the citizenry of Kaunas.
1897 Russian census revealed the following ethnic composition in the city :
Jews 25,052 - 35%
Russians 18,308 - 26%
Poles 16,112 - 23%
Lithuanians 4,092 - 6%
Germans 3,340 - 4.5%
Tatar 1,084 - 1.5%
Other 2932 - 4% Today, with almost 93 percent of its citizens being ethnic Lithuanians, Kaunas is one of the most Lithuanian cities in the country. Kaunas has a higher proportion of ethnic Lithuanians than Vilnius, and more ethnic Lithuanians than Riga has ethnic Latvians or Tallinn has ethnic Estonians. Ethnic composition in 2001, out of a...more »
Jews 25,052 - 35%
Russians 18,308 - 26%
Poles 16,112 - 23%
Lithuanians 4,092 - 6%
Germans 3,340 - 4.5%
Tatar 1,084 - 1.5%
Other 2932 - 4% Today, with almost 93 percent of its citizens being ethnic Lithuanians, Kaunas is one of the most Lithuanian cities in the country. Kaunas has a higher proportion of ethnic Lithuanians than Vilnius, and more ethnic Lithuanians than Riga has ethnic Latvians or Tallinn has ethnic Estonians. Ethnic composition in 2001, out of a...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Kaunas
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- Neman
Neman, Ger. Memel, Lithuanian Nemanos, Pol. Niemen, river, c.580 mi (930 km) long, rising in central Belarus, SW of Minsk. It flows generally W to Grodno, then N and W through S Lithuania to f...
- Lithuania
Lithuania, Lithuanian Lietuva, officially Republic of Lithuania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,597,000), 25,174 sq mi (65,201 sq km), N central Europe. Lithuania borders on the Baltic Sea in the ...
