Bezdonys
| Bezdonys | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Bezdonys high school
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 Bezdonys
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| Coordinates: 54°48′16″N 25°31′09″E / 54.80444°N 25.51917°ECoordinates: 54°48′16″N 25°31′09″E / 54.80444°N 25.51917°E | |
| Country |
 Lithuania
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| County | Vilnius County |
| Municipality | Vilnius district municipality |
| Eldership | Bezdonys eldership |
| Capital of | Bezdonys eldership |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 857 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Bezdonys (Polish: Bezdany; Russian and Belarusian: Безданы) is a town in Lithuania, located to the north of Vilnius, within the Vilnius district municipality. It is best known for the 1908 Bezdany raid, one of the most daring and successful train robberies in history. According to the 2001 census, the town had 857 inhabitants.
The site of the modern village has been inhabited at least since early Middle Ages. Local dense forests were a hunting resort of the Grand Dukes. Jan Długosz mentions, that the local hunting manor was visited by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila who was later elected as a king Władysław I of Poland. In 1516 a hunting manor and surrounding land was granted by Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund I the Old to Ulryk Hozjusz, better known as father of Stanisław Hozjusz. The area donated to the Hozjusz family consisted of roughly 7000 hectares of forests, with a single mill and three villages (two of them – Żwiniany and Łuczniki – do not exist any more).
On March 1, 1605 Ulryk Hozjusz's great-grandson sold the village and the adjoining land for 5000 złoty to canon of Vilna Wilczopolski, who in turn donated it to the Jesuits in 1609. The village remained administered by the Jesuits until the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1774. The area was taken over by the royal treasury, but already on July 12 of that year king Stanislaus Augustus of Poland donated it to Mikołaj Łopaciński in exchange for a yearly donation for the Commission of National Education. At that time the village had roughly 300 inhabitants, including roughly 20 noble families.
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