The Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of AB Rokiškio sūris (company code 173057512, registered office address Pramonės street 3, Rokiškis) held on 30 April 2025, decided to allocate a dividend of EUR 0.20 per share for 2024 (the total amount allocated for dividends for 2024 is EUR 6.284 million). Dividends will be entitled to those persons who will be shareholders of the Company at the end of the tenth business day after the General Meeting of Shareholders that has decided to allocate a part of the profit for dividend payment (i.e. 15 May 2025). The first day without rights (i.e. Ex-Date), from which the shares of AB Rokiškio sūris (RSU1L, ISIN code LT0000100372) acquired on the stock exchange with settlement cycle T+2 do not entitle to receive dividends for 2024, is 14 May 2025. As of May 27, 2025, dividends will be paid in the following order: Dividends paid in 2025 will be taxed as follows:  •    dividends paid to natural persons–residents of the Republic of Lithuania and natural persons–residents of foreign countries are subject to withholding Personal income tax of 15 percent; •    dividends paid to legal entities of the Republic of Lithuania and legal entities–residents of foreign countries are subject to withholding Corporate income tax of 16 percent, unless otherwise provided for by the laws.  Residents of the foreign countries, which have concluded agreements on Avoidance of Double Taxation with the Republic of Lithuania, could take advantage of reduced tariffs provided by such agreements by submitting Claim for Reduction or Exemption from the Anticipatory Tax Withheld at Source, form FR0021 (DAS-1). The form should be completed following the law requirements and presented to Rokiškio sūris AB address: Pramonės 3, LT- 42150 Rokiškis by 20 May 2025. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.© 2025 TradingView On Yom HaShoah I will remember the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust – and I will be thinking about a little town in the northeast corner of Lithuania and a white-haired man searching for a way to pay his respects to the dead Rokiskis (Rakishok in Yiddish) is a town of 16,000 people where my Jewish family tree extends back many generations My grandfather Yankl ran from this town in 1911 Some were still in Lithuania in the summer of 1941 when the German army invaded and a place of relative harmony became a place of uncommon brutality Lithuania’s Jews were massacred with a swiftness and thoroughness unusual for even that bloody time While in most cases German officers gave the orders it was usually Lithuanians who pulled the triggers and children – were rounded up and marched into the forest to be shot lined both sides of the road and participated in the massacre my ancestral town seemed utterly inaccessible I found myself standing in the market square Matthew thrust its spire high into the heavens A grand manor house gleamed in the distance traces of the nearly vanished Jewish culture remain A small sign nailed to the side of a corner house read “Sinagogu gatve”– Synagogue Street It was here that my great-grandfather Dovid-Mikhl used to pore over the Talmud I stood before a grassy rectangle and a monument Now the wind stirred the leaves of the birch trees During nearly half a century of postwar Soviet rule for the most part Lithuania’s Jewish history – including important truths about the Holocaust – officially slipped out of view Yet in the words of Lithuanian tolerance leader Linas Vildziunas and the very life of the Jews in Lithuania…doesn’t disappear Vildziunas is one of the brave people in Lithuania who have worked to engage with their country’s Jewish heritage and exhume the truths of the past “Confronting the reality of the Holocaust,” Vildziunas wrote “is a most serious test of the moral values and civic maturity of modern-day Lithuanian society “The annihilation of Lithuania’s Jews,” he wrote Among those deeply affected was the white-haired gentleman I met in the course of my visit when he saw two soldiers drag a young Jewish woman into a clearing and shoot her “I am the only person who knows where this woman’s remains are lying,” he told me Now he wanted to find a way to honor his Jewish neighbor With the help of old maps and precision tools town officials and museum curators accompanied the old man to the spot where he thought the shooting had taken place people who started to cry when they talked about the Holocaust Lithuania has not finished coming to terms with its past and in fact that process will never be finished throughout Lithuania and all the regions of Europe scarred by genocide Ellen Cassedy is the author of We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust (University of Nebraska Press), which begins with her personal journey to the land of her Jewish forebears and expands into an account of how a country encounters its Jewish past. She serves on the board of Yiddish of Greater Washington. Visit her website at www.ellencassedy.com. Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb, an Amazon company© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc. Logout Gateway to the world of smart farming This Premium article is exclusively available for subscribers Obtain insights from exclusive interviews Make the right purchasing decisions with our buyers guides Dive into articles covering innovative developments Already subscribed? Click here to login Mrs. Chaya Laine, who retired as English principal of Bais Rivkah High School in Crown Heights during the pandemic, planned a Hakhel event. Unbeknownst to her, her husband and colleagues had already organized a celebration of her five decades in Chinuch. Full Story, Photos a very special celebration took place to honor Mrs commemorating her remarkable journey spanning over 50 years in the field of education Laine’s story is nothing short of extraordinary a town where the revered Rabbi Shmuel Levitin played a significant role in the many locals becoming close to Lubavitch Laine’s parents fled to Russia and eventually found themselves in a displaced persons camp her family was rescued and arrived in Brooklyn in the 1950s Laine’s father worked in Hashgacha on Long Island who advised them to become involved in Rabbanus leading them to establish a community in West Hempstead Laine faced the challenge of commuting back and forth prompting her to switch to Beth Jacob Teachers Seminary on S Laine sought the Rebbe’s guidance on pursuing a degree in education The Rebbe advised her to enroll in a local college and she subsequently obtained her degrees in education from Queens College she was asked by the principal of Beis Yaakov to teach at their high school in Williamsburg She taught at Beis Rivkah until 1987 when she assumed the role of English principal at the high school—a position she held for an impressive 33 years until her retirement in 2020 The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that it was time to retire Laine was presented with an exquisite silver fountain for Kiddush Laine’s continued involvement as a teacher and consultant during the transitional period which lasted for an additional three years and recently concluded Laine desired to host one final event to commemorate this special year of Hakhel her husband and the staff had planned not just a Hakhel gathering but also a celebration of her five decades in Chinuch The news quickly spread among the teachers and each of them eagerly wanted to share how Mrs Laine had positively impacted their lives and guided them The celebration proved to be a beautiful occasion allowing everyone to interact and bid a proper farewell acknowledging her incredible influence on the staff “How did it feel to be a principal?” To which she humbly responded “I don’t know how a person is supposed to feel and I was solely focused on the task at hand.” For Mrs it was never about status; it was always about the work itself “When my wife first joined Beis Rivkah the passing rate for the Regents test was approximately 45% resulting in only a small number of students receiving a state diploma,” Rabbi Laine shared with COLlive with the majority of students able to obtain a state diploma.” Rabbi Laine recounted an incident where concerns were raised about placing too much emphasis on English studies prompting them to question whether they should reduce its significance They sought the Rebbe’s guidance on the matter and his response was unequivocal: “They should strive for the highest level of achievement that would result in a diploma from the state.” The Rebbe did not merely suggest working towards this goal; he stressed the importance of striving for excellence Chaya Laine’s incredible journey in education and her tireless dedication to Bais Rivkah High School have left an indelible impact on the school As the community bids farewell to this esteemed educator they do so with profound gratitude for her unwavering commitment to nurturing young minds and empowering future generations in the pursuit of knowledge Sign up for the COLlive Daily News Roundup and never miss a story Mrs Laine at the Left and Mrs Sharfstein center presented a book (Megilas Esther published by Kehot) to each of the teachers Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Laine was influenced by her late esteemed father Rabbi Gutman Baras -a famous Mohel- who succefully educated and inculcated in his daughter the virtue and pride of Chassidishe Mesiras Nefesh To selflessly be there for the Rebbe and Lubavitch like a soldier 24/7/365 Laine who ultimately celebrate the precious reward of looking back at 50 years of life without feeling that they wasted their life These special soldiers are internally filled with true joy and Nachas that they lived a full life.… Read more » Beis Rivkah was known for the highest scores on NYS regents This was a true testament to Mrs Laine and Mrs Sharfstein running the English department As a student in the transition year when you were principal you came in to our class often and taught us as a substitute teacher but I will never forget your vocabulary and spelling tips You taught us how to look at the root of the word I don’t remember much of my High school classes The aptitude required to be a top-flight rally driver is pretty insane you have to have the superhuman ability to disconnect your brain and plug in your balls then trust your innate ability to manoeuvre yourself out of danger when it inevitably arises check out the footage from Lithuania’s Samsonas Rally Rokiškis where local driver Vaidotas Žala takes flight in his Mitsubishi Evo to drift through nothing but thin air Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Look out for your regular round-up of news No money from the licence fee was used to create this website The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation the head of the Surgery Department at Rokiškis Hospital has moved to the town in northeastern Lithuania from Kaunas The financial support helped him to make the decision “You need money for everything: you need to settle in when there is so much competition and some institutions are trying to lure doctors from others one takes into account what the municipality is offering when choosing where to work,” he says Doctors who move to Rokiškis for work are given a grant of 18,000 euros Such incentives have already yielded results as there is no longer a shortage of specialists in the municipality unlike in many other regional hospitals in the country We could only take on more anaesthesiologists because some of these specialists will soon reach retirement age,” said Raimundas Martinėlis But although there is no shortage of doctors in the hospital there are still vacancies in primary health care in Rokiškis Ten general practitioners currently handle 19,000 patients in the town the situation would be difficult to manage But offering higher salaries is not enough to attract doctors to the region,” Kondratenkienė said there is a shortage of general practitioners throughout the country and competition to attract them is high the Rokiškis Municipality has promised to provide the new specialists moving to town with a generous allowance of 50,000 euros “This is painful for a municipality of this size But we have no other option,” said Rokiškis Mayor Ramūnas Godeliauskas allocating funds to one area will hurt another But public health and the availability of doctors is a priority for us in this case We see the shortage of general practitioners The Rokiškis Municipality is also financing the studies of specialists the mayor believes it should not be up to the municipalities “It’s not possible to continue with what is being done today Universities and other educational institutions earn part of the money at the expense of municipalities Municipalities alone will not be able to solve the problem without the help of the Health Ministry and the government,” Godeliauskas said the Rokiškis Municipality’s specialist attraction programme is one of the most generous in Lithuania The proposed 50,000-euro allowance for general practitioners is by far the highest among municipalities Rabbi Koppel Bacher has been an influential leader of the South African Jewish community for over 50 years He was interviewed by JEM’s My Encounter with the Rebbe project in Brooklyn in October of 2010 Click here for a PDF version of this edition of Here’s My Story, or here to visit the My Encounter blog the son of an immigrant who came from a well-known Lubavitch family in Rokiskis Lithuania – the Ruch family with whom the Previous Rebbe stayed in 1930 while visiting his followers residing there my father was very attached to the Previous Rebbe and often sought his counsel when my father was thinking of selling his cattle farm He had been offered a very good price for it and He decided to ask the Previous Rebbe’s advice The Rebbe’s answer came back that he should hold onto the property That proved to be the right thing to do because two years later much more – fifty thousand South African pounds –and this time the Rebbe said he should go forward with the sale he continued his connection to the new Rebbe and in 1955 After two years I transferred to the Chabad yeshiva in Montreal He wrote me a heartfelt letter in which he praised my efforts as a student – something which surprised me because I did not consider myself to be among the top learners to say the least – and explained that I was in my most formative years and should continue learning without interruption He said he understood that it was hard for my parents not to see me for so long they would take great pride in my accomplishments the Rebbe was right – these were my formative years and I was greatly influenced by the elder Chassidim who mentored me in Montreal – particularly Rabbi Hershel Feigelstock and Rabbi Menachem Zev Greenglass He said that there came a time when he went to see the Rebbe and expressed some disillusionment with his job as a teacher it was worth it!” I am paraphrasing here – I don’t know the exactly the words the Rebbe used – but this is what Rabbi Greenglass told me on the occasion of his 90th birthday it was the custom for the yeshiva students to travel to New York for the holidays I recall one such occasion when we came for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and the Rebbe made an unusual request of me It seems that a distant relative of my father – I believe she was the sister of Rabbi Pesach Ruch in whose home the Previous Rebbe had stayed in Rokiskis – had written to the Rebbe She’d migrated to Cleveland and had heard that I was learning in a Chabad yeshiva so she asked the Rebbe to send me her regards called me into his office and told me this and also that the Rebbe wished that I write to her We were hours from the most holy day of the year and yet the Rebbe was concerned that I receive her message and that I be respectful of this elderly relative I received a letter from the Rebbe advising me that it was time to look for a marriage match He was on top of everything that was happening with every one of his Chassidim From that point on I had to report to Rabbi Hodakov on how my search for a wife was progressing When he heard that a suitable match had been proposed for me “So why aren’t you doing anything about it I want you to go right now and arrange a meeting.” So I went to a telephone booth and did as he instructed we came to New York for an audience with the Rebbe we returned to South Africa to serve as Chabad emissaries in Johannesburg I would usually come to New York during Sukkot and I would be called up to the Torah on Hoshanah Rabbah “I missed you this morning – I didn’t see you being called to the Torah.” That’s when I realized that this is why I came every year – to be reminded how much the Rebbe paid attention to and cared for all of his Chassidim to feel that closeness that I needed to feel as his emissary I wanted to expose them to the Rebbe from the earliest age and the Rebbe scrounged around in his desk drawer until he came up with a silver dollar “I’m giving you Chanukah gelt right now because you won’t be here for Chanukah.” During the unrest in South Africa – before the apartheid regime fell – people were emigrating out of South Africa en masse But the Rebbe told me to advise the community to stayt put adding “Give over this message to your community ‘m’zol zich nit shreken – there is nothing to fear.’” Even though I had an AK-47 pointed at my head and five times our office came under attack – each time I was tied up and robbed – I always remembered that the Rebbe had said “there is nothing to fear,” and I knew that I would come to no harm “Who’s gonna look after your kids if we kill you now?” And I just closed my eyes and pictured the Rebbe saying “m’zol zich nit shreken.” I was a Chassid of the Rebbe and I knew he was looking after me in that moment The proof is that I am here to tell this story Please note that any information sent to the Corporation's official email that is marked as restricted or classified will not be processed and will be deleted Rabbi Koppel Bacher, one of the founders of Chabad in South Africa and leader of the Johannesburg community for over 60 years, passed away on Tuesday, 23 Adar II, 5784. Full Story one of the founders of Chabad in South Africa and leader of the Johannesburg community for over 60 years Lithuania — the Ruch family with whom the Previous Rebbe stayed in 1930 while visiting his followers residing there His father continued to be deeply connected to the Frierdiker Rebbe he was sent to learn at 770 Yeshiva in New York and two years later to study in the Chabad Yeshiva in Montreal where he was greatly influenced by the elder Chassidim who mentored him in Montreal — particularly Rabbi Hershel Feigelstock and Rabbi Menachem Zev Greenglass Rabbi Bacher was instrumental in laying the foundations of Yiddishkeit in South Africa In 2010 he was interviewed by JEM’s Here’s My Story: “That’s when I realized that this is why I came every year – to be reminded how much the Rebbe paid attention to and cared for all of his Chassidim “During the unrest in South Africa – before the apartheid regime fell – people were emigrating out of South Africa en masse “Once I heard those words from the Rebbe The proof is that I am here to tell this story.” all of whom are shluchim of the Rebbe: Mrs He is also survived by his sisters Minnie Daniels of Johannesburg and Sorrel Sher of Sydney The levaya will take place today in Johannesburg Baruch Dayan Ha’emes – Avraham Koppel Ben Chaim Shaul Ze’ev Halevi May Hashem give the family strength and comfort מי יתן לנו תמורתו.המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים ובהליכה בדרכיו ובמעשיו תמצאו ניחומים והוא יקירנו ר’ אברהם קאפל ב”ר חיים שאול זאב הלוי בתוכם תיכף ומיד ממש There are no words that can really express my grief and his family took me into their home and hearts when I was just in my early twenties He was a father figure to myself and so many others A young woman at the Rokiškis bus station in northeastern Lithuania puts a route sign – Rokiškis-Skemai social care home – on the windscreen of the bus Ineta Radišauskaitė returned to her home town after twelve years of emigration in the UK and took a job as a bus driver “I’ve tried all sorts of things – I worked as a cook I wanted to act in the Rokiškis People’s Theatre I mentioned that I learned to drive a bus in England The manager immediately offered me a job in the bus park because they were looking for bus drivers,” the woman adds I received a call from the head of the bus fleet the driver starts her first route of the day and the green Mercedes swerves through empty streets The bus remains empty for around half an hour – no one is waiting at the bus stops the students will get on the bus in Skemai they go to the Kavoliškis Agricultural School,” Ineta says The other day they helped me when the bus skidded off the road we’ll see a lot of students on their way to school in Rokiškis waiting for us,” she adds When her colleague decided to go live and work in the UK She gave me the employer’s contact details I did seasonal work – picking daffodils in the winter and zucchini in the summer who could drive a bus to take their colleagues to and from the workplace and I often see familiar places – the villages I used to think how can one drive a bus on such narrow roads I saw that anything is possible,” Ineta says everyone would come to me and ask where we were going this time I hardly had any days off but I saw a lot,” she adds The bus stops at the furthest point on the route – Skemai village The bus stop is next to a large fenced complex of buildings which can accommodate more than three hundred people at a time The passengers say hello and complain about the bad weather It was snowy and we had to go to the village of Sniegiai The bus skidded off the road and that was it told them that people had helped me and that was why they were late They let me take them to Kavoliškis,” the woman says “I often get stuck on the roads in these villages in winter It seems that I can only sit back and wait for help It happens at least a couple of times during the winter I always carry a bucket of gravel and a shovel,” she adds I was passing through Onuškis and came to a completely icy gravel road there was no one waiting for me at the bus stop People know that anything can happen in winter so they call the station and ask if they should wait,” Ineta says When she first started working as a driver Ineta used to get anxious before going on a new route She used to scribble the route on paper and sometimes even drive around it with her car to practice the passengers start shouting,” she smiles “I used to have a more talkative passenger sit next to me and ask him to show me the way.” “I remember people used to react strangely to a girl behind the wheel I once stopped at a bus stop in the Bučiūnai village people are usually very supportive and she likes driving the bus in the province because she knows almost every passenger personally I wouldn’t be able to have so many conversations,” she says adding that this job helps her to know the local people better and even find new friends Children and teenagers with backpacks get on board there are always passengers who are eager to talk to her one man goes to Aušrėnai to light up the stove He asks me to honk at his house on my way back if he’s not waiting for me,” Ineta says “One woman also goes to the farmhouse every couple of days to make a fire because her cat lives there so it has returned to the farmhouse and lives there alone The owner brings her food,” the bus driver adds an elderly man whose wife has died recently What are other activities for an older single person in a small town I have to remind him that this is the last stop and he needs to get off it was a bit annoying that he didn’t get off and that I will always have to ask him to get off,” she adds “I also bring new face masks for him because he often gets on with one that is visibly worn [...] He takes the new mask and puts it in his pocket – he’s saving it.” Ineta is preparing for the second route of the day in the afternoon she goes home to rest and returns to the station at 15:00 driving the bus in summer or winter has its own privileges It makes up for waking up early,” the woman says “But I like the winter better because it’s more extreme I sometimes skid off icy roads or get stuck in the snow.” and a wolf walked down the middle of the road I would have had to go into the ditch myself how do you get out when you know the wolf is around Ineta says that she develops close relationships with frequent passengers and starts to miss them when she does not see them for a while “I’m especially looking forward to seeing one friend Chatting with passengers lifts my spirits,” she says “It used to be so hard to get up in the morning Ineta says goodbye to the passengers and me Maybe some bus driver who is disappointed with his job will read this and think that it's not such a bad job,” she says plans to invest 10.1 million euros in expansion this year.   "The investments will go to the dairy in Rokiskis Recent trends show that the fresh cheese market is becoming oversupplied Revenue from that market fluctuate unpredictably which is not good for a long-term business We decided to reduce the production of fresh cheeses and increase that of hard cheeses," Rokiskio Suris CEO Dalius Trumpa told BNS.  the group expects to increase sales in Asia which is forecast to see growth in dairy consumption in the near term.  Rokiskio Suris did not export its products to China last year because it had not buyers there but Trumpa said the company would continue to make efforts to gain a foothold in the huge Asian market.  "China is a growing market with a potential and we are not abandoning it but everything is done very slowly there but it will be very difficult to raise it later We want to enter that market little by little with a good price," he said.  Rokiskio Suris exported mozzarella cheese and lactose to China in 2017.  The group will also continue to try to enter the Japanese It invested 9.8 million euros in hard cheese production last year.  "The hard cheese ripening capacity is doubled The company is capable of ripening 12,000 tons of cheese at a time," Rokiskio Suris said.  The group's consolidated net profits plunged to 1.918 million euros last year as sales revenue dropped by 16.4 percent to 203.675 million euros.  A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now! 2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy buses were running almost empty during pandemic lockdowns they expect people to use public transport more the main reason that Rokiškis decided to implement the measure now is the upcoming tax on polluting cars “We want to extend a helping hand to the residents of our district who will remain without cars if there's the car pollution tax,” Rokiškis Mayor Ramūnas Godeliauskas tells LRT TV “It's no secret that residents in regions will not be able to afford to simply switch to new cars.” especially in winter,” a man in a bus stop tells LRT TV made its public transport free a year and a half ago Authorities say almost twice more people are now using it and we must provide easy access to public transport,” according to Tauragė Mayor Dovydas Kaminskas most regional municipalities only have a system of taking children to schools but little more in the way of public transport Observers note that price is not the only or even main reason why people don't make use of public transport – limited availability is what pushes them into cars According to economist Žygimantas Mauricas the government should also invest into local facilities so that people do not need to travel far to access essential services “Instead of offering free public transport it would make sense to invest into building so that people can take their kids on foot or kids could walk themselves,” he tells LRT TV “The idea for a 21-century city should be to make more things accessible on foot.” says public transport is a domain of local authorities that can decide how to make it more accessible “It is definitely an alternative worth considering to make the tax revenue contribute to developing sustainable mobility Christmas in Rokiškis 2017 Rokiškis in Northern Lithuania is known for its cheese and theatre festivals From now on Rokiškis is also laying claim to the title of Northern Lithuania Christmas capital So that waiting for them would not feel long the active and ingenious Rokiškis residents invite to a myriad of various events at 4PM the first Christmas residence in Lithuania will be opened near the famous Rokiškis area museum and the residents of the whole country And with a month left to the major holidays for every day of the long and colourful holiday season a different event will be held in Rokiškis Music lovers are invited to the 10th annual classic music festival which is organised by sisters Simona and Justina Zajančiauskaitė the traditional Rokiškis Rudolf Lyman music school winter concert will be held Theatre and literature fans are invited to an evening with poet Vytautas Stankus and the Last Hope quartet Arts fans can look forward to a whole five exhibitions the famous folk art exhibition Aukso Vainikas among them The pure anticipation of Christmas can be experienced on the Advent evening or at the traditional folklore celebration Aušta Aušrela and the Christmas Eve evening programme Piemenėlių Mišių Belaukiant December will amaze with its plenty of entertainment concerts Other than the famous performer Merūnas Vitulskis the Culture Centre stage will also feature other popular performers enjoyed by various age groups the Smurfs will tell children about real Christmas virtues – goodness patronage and relations with one another in the festive play The Smurf Christmas Miracle Meanwhile the New Year will be met with a revived amazing tradition – a New Year city party Families with children are invited for everyone to celebrate the anticipation of the holiday together Find out more about the events at www.rokiskiokc.lt An ambulance and police officers were called to a town in Rokiškis district in October last year when a woman reported that she watched a young man live-streaming on TikTok the beating of another man explaining that he came to visit his friend and found him beaten The injured man was rushed to hospital but died a few days later Experts later concluded that he died as a result of a head contusion kicked and broke the door of his neighbour’s flat The man filmed and live-streamed all his crimes on TikTok “The accused claimed that he made such live streams to earn money as some viewers would transfer him money,” said Prosecutor Arvydas Gramba The Criminal Code provides for a prison sentence of 7–15 years for murder The criminal case has been transferred to the Panevėžys Regional Court Among Queen Mathilde’s ancestors were the Sapiehas (Sapiegos) Queen Mathilde’s Lithuanian links come from her maternal grandparents a distant relative of the Polish noble Komorowski family “One branch [of the Komorowski family] acquired estates in the territory of present-day Lithuania in the 17th century One of their ancestors became the owner of the Kavoliškis estate near Rokiškis This branch of the Komorowski family was called Kamarauskis or Kamarauskas in Lithuanian until 1940,” says Karpaviečienė Queen Mathilde’s maternal grandmother was Princess Sofia Maria Sapieha one of the most prominent noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the house of Sapieha had two branches – the Kodenian Although Queen Mathilde descended from the Kodenian branch of the Sapiehas she is related to both branches through various kinship ties The Spiehas reached the pinnacle of their power in the 16th century Lew Sapieha (Leonas Sapiega) became the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania He was called by his contemporaries the “guardian of the fatherland” the Third Statute of Lithuania was published in 1588 which served as the constitution of the time Kazimierz Leon Sapieha (Kazimieras Leonas Sapiega) a Vice-Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Faculty of Law of Vilnius University was established in 1641 on his initiative He also donated a huge collection of law books to the university’s library through the Sapiehas Queen Mathilde is also related to other noble families of the Grand Duchy: the Czartoryski (Čartoriskiai) the Pac (Pacai) She is also a distant descendant of the Gediminas dynasty which founded Vilnius and ruled Lithuania and Poland from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century “This is a very important circumstance that we should be proud of – that Lithuania has a very long tradition of statehood It began to develop international relations including through marriage policy,” says Karpavičienė Opening of the Centenary Square in Rokiškis. Pohoto Rokiškio bendruomenė on FB (2) The Northeast Lithuanian city of Rokiškis held a special celebration in honour of the centenary of re-established Lithuanian state independence The residents always commemorate important dates at the Independence Monument created by sculptor Robertas Antinis in 1931 they surrounded the monument with a live chain of people and turned on the lights which will remain turned on the remainder of the centenary year with the help of riflemen volunteers they lit 200 torches and in a procession carried the symbolic light to the newly established Centenary Square the square was named after Soviet Union hero Yakov Smushkevich As per a ruling of the Rokiškis region municipal council land developers are creating a plot of land This unprecedented plot is a gift from Rokiškis residents on the celebration of the centenary The points of the Centenary Square map which precisely match the locations of the major Lithuanian cities – Vilnius as well as Rokiškis had bonfires lit on them The celebration was organised by Rokiškis region public and youth organisations The two victims were discovered on Monday and one more report was received on Tuesday morning according to the Emergency Centre's (BPC) spokeswoman Vilma Juozevičienė One victim was a homeless man in Jonava District Another man was discovered frozen to death in a field in Ukmergė District The 69-year-old is believed to have gotten lost on his way home A 63-year-old woman was discovered in a field in Rokiškis District The BPC initially reported she was found dead the Emergency Centre received 13 calls about frostbites on Monday Extremely cold temperatures also claimed lives over the weekend Eight people were reported to have frozen to death on Saturday and Sunday Correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the woman in Rokiškis District was also found frozen do death Here are five additional movie sets in Lithuania that fans may recognise Vilnius’ Old Town – a favourite for foreign productions The heritage of Vilnius’ UNESCO-protected Old Town – with its picturesque cobblestone streets, Gothic architecture, and baroque churches – was harnessed by Netflix series The Last Czars in 2019 Czar Nicholas II’s coronation was filmed at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of Theotokos where the grandeur and purity of the cathedral is stunningly contrasted with the quaint riverbank of the Vilnelė river The courtyard of the Church and Monastery of the Holy Trinity which can be found after passing through the ornate Basilian Gates When visitors see the characteristic Russian Byzantine architecture they immediately feel as though they are in the centre of the miniseries Vilnius lends itself to filmmakers due to its diverse scenery. Young Wallander was filmed almost entirely in the district of Šeškinė a part of Vilnius known for its Soviet architecture with cinematic views of the urban landscape stretching as far as the eye can see carved 16,000 to 18,000 years ago by a glacier It now offers stunning panoramas of the surrounding hills and treetops Lithuanian neo-classicism takes centre-stage a grandiose 800-hectare complex erected in the 19th-century has received particular attention from producers for its luxurious neo-classicist interiors: marble sculptures The lavish manor also is where HBO’S 2019 film Catherine the Great starring Helen Mirren takes place: all of the scenes that take place in the Empress’s private palace were filmed here is renowned for its rich history and Art Deco interwar architectural monuments This decorative cityscape has become the backdrop for many international productions including the Emmy-nominated series Tokyo Trial in 2016 Čiurlionis National Art Museum into a Japanese War Tribunal the BBC’s The Rise of the Nazis of 2019 featured the Kaunas Garrison Officers’ Club Building a European Heritage Label site used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces 19th-century Austria recreated in Rokiškis The creators of the German series Sisi found 19th-century Austria in the spell-binding Rokiškis manor in the northwest of Lithuania which is the centrepiece of the manor complex is encircled by a 30-hectare-large historic park with distinctive radial alleyways – the first of its kind in Lithuania Fans of Sisi can step into the regal atmosphere and get lost in the endless wood-laden hallways and velvet upholstery as they look for traces of the Austrian imperial family here Lithuania's fifth city in the north of the country opened the Christmas marathon by lighting its Christmas tree earlier than others Panevėžys' origami-inspired Christmas is entitled ‘Whisper a Wish’ People can whisper their desires into a funnel comes from a Japanese belief that if you fold a thousand origami cranes you can make one wish which will definitely come true Rokiškis handed over its title as Lithuania's 2019 capital of culture to Trakai Rokiškis lit a tree presented to the town by local people and decorated with ethnographic trinkets by folk artists But the Christmas season across the country truly began on Saturday led with it's ‘Space Christmas’ and a 22-metre tree the tree is decorated with colourful planetary objects made from recycled plastic People can enter the tree and read a message on its trunk written in Braille the Christmas tree was lit in the town's newly renovated main square ‘Šiauliai shines’ is the slogan of the celebration and the tree lives up to it two Christmas trees were lit just hours apart on Saturday night: one in Town Hall Square and the other in Cathedral Square inspired by a wooden piece discovered by archaeologists in the adjacent Lower Castle site the tree's giant mantle of lights covers a Christmas market around it The 11-metre silver fir was also lit on Saturday in the central Theatre Square the Christmas tree was encased in a cone of laser beams residents began sharing pictures of hail on Facebook eastern and central parts of Lithuania were most affected by the storm on Wednesday residents of Suvalkija and north-western districts The effects of increased wind were also noticeable [...] A wind speed of 26.6 m/s was recorded at the Švenčionys meteorological station,” they said with Ukmergė reporting 46 mm of rainfall in less than two hours Rain was recorded in the areas around of Kaunas Heavy rain persisted in the western and central regions of the country The Situation Coordination Unit of the Fire and Rescue Department told BNS that by 21.00 33 cases of removing fallen trees had been registered “The highest number of incidents was in Ignalina District The firefighters found four trees,” the fire service spokesman said firefighters responded to 112 calls to remove fallen trees Four times firefighters went to remove trees from cars and three times to remove trees from buildings in Kaunas the Situation Coordination Office of the Fire and Rescue Department told BNS on Thursday morning More than 18,000 households were left without electricity A new bird species has been observed in Lithuania It was spotted in Rokiškis region in north-eastern Lithuania the Lithuanian Ornithological Society said The bird was first found on 28 May in the valley of the river Saltoja in Rokiškis district by Darius and Daiva Norkūnai of the Lithuanian Ornithological Society Repeated observations show that the species has settled in the region and is forming a local population although their breeding habitat normally is in south-eastern Europe The Baillon's crake is the third bird species for the first time observed in Lithuania this year The others are the Pacific golden plover (pluvialis fulva) and the Dalmatian pelican (pelecanus crispus)