Maišiagala

Town

Coat of arms

Maišiagala

Location of Maišiagala

Coordinates: 54°52′20″N 25°04′00″E / 54.87222°N 25.06667°ECoordinates: 54°52′20″N 25°04′00″E / 54.87222°N 25.06667°E

Lithuania

Vilnius district municipality

Eldership

Maišiagala eldership

Capital of

Maišiagala eldership

First mentioned

1254

Population (2001)

• Total

1,634

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

• Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Maišiagala (Polish: Mejszagoła; Russian: Мейшагола) is a historic town in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania. It is located about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Vilnius near the Vilnius–Panevėžys highway. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 1,634.

Maišiagala, first mentioned in 1254, is one of the earliest Lithuanian settlements. It had a large defensive castle, which was part of the defensive network around Vilnius against the Teutonic Knights. The wooden castle was destroyed in 1365, but was rebuilt. According to Jan Długosz, Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas died in this castle in 1377. After the Christianization of Lithuania in 1387, Maišiagala was one of the seven towns in Lithuania where a Catholic church was built. In 1390, during the Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392, the castle was burned down and was not rebuilt.

The town continued to exist, growing as a trading center, and was granted city privileges sometime in mid-16th century. Its coat of arms depicted Saint Anthony of Padua. At the time it was royal property and King of Poland Sigismund I the Old built a castle for his Italian wife Bona Sforza. Therefore, the old hill fort is sometimes known as Bona's Hill. Sigismund also reconstructed the town church. After extinction of the Jagiellon dynasty, Maišiagala lost its status as royal summer residence and began to decline. It became property of various nobles: first Sapieha, then Tyzenhaus family. In 1805 the Houvalt family bought the town from heirs of Ignacy Massalski, Bishop of Vilnius. They built a manor, which now houses a school, in the Classical style.

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Wikipedia