Ažytėnai

55°27′40″N 23°37′19″E / 55.46111°N 23.62194°E / 55.46111; 23.62194Country LithuaniaCounty Kaunas CountyMunicipalityKėdainiai district municipalityEldershipKrakės EldershipPopulation • Total239Time zoneUTC+2 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Ažytėnai (formerly Polish: Ożytany,^[1] Russian: Ожетаны, Ожитаны) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of 239 people.^[2] It is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Krakės, by the Ažytė river and its tributary Ažytėlė. There are library, school, medicine station, agriculture cooperative.

Ažytėnai is famous for being a living place of Lithuanian writer, agronomist Mikalojus Katkus (1852–1944). His house now is a memorial museum.

History

On 1 April 1863 a big battle of the January Uprising occurred between Ažytėnai and Lenčiai villages. About 600 insurgents, led by Bolesław Kajetan Kolyszko, Bolesław Roman Dłuski and K. Ciszkewicz had confronted Russian imperial army. In 1910 the first school was opened in Ažytėnai.

During the Soviet era, Ažytėnai was a kolkhoz center and between 1950 and 1963 a selsovet center.^[3]

Demography

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1859 370 —     1902 450 +0.46% 1923 312 −1.73% 1959 265 −0.45% 1970 236 −1.05%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1979 289 +2.28% 1984 253 −2.63% 1989 322 +4.94% 2001 314 −0.21% 2011 239 −2.69%
Source: 1902, 1923, 1959 & 1970, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2011

Images

• 
  Mikalojus Katkus house
• 
  A barn in the Mikalojus Katkus homestead
• 
  Traditional house in Ažytėnai
• 
  Village cross

References