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 NEMENCHINSKI

 
     
  K A U N A S,  L I T H U A N I A  
 
 
 
 

         
   

Kaunas is located in central Lithuania, at coordinates: 54° 54' N / 23° 54' E

- 58.3 miles WNW of Vilnius [Vilna]
- Presently in Kaunas District
- Formerly in Kovno Gubernia

Kaunas is the current Lithuanian spelling.
In Yiddish it was known as Kovno, Kowno or Kovna.
In German it was known as Kauen.
Kaunas in Russian: Kovno in Russian:

   

 

Jewish Population (Based on Census Pre-War Figures) = 25,044
From Black Book of Localities Whose Jewish Population Was Exterminated By the Nazis
Published by Yad Vashem, 1965, Jerusalem

 
     
 

GENERAL POPULATION STATISTICS

Year Number of Inhabitants   Year Number of Inhabitants
1723 28.000   1923 92.000
1796 8.500   1940 154.000
1813 3.000   1959 214.000
1825 5.000   1966 275.000
1840 8.500   1989 418.087
1860 23.300   2001 378.943
1897 71.000   2005 361.274
 
     
 

ETHNIC GROUP STATISTICS

Group   1919   1939   2001
Poles   42%   10%   0.4%
Jews   31%   25%   --
Lithuanians   16%   60%   92.9%
Russians   1.5%       4.4%
Others   1%   5%   1.8%
Ukrainians           0.5%
 

 

About Kaunas
From Yahadut Lita (Lithuanian Jewry), Volume 3
Published by The Association of The Lithuanian Jews in Israel, 1967, Tel Aviv

[To be translated]

 

 
 

Coat of Arms - Kaunas received city rights in February 1408 from Grand Duke Vytautas. The oldest seals of Kaunas date from the late 15th century and show a shield with an ox walking upwards. The ox was a highly prized and revered beasts and only the dukes and high nobility were allowed to hunt them. It was probably chosen as a symbol for strength and honour. On the second seal, dating from 1492 a small cross appears above the back of the ox. It was the cross of the Teutonic Order and added as a symbol for the German community in the city.

 

 
 
 
 

 

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