Švenčionys
| Švenčionys | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | ||
Church
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 Švenčionys
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| Coordinates: 55°08′N 26°10′E / 55.133°N 26.167°ECoordinates: 55°08′N 26°10′E / 55.133°N 26.167°E | ||
| Country |
 Lithuania
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| County | Vilnius County | |
| Municipality | Švenčionys district municipality | |
| Eldership | Švenčionys eldership | |
| Capital of |
Švenčionys district municipality Švenčionys eldership |
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| First mentioned | 1800 | |
| Granted city rights | 1961 | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Total | 4,963 | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Švenčionys (
pronunciation , known also by several alternative names) is a town located 84 kilometers (52 mi) north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2011[update], it had population of 4,963 of which about 17% is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.
There are two established hypotheses about the etymology of the Švenčionys name: one that it is the name of the nearby lake Šventas (literally: saint) with the addition of the Lithuanian suffix -onys; another is that it is derived from the personal name, Švenčionis. In other languages the name is rendered as Polish: Święciany, Belarusian: Свянцяны/Svjacjany, Russian: Свентяны/Sventiany, Yiddish: סווינציאַן /Svintsyán, and German: Swenziany.
During the 1812 French invasion of Russia, Napoleon stayed in the town for 12 hours to write orders and receive an envoy from the King of Naples. The town was one of the main centers of the November Uprising (1830–1831) in Poland and Lithuania against the Russian Empire. During World War I, it was the location of the German Sventiany Offensive.
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