Alanta
| Alanta | |
|---|---|
St. Jacob's church in Alanta
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| Nickname(s): Alunta | |
 Alanta
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| Coordinates: 55°21′N 25°17′E / 55.350°N 25.283°ECoordinates: 55°21′N 25°17′E / 55.350°N 25.283°E | |
| Country |
 Lithuania
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| Ethnographic region | Aukštaitija |
| County |
 Utena County
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| Municipality | Molėtai district municipality |
| Elderate | Alanta elderate |
| Seat of | Alanta elderate |
| First mentioned | 1436 |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 450 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Alanta (dialectal Aukštaitian name Alunta) is a small town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2001, Alanta had 464 residents. It is situated at the crossing of two roads: Molėtai–Anykščiai and Utena–Alanta–Ukmergė. The town's St. Jacob's church was built in 1909.
The name of the town is derived from the Alanta River, tributary of Virinta. The name of the river is derived from an ancient Lithuanian verb "alėti", which means 'to stream merrily' or 'to run'.
In 1436, Sigismund Kestutaitis granted Alanta to Kristinas Astikas to commend him for his aid in defeating Švitrigaila in the Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435). In the 16th century, the town's Catholic church was built, and in 1581 the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory gifted Alanta to Gáspár Békés (Lithuanian: Kasparas Bekešas), a Hungarian general. After 1598 the town belonged to Radziwiłł family and from 1828 until the World War I it belonged to the Pamarnacki family. From the 18th century to the Lithuanian revolt in 1863 Alanta had a parish school.
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