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Rokiškis

Rokiškis
City
House in Rokiškis center
House in Rokiškis center
Coat of arms of Rokiškis
Coat of arms
Rokiškis is located in Lithuania
Rokiškis
Rokiškis
Location of Rokiškis
Coordinates: 55°58′0″N 25°35′0″E / 55.96667°N 25.58333°E / 55.96667; 25.58333Coordinates: 55°58′0″N 25°35′0″E / 55.96667°N 25.58333°E / 55.96667; 25.58333
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Aukštaitija
County Panevezys County flag.png Panevėžys County
Municipality Rokiškis district municipality
Eldership Rokiškis town eldership
Capital of Rokiškis district municipality
Rokiškis town eldership
Rokiškis rural eldership
First mentioned 1499
Granted city rights 1920
Population (2001)
 • Total 16,746
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Rokiškis (About this sound pronunciation ) is a city in northeastern Lithuania with population of about 16,000.

The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares (Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "-kiškis" are quite popular in the region. The city was first mentioned in 1499 . At first it was Prince Kroszinski's residence, later count Tyzenhaus build a beautiful neogothic church of St. Matthias and Rokiškis Manor, which is well preserved today and houses the Rokiškis Regional Museum. The town was planned in a classicist manner.

Rokiškis was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania (Rzeczpospolita) until 1795, when Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. Rokiškis was included in the Vilna Governorate until 1843, when the Novo-Alexandrovsk district (uyezd) was transferred to the newly established Kovno Governorate.

The city started to grow in 1873 when a branch of the Libau–Romny Railway was built which connected Dünaburg/Daugavpils to the east with the ice-free Baltic port of Libau/Liepāja.

In the summer of 1915, the German army occupied the city. When the war ended, the area became part of the new Republic of Lithuania. Rokiškis was granted city rights in 1920. Because of strained relationships between Lithuania and the nearby newly created Republics of Poland and Latvia, Rokiškis was economically isolated during the inter-war period.


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