Alanta
{{about|the town in Lithuania|the mountain in Peru whose name is also spelled "Alanta"|Jalanta}}
{{distinguish|Atlanta}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Alanta
|nickname = Alunta
|timezone=EET
|utc_offset=+2
|timezone_DST=EEST
|utc_offset_DST=+3
|leader_title =
|postal_code_type =
|image_map =
|map_caption = Location of Alanta
|image_shield = Alanta COA.png
|image_skyline = Alanta church.jpg
|image_caption =St. Jacob's church in Alanta
|pushpin_map =Lithuania
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption =Location of Alanta
|pushpin_mapsize =
|coordinates = {{coord|55|21|N|25|17|E|region:LT|display=inline,title}}
|
| subdivision_type =Country
| subdivision_name ={{LTU}}
| subdivision_type1 =Ethnographic region
| subdivision_name1 =Aukštaitija
| subdivision_type2 =County
| subdivision_name2 =17px Utena County
| subdivision_type3 =Municipality
| subdivision_name3 =Molėtai district municipality
| subdivision_type4 =Elderate
| subdivision_name4 =Alanta elderate
| subdivision_type6 =Seat of
| subdivision_name6 =Alanta elderate
| established_date =1436
| established_title =First mentioned
| established_date2 =
| population_total = 348
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_blank1 =
}}
Alanta (dialectal Aukštaitian name Alunta, {{langx|pl|Owanta}}, Yiddish אַוואָנטע) is a small town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2011, Alanta had 348 residents.{{cite web|url=http://statistics.bookdesign.lt/table_125_06.htm?lang=en|title=2011 census|publisher=Statistikos Departamentas (Lithuania)|accessdate=August 16, 2017}} It is situated at the crossing of two roads: Molėtai–Anykščiai and Utena–Alanta–Ukmergė. The town's St. Jacob's church was built in 1909.
The Synagogue of Alanta is one of only 17 surviving wooden synagogues in Lithuania.{{cite web|url=https://www.jewish-heritage-lithuania.org/lt/medines-sinagogos/alantos-medine-sinagoga/ |title= Alantos sinagoga |date= 2 May 2019 | publisher= jewish-heritage-lithuania.org }}
Etymology of the name
The name of the town is derived from the Alanta River, tributary of Virinta. The name of the river is derived from an ancient Lithuanian verb "alėti", which means 'to stream merrily' or 'to run'.
History
In 1436, Sigismund Kestutaitis granted Alanta to Kristinas Astikas to commend him for his aid in defeating Švitrigaila in the Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435). In the 16th century, the town's Catholic church was built, and in 1581 the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory gifted Alanta to Gáspár Békés ({{langx|lt|Kasparas Bekešas}}), a Hungarian general. After 1598 the town belonged to Radziwiłł family and from 1828 until the World War I it belonged to the Pamarnacki family. From the 18th century to the Lithuanian Uprising of 1863, Alanta had a parish school.
Alanta suffered heavily from many wars, including Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire, World War I and World War II, because of its location on the crossing of two important roads.
The entire Jewish community of 30 families,{{cite web| url = http://dbs.bh.org.il/place/alunta| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202020822/http://dbs.bh.org.il/place/alunta| archive-date = 2017-02-02| title = BHS}} which comprised the majority of the population of Alanta, was killed during the Holocaust in August 1941.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_lita/lit_00138.html|title = Pinkas Hakehillot Lita: Alunta}} Alanta has a rare, surviving wooden synagogue.Center for Jewish Art (2004). "Preserved Wooden Synagogues in Lithuania". The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved on December 17, 2008. {{cite web|url=http://cja.huji.ac.il/Architecture/Wooden-synagogues-Lithuania.htm |title=Wooden Synagogues in Lithuania |accessdate=2008-12-17 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070805112653/http://cja.huji.ac.il/Architecture/Wooden-synagogues-Lithuania.htm |archivedate=2007-08-05 }}
Palace of Alanta estate
The palace of the estate, which houses a library and an ethnographic museum, has been renovated and its park trimmed. The founder of the Alanta library, Elvyra Satkūnaitė, was named "The best librarian of Lithuania" in 1996.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{in lang|lt}} [http://www.alunta.lt Website of Alanta]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070428144324/http://www.heritage.lt/restauravimas/utenos_aps/alantos_dvaras.htm The estate of Alanta before renovation]
{{Utena County}}
{{Authority control}}