History of Kaunas
Between the 4th and 5th century B.C. at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers the settlement was established. In the 14th century a castle was built here. Now it is considered to be the oldest in Lithuania.
Kaunas was first mentioned in written Teutonic Knights sources in 1361, who captured the town and destroyed the Kaunas Castle in 1362. It was rebuilt at the beginning of the XV century.
In 1408 Kaunas was granted Magdeburg Rights by Vytautas the Great. While being located at the intersection of trade routes and a river port Kaunas has become one of the major trade centers in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and joined the Hanseatic League in 1441. By the XVI century, Kaunas was one of the best-formed towns in the whole country.
In XVII and XVIII centuries Kaunas was attacked by armies of Russia and Sweden several times, some parts of the city was destroyed by fires. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Grand Army of Napoleon passed through Kaunas twice, devastating the city both times.
Kaunas was one of the centres of the two Uprisings in XIX century. To suppress the local population, the Russian authorities placed a large military garrison with a formidable fortress, including many forts, artillery bastions, and fortifications. At the same time Kaunas grew as an important center of transport and industry. In 1862 a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Germany was constructed, making Kaunas a significant railway hub.
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The Interim Capital
Kaunas played a central role in developing and consolidating Lithuania‘s statehood at the 20s and 30s of 20th century. When the local red rebels took the Vilnius region at the beginning of January in 1919, the Lithuanian government moved from Vilnius to Kaunas. It de facto continued in the role of temporary capital until July, 1940. The transfer of the capital stimulated the development of the city of Kaunas. The new status transformed Kaunas in to the state‘s political, administrative, and cultural center. The growth of large-scale architectural and urban development was paralleled by the extremely intensive social and cultural life. Kaunas was the only provisional capital in Europe during the interbellum.
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At the period after Vilnius was occupied by the Russian Bolsheviks in 1919 and captured by Poland in 1920, the government of Lithuania established its main base in Kaunas. The city became the Temporary capital of Lithuania. Between the World Wars Kaunas grew rapidly and was extensively modernised, a lot of buildings were built, representing neoclassicism, functionalism, and art deco. Kaunas become the largest city in Lithuania.
Up to the Second World War Kaunas had a significant Jewish population, who constituted about one-fourth of the city's total population. Jews were concentrated in the city's commercial, artisan, and professional sectors. Kaunas was also a center of Jewish learning.
In 1940 Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union. Following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Soviet forces fled Kaunas. Immediately before and following the German occupation of the city, several thousand Jews were killed. The Nazis eventually established the Kaunas Ghetto, which by the end of the war would be nearly completely liquidated.
After World War II Kaunas became the main industrial city of Lithuania, at the same time citizenry of the city were under continuous oppression of Soviets. After the restoration of Independence in 1990, Kaunas has become a center of logistics, transport, computer technologies, and sports of Lithuania.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kaunas
