Lentvaris


Lentvaris, in eastern Lithuania, 9 km east of Trakai. It is a transportation hub, as several road and rail routes cross here.
Lake Lentvaris is nearby.

History

In the 18th Century, the town of Lentvaris, was within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was populated by Poles, Lithuanians and Jews and belonged to the estate of the Polish-Lithuanian House of Sapieha. Following the partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the town became part of the Russian Empire. In 1850 the town was owned by Izdebski and then sold on to another Polish-Lithuanian magnate clan, the Tyszkiewicz family. In 1885 they had a Tudor-style palace built with a park, designed by Édouard André. In 1869 an industrial nail factory was established in the town.
After the Polish-Bolshevik War, from 1922, Lentvaris was part of Poland in the Wilno–Troki District of the Wilno Voivodeship,.
In September 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland simultaneously with the Soviet Union. The town was taken over by the Soviets on September 19, 1939. Local Polish soldiers, who had fought in the September Campaign, were attacked and interned by Lithuanians in the town of Kretinga.
Between 1942 and 1943, a Jewish partisan unit headed by Abba Kovner operated in the area. They blew up a train bound from Warsaw to Vilnius, near Lentvaris station, on the stretch between Vilnius and Grodno. Twenty one carriages carrying German troops and supplies were derailed.

Famous people