Naujoji Akmenė was established in western Lithuania in 1952 to service a newly built cement factory. The area where the city appeared was rich in limestone, crucial for mass construction in the Soviet Union.
Naujoji Akmenė was built around an axis that led to the main city building – a cultural centre and workers' housing. The city mainly featured small apartment buildings and symmetrical neighbourhoods intertwined with greenery.
Elekrėnai was established midway between Vilnius and Kaunas in 1961 to house workers of a nearby power plant. The city is a legacy of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s era, which lasted from 1958 until 1964.
“Elektrėnai exemplifies the modernist functional planning of the 1960s. Instead of perpendicular streets, it features a circular street that envelopes residential houses,” an architectural historian Marija Drėmaitė told LRT TV.The city planners also designed separate functional zones, including a public zone with cultural centres and shops, as well as a recreational area along the lake with sports and concert venues.
Instead of smaller apartment buildings, Elekrėnai features large monolith residential houses, typical to Khrushchev era.
Visaginas was established in 1975 as a town for Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant workers. It embodies late Soviet modernism that rejects monotonous housing and adopts organic planning.
“There are no perpendicular streets, houses are scattered in clusters in the pine forest. […] Residents can reach the city centre in eight minutes on foot from any neighbourhood. It was called “8-10 minutes planning”,” Drėmaitė said.
Visaginas was built using Leningrad nuclear town Sosnovy Bor as a model. Lithuanian architects were allowed to design only a few buildings, including a kindergarten, a shopping centre, and a cultural centre.
According to Drėmaitė, Visaginas, Elektrėnai, and Naujoji Akmenė are exceptional because of their mono-industrial function. The cities were established to serve one large industrial enterprise, which created distinctive communities.
“People in these cities work and live together. But mono-industrial cities are very fragile because their wellbeing depends on one enterprise’s stability,” the architectural historian said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (AAA) announced that at 10 a.m
air quality was the most affected in Vilnius’ Žirmūnai and Kaunas’ Dainava neighbourhoods
meteorological conditions for pollution to dissipate will remain unchanged on Monday and Tuesday
and air quality will still be poor as no precipitation is forecast with medium strength southeastern winds
A reduction in air pollution may be expected only on Wednesday
Healthcare experts advise people to refrain from intense physical activities outdoors or use respiratory protective measures if outdoor activities cannot be avoided
clean surfaces and monitor one’s state of health
The AAA reported earlier that air pollution occurred not only due to local sources but also as a result of forest and peat fires in neighbouring Belarus
five towns in Lithuania with populations of over 100,000 have had the status of "didmiestis" or "big city": Vilnius
the population of Panevėžys has contracted by 11 percent over the last decade and now stands at just under 86,000
meanwhile has shed 8 percent of its population and now balances on the 100,000-mark
we've been observing slightly diminishing numbers of newborn babies,” says Vilma Melenienė of Šiauliai Registry Office
which quotes a more optimistic figure from the Centre of Registers
Šiauliai has also seen an increase in foreigners declaring residence here
“We know about cases when Ukrainian nationals are setting up their construction businesses here
small logistics companies,” says Justinas Švėgžda
Local businesspeople agree that having a growing or at least stable population is important for business
funding for municipalities from the central government also depends on population
public servants in a city are paid more,” says Mindaugas Sinkevičius
president of the Association of Municipalities
While Lithuania's population contracted by 8 percent over the last decades
Akmenė District Municipality in the north of Lithuania
has been adding around 700 residents a year
It now has set itself an ambitious goal of increasing its population by one third by 2030
“The goal of 30,000 people entails a range of measures,” says Akmenė District Mayor Vitalijus Mitrofanovas
there may be a more technical reason why some places lost more people in the last census
Many people are officially registered in a different municipality from the one where they actually live
statisticians examined property registries and assigned people to the place where they have their primary residence
VilniusThe Christmas tree in the Lithuanian capital is well hidden – the actual tree is located inside a blocky exoskeleton
Read more: Crowding around Christmas lights will lead to spike in infections, say Lithuanian health officials
The dessert-like Christmas tree in Kaunas has been inspired by meringues
PanevėžysThe tree in Lithuania’s fifth largest city measures 18 metres in height
Some 66,000 LEDs were used for decorations
Jonava in central Lithuania has also unveiled an innovative Christmas tree park around it
a town of some 6,000 people in eastern Lithuania
surrounded their Christmas tree in the town square with other decorations
Perhaps some of the most needed traits amid the pandemic
One of the first towns to unveil their Christmas lights was Visaginas in northeastern Lithuania
The town of some 18,000 people opted for a smart display – visitors can send text messages and choose a Christmas song for the tree to 'dance' to
Read more: Lithuania may limit group sizes to two people, ban ads of sales
covered in 12 metres of lights was unveiled in Anykščiai
Christmas mail can be found inside the Christmas tree in Marijampolė
The Visaginas Christmas tree is unique – it grows in Santarvės square where it was decorated
Kretinga’s silver Christmas tree is covered in 20,000 white lights
The Christmas tree in Naujoji Akmenė was unveiled during a light show
The Joniškis Christmas tree is growing next to the town’s Cultural Centre
Ten smaller trees hold the shroud of the main Christmas tree in Ignalina
The Gargždai Christmas tree is covered in more than 8,000 LED lights
The Mažeikiai Christmas tree is decorated with a shroud of golden lights
Druskininkai unveiled a Christmas tree decorated with a golden crown
Alytus has decided to go for a more modest Christmas tree to emphasise “community and not decorations”
The Panevėžys Christmas tree features huge decorations
The Christmas tree in Palanga is one of the most innovative this year
The main Christmas tree is accompanied by a 25-metre-long Christmas train
Meteorologists reported that the mercury hit 10.5 degrees centigrade in the northwestern town of Naujoji Akmenė at noon
breaking the day's previous record of 9.9 degrees which was set in 2015 in Kybartai
Teresė Kaunienė of the Hydrometeorological Service noted
that temperatures kept rising in other parts of the country
“I'm sure records are going to be broken in most of Lithuania,” she said
adding that the exact figures will be available on Wednesday evening
Several heat records have been broken this year. The month of June was the warmest on record in Lithuania
with temperatures averaging 20.1 degrees centigrade
almost five degrees over the multiannual average
A heatwave broke records in May as well