Upninkai is the largest village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in Jonava district, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It is situated 8 km southwest of Vepriai

Vepriai

Vepriai is the largest town in Ukmergė district, Lithuania, situated south-west of Ukmergė with population of about 1,000 . The capital of Vepriai elderate.-History:Vepriai was founded on a hill near Vepriai Lake and south of Šventoji River...

 on the left bank of the Šventoji River

Šventoji River

The Šventoji River is the longest river that flows entirely within Lithuania and the largest tributary of the Neris River. It originates from the Lake Samanis in the Gražutė Regional Park and flows into Neris near Jonava. The longest tributary of the Šventoji is the Širvinta River.The Šventoji...

. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 1019.

History

Upninkai was first mentioned in 1442 in the will

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...

 of Kristinas Astikas

Kristinas Astikas

Kristinas Astikas was a leading Lithuanian noble and statesman of the Astikai family. Kristinas was a supporter and a companion of Vytautas the Great, his brother Sigismund Kestutaitis and nephew Casimir Jagiellon, he became the Castellan of Vilnius in 1419.Kristinas is mentioned in 1389 in the...

 who was the first known lord of Upninkai lands. His son Radvila Astikas

Radvila Astikas

Radvila Astikas was a Lithuanian magnate, a member of the Astikai family of Vilnius. He was one of the most influential people in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was a member of the Lithuanian Council of Lords and was even credited as a pretender to its throne instead of Casimir Jagiellon.He was...

 built the first church there before 1477. The village had a Protestant church from the late 16th century until 1650. During the 17th century, Upninkai competed with Ukmergė

Ukmerge

-Early history:Ukmergė was first mentioned as a settlement in 1333. It was essentially a wooden fortress that stood on a hill, near the confluence of the Vilkmergė River and the Šventoji River. Ukmergė was attacked by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order in 1333, 1365, 1378, 1386, and even...

 for trade and influence. In 1842, the entire town burned down and did not recover. A persistent priest converted surviving former manor's brick granary

Granary

A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...

 into the present Neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 Roman Catholic church of Archangel Michael. According to the census of 1923

Lithuanian census of 1923

The Lithuanian census of 1923 was performed between September 17 and September 23, several years after Lithuania re-established its independence in 1918. It was mandated by the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in 1922. The census counted the total population of 2,028,971...

, Upninkai had 75 residents. The population grew more than ten-fold between 1970 and 1979, increasing from 67 to 847.