{{lang|lt|visaginietis/visaginiečiai}} ([[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]])"},"timezone":{"wt":"[[Eastern European Time|EET]]"},"utc_offset":{"wt":"+2"},"timezone_DST":{"wt":"[[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]"},"utc_offset_DST":{"wt":"+3"},"website":{"wt":"{{URL|https://visaginas.lt/en|visaginas.lt}}"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBg">City in Aukštaitija, Lithuania
Visaginas | |
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![]() Map of Visaginas Municipality | |
Coordinates: 55°35′53″N26°26′17″E / 55.598°N 26.438°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Ethnographic region | Aukštaitija |
County | ![]() |
Municipality | Visaginas municipality |
Capital of | Visaginas municipality |
Established | 1975 |
Granted city rights | 1995 |
Area | |
• Total | 13.8 km2 (5.3 sq mi) |
Elevation | 164 m (538 ft) |
Population (2020-01-21) | |
• Total | 18,024 |
• Density | 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Visaginian/Visaginians (English) visaginietis/visaginiečiai (Lithuanian) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Website | visaginas.lt |
Visaginas () is a city in northeastern Lithuania. It is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the now decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only city in Lithuania where the majority of population speaks Russian as their first language. [1] Originally the aerial view of Visaginas was designed to resemble a butterfly. However, after work on the nuclear power plant was cancelled, so was further construction of the town. Currently Visaginas consists of three residential regions that locals refer to as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Microdistricts. Visaginas has 14 streets. The city grew up in a pine forest by Lake Visaginas. Tourism is currently an area of great potential, as is the possibility of a new nuclear power plant.
The administrative centre of Visaginas municipality is situated near the country's biggest lake, Drūkšiai. Its administrative boundaries are in the process of being defined. The Vilnius–Daugavpils (Latvia) railway runs alongside the city, providing convenient communication with those cities.
Before World War II, from 1922 to 1939, the area of modern Visaginas lay within the boundaries of the Gmina Smołwy in the Brasław County of the Wilno Voivodeship in Poland.
The settlement was founded in 1975 as Sniečkus, a town for workers at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant on the shores of Lake Visaginas. It was established in place of four villages that were demolished, the largest of which was known as Visaginas. The new town was named after Antanas Sniečkus, a former first secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party, and was granted the status of an urban-type settlement. Following the restoration of independence, the city was renamed to Visaginas in 1992 and received municipal rights in 1995. [2] [3] It is governed by a city council, which elects the mayor. In 1996, the city's coat of arms was confirmed by a decree of the President of Lithuania.
The settlement was developed in complexes, with construction designed to create an infrastructure for the cultural and everyday life of the residents. Efforts were made to preserve the natural surroundings as much as possible. [4]
In 1996, the population was 33,100, of which 55.68% were Russians, 15.88% Lithuanians, 10.29% Belarusians, 9.13% Poles, 5.69% Ukrainians and 0.95% Tatars. Orthodox Christians made up 40.42% of the total population, Roman Catholics 27.29%, the Non-affiliated 27.29%, Old Believers 2.89% and Muslims 0.46%.[ citation needed ] In 2001, the population was 52.43% Russian, 14.96% Lithuanian and 32.61% other. [5] In 2011, the population was 22,361. Russians accounted for 52.16% (11,664) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians - 18.27% (4,086), Belarusians - 9.89% (2,211), Poles - 9.32% (2,084), and Ukrainians - 5.16% (1,154). [6] In 2021, the population was 19,633. Russians accounted for 47.36% (9,299) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians - 20.13% (3,953), Belarusians - 9.60% (1,884), Poles - 10.23% (2,009), and Ukrainians - 5.23% (1,027). [7]
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Source: 1902, 1923, 1959 & 1970, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2011 |
Power was the main branch of industry: the country's only nuclear power plant, one of the world's most powerful, is situated near Visaginas. It ceased operations in December 2009 over safety concerns and is currently being decommissioned. Over 5,000 people were employed in the plant. There are opportunities to developing the construction industry in order to utilize the existing industrial potential (concrete, ferroconcrete, and wood), and also the electronics industry, polish and paint, and clothing. There are over 1,500 companies in the city active in light industry, trade and services.
The city has a polytechnic school, six secondary schools, an elementary school, eight nursery schools, music and acrobatics colleges, a sports centre and other institutions engaged in organizing educational and leisure activities, including 11 sports clubs with more than 1,600 members. Professional training is available in soccer, Greco-Roman wrestling, and skiing. An annual country music festival "Visaginas Country" is held in the city .
Visaginas is twinned with: [8]
Demographic features of the population of Lithuania include population density, ethnicity, level of education, health, economic status, and religious affiliations.
Daugavpils is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region of Latgale, and those to the south lie in Selonia. It is the second-largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres northwest and is the ninth most populous city in the Baltic states.
Neringa or Neringa Municipality is a municipality of Klaipėda County in westernmost Lithuania, comprising several villages in the Curonian Spit. In terms of population, it is the smallest municipality of the country. Nida is the seat of government and largest town in Neringa Municipality.
Vilnius County is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius and is also known as Capital Region or Sostinės regionas by the Lithuanian statistics department and Eurostat. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Vilnius County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.
Klaipėda County is one of ten counties in Lithuania, bordering Tauragė County to the southeast, Telšiai County to the northeast, Kurzeme in Latvia to the north, and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia to the south. To the west is the Baltic Sea. It lies in the west of the country and is the only county to have a coastline and not be landlocked. Its capital is Klaipėda. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Klaipėda County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.
The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is a decommissioned two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power station in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina. Due to the plant's similarities to the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in both reactor design and lack of a robust containment building, Lithuania agreed to close the plant as part of its agreement of accession to the European Union. Unit 1 was closed in December 2004; Unit 2 in December 2009. The plant accounted for 25% of Lithuania's electricity generating capacity and supplied about 70% of Lithuania's electrical demand. It was closed on December 31, 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new nuclear power plant at the site, but such plans have yet to come to fruition.
Šalčininkai is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.
Russians in the Baltic states is a broadly defined subgroup of the Russian diaspora who self-identify as ethnic Russians, or are citizens of Russia, and live in one of the three independent countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — primarily the consequences of the USSR's forced population transfers during occupation. As of 2023, there were approximately 887,000 ethnic Russians in the three countries, the year of the last census during the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of the three Baltic countries.
Ignalina is a city in eastern Lithuania. It is known as a tourist destination in the Aukštaitija National Park. Ignalina is also famous for the now decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Visaginas.
Antanas Sniečkus was a Lithuanian communist politician who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania from 15 August 1940 to 22 January 1974.
Russians in Lithuania number about 146,000 people, according to the Lithuanian estimates of 2023, or 5.1% of the total population of Lithuania.
Pabradė is a city in eastern Lithuania, in Švenčionys district municipality, on Žeimena river, 38 km south-west of Švenčionys.
Rūdiškės is a town in the Trakai district municipality, Lithuania about 15 km south of Trakai.
Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant was a planned nuclear power plant project in Lithuania. It was proposed to be built at the site of the closed Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut down on 31 December 2009 in accordance with Lithuania's accession agreement to the European Union. The two reactors of the Ignalina plant are currently undergoing a decommissioning process.
Lithuania is a net energy importer. In 2019 Lithuania used around 11.4 TWh of electricity after producing just 3.6 TWh.
The Visaginas Municipality is one of the 60 municipalities of Lithuania, situated in the north-east of the country. It consists of the city of Visaginas, 16 villages (kaimai) and one farmstead (viensėdis).
An advisory referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power station was held in Lithuania on 14 October 2012, alongside parliamentary elections. The proposal was rejected by 65% of voters.