Žverynas
Encyclopedia
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, 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...
. According to the 2001 census, about 12,000 people live within a 2.6 km² area. It lies on the banks of the Neris
Neris
Neris is a river rising in Belarus, flowing through Vilnius and becoming a tributary of the Neman River at Kaunas...
River, and is situated to the west of the Lithuanian Parliament
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
building. The river surrounds it from three sides and isolates it from the city. On the other side of the river, to the northwest, lies Vingis Park
Vingis Park
Vingis Park is the largest park in Vilnius, Lithuania. Located at a curve in the Neris River, it covers . It is used as a venue for various events, especially concerts and sports competitions....
.
History
Originally the district belonged to the Radziwiłł family, who maintained wild animals in the area for hunting purposes (hence the name). In 1825, a summer house was built which later became the residence of the Governor General of the Vilna GovernorateVilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
. At the end of the 19th century, Žvėrynas became the property of businessmen who in turn sold individual tracks of land to the city's residents. In 1901, it was incorporated into the city. Žvėrynas was the first planned neighborhood with straight streets and rectangular blocks. It remained mostly residential with very few industrial enterprises. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, Žvėrynas became one of its more prestigious neighborhoods. Žvėrynas has a number of government and educational institutions, finance and insurance companies, as well as health care institutions. Žvėrynas is the site of Vilnius' only kenesa
Kenesa
Kenesa is the term for a Karaite or Persian synagogue. The word derives from the Aramaic word for "assembly" .-Layout:...
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