Kupiškis

Kupiškis
City
City view from northwest
Coat of arms
Kupiškis Location of Kupiškis
Coordinates: 55°50′0″N 24°58′0″E / 55.83333°N 24.96667°E / 55.83333; 24.96667Coordinates: 55°50′0″N 24°58′0″E / 55.83333°N 24.96667°E / 55.83333; 24.96667
Country	Lithuania
County	Panevėžys County
Municipality	Kupiškis district municipality
Eldership	Kupiškis eldership
Capital of	Kupiškis district municipality Kupiškis eldership
First mentioned	1460
Granted city rights	1791
Population (2012)
• Total	7,892
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Kupiškis ( pronunciation ) is a city in northeastern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality. Kupiškis is located on the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. The name of the city comes from the Kupa River. The Gediminas Bridge crosses the Kupa River. There are six parts of the city, which are named:

Archeological finds provide evidence that even in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC people dwelt in the surroundings of Kupiškis. However, there is no information on when the very settlement was founded. The findings around the Aukštupėnai mound show that in the 8th century a wooden defence castle stood there.

Kupiškis was mentioned in historical sources for the first time in 1529. It was a property of Sigismund I the Old, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From 1561 to 1565 it was a center of small ruler's center, belonging to the Upytė district and later the Ukmergė district. At that time the main road from Vilnius to Riga led via Kupiškis.

In 1616, the first Catholic church was built in Kupiškis. In 1781, the first school of the Lankasteriai family was established. The railway line from Daugavpils to Šiauliai to Liepāja was built in 1873.