Visaginas

Coordinates: 55°35′53″N 26°26′17″E / 55.598°N 26.438°E / 55.598; 26.438
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Visaginas
Town
UTC+3 (EEST)
Websitevisaginas.lt

Visaginas (pronunciation

Lake Visaginas. Tourism is currently an area of great potential, as is the possibility of a new nuclear power plant
.

The administrative centre of

Drūkšiai. Its administrative boundaries are in the process of being defined. The VilniusDaugavpils (Latvia)
railway runs alongside the town, providing convenient communication with those cities.

History

Place of the future city of Wisaginia in a Polish map from 1920

Before

Wilno Voivodeship in Poland
.

The settlement was founded in 1975 as Sniečkus, a town for workers at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant on the shores of Lake Visaginas. It was established in place of four villages that were demolished, the largest of which was known as Visaginas. The new town was named after

President of Lithuania
.

The settlement was developed in complexes, with construction designed to create an infrastructure for the cultural and everyday life of the residents. Efforts were made to preserve the natural surroundings as much as possible.[4]

Population

In 1996, the population was 33,100, of which 55.68% were

Roman Catholics 27.29%, the Non-affiliated 27.29%, Old Believers 2.89% and Muslims 0.46%.[citation needed] In 2001, the population was 52.43% Russian, 14.96% Lithuanian and 32.61% other.[5] In 2011, the population was 22,361. Russians accounted for 52.16% (11,664) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians - 18.27% (4,086), Belarusians - 9.89% (2,211), Poles - 9.32% (2,084), and Ukrainians - 5.16% (1,154).[6] In 2021, the population was 19,633. Russians accounted for 47.36% (9,299) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians - 20.13% (3,953), Belarusians - 9.60% (1,884), Poles - 10.23% (2,009), and Ukrainians - 5.23% (1,027).[7]
This creates a distinctive cultural ambiance in the town.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
193130—    
197932,438+15.67%
198932,438+0.00%
YearPop.±% p.a.
200129,554−0.77%
201122,361−2.75%
202018,024−2.37%
Source: 1902, 1923, 1959 & 1970, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2011

Industry

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant
Column with a sculpture and a Geiger counter

Power was the main branch of industry: the country's only nuclear power plant, one of the world's most powerful, is situated near Visaginas. It ceased operations in December 2009 over safety concerns and is currently being decommissioned. Over 5,000 people were employed in the plant. There are opportunities to developing the construction industry in order to utilize the existing industrial potential (concrete, ferroconcrete, and wood), and also the electronics industry, polish and paint, and clothing. There are over 1,500 companies in the town active in light industry, trade and services.

Education, culture, and sports

Central Stadium

The town has a polytechnic school, six secondary schools, an elementary school, eight nursery schools, music and

festival "Visaginas Country" is held in the town.

Twin towns – sister cities

Visaginas is twinned with:[8]

References

  1. ^ "Visagino elektrinė: atominis miestas remia, bet netiki". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ (in Lithuanian) Brief history of the Visaginas municipality visaginas.lt
  3. ^ (in Lithuanian) Visaginas municipality lrvalstybe.lt
  4. ^ Rekasiute, Neringa (12 June 2019). "In a Soviet-era nuclear town, I brought Lithuania's forgotten side to light". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  5. ^ Rasa Baločkaitė. "Post-Soviet Transitions of the Planned Socialist Towns: Visaginas, Lithuania." Studies of Transition States and Societies. Vol. 2/Issue 2 (November 2010). p. 68.
  6. ^ "Miestų gyventojai pagal tautybę 2011". osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Official Statistics Portal". osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas" (in Lithuanian). Visagino savivaldybė. Retrieved 2022-03-13.

External links