Rokiskis

It is located on the border with Latvia , 158 km from Vilnius , 165 from Kaunas and 63 km from Utena . Railway station on the line Panevezys - Daugavpils . The Laukupe River flows through the city , 6 km from the city the Memele River originates.

Population dynamics from 1823 to 2017
1823	1868 * [5]	1897 per.	1899 * [1]	1923 per.	1931	1939
200	529	2700	3000	4325	4630	5480
1959 per.	1970 per. [6]	1976 [7] [8]	1979 per.	1989 per.	2001 per.	2011 per.
5500	9153	11 800	13 192	17 826	16,746	14 351
2017	-	-	-	-	-	-
12 738	-	-	-	-	-	-
* pagal enciklopedijos išleidimo metus. Metai, kurių duomenys pateikti enciklopedijoje, nenurodyti.
Bar graph of population dynamics

According to the 2011 census, out of 14,351 residents, 13,214 (92.08%) are Lithuanians, 901 (6.28%) are Russians, 56 (0.39%) are Poles, 37 (0.26%) are Belarusians, 35 (0.24%) - Ukrainians, 108 (0.75%) - others ^[9] .

The name is derived from the name or surname of Rokas .

The earliest mention of the Rokiskis manor in written sources dates back to 1499 and is related to the privilege of Grand Duke Alexander on logging. The first mention of the parish church in this place dates back to 1500 ^[10] . As the city was mentioned in 1516. In 1523 it became the property of the princes Kroshinsky. Was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of the Commonwealth . In the years 1655-1660. during the Northern War, the city ​​was badly damaged by the Swedish army ^[2] . In 1715, the owners of Rokiskis were counts of Tizengauzen , who transferred the family estate from Postavy here .

Until the 18th century, the city was formed in accordance with a radical plan, in the 1770s. reorganized in accordance with the principles of classic planning: next to the old radial part, a new regular rectangular network of streets with a rectangular market square in the center was created ^[2] . The compositional axis of the city ensemble (about 2 km long) passes through the territory of the palace estate with ponds on its sides, through an oblong market square with the building of shopping arcades and is closed by a large neo-Gothic church. Presumably, the creation of the ensemble belongs to the architect Laurinas Stuoka-Gutsevičius ^{[11] [12]} .

In the 19th century, on the initiative of Ignatius Tiesenhausen, shopping malls, a hotel, a brewery, a brick factory, a mill, a hospital and a school were built in Rokiskis.

During the third partition of Poland in 1795, he moved to the Russian Empire . Until 1843, it was part of the Vilnius province . In 1843, a place in the Novoaleksandrovsky district was transferred to the educated Coven province .

Significant growth of the town began in 1873 after the construction of the Dvinsk - Libava railway line, which passed through Rakiski. At the end of the XIX century, 3000 inhabitants lived in Rakishki. In 1897, the Jewish population was 75% ^[13] . There was a Catholic church , a synagogue, an almshouse, a school, a brewery ^[1] .

In 1868-1885 At the expense of Reynold Tiesenhausen and Maria Pshedetskaya-Tizengauzen, the Church of St. Matthew was built .

In 1878, at the initiative of Maria Pshedetskaya-Tizengauzen, a children's music school was created in the Rokiskis estate, in which classical musicians of Lithuanian music received a musical education: M. Petrauskas , J. Tallat-Kelpša , J. Gruodis et al. ^{[14] [2]} In 1903, the school was led by Rudolf Liman.

During the First World War from the summer of 1915 until 1918 it was occupied by the German army. Most of the Jews in the city fled to the interior of Russia. Since 1916 it became the administrative center of the county. After the end of the war and until 1940, it was part of Lithuania . Re-received the rights of the city in 1920. In 1923, the Jewish community of Rokiskis totaled 2,013 people.

In 1928, an agricultural machinery factory was established. By 1930, the city had about 130 stores, 15 banks and commercial institutions, 9 small factories and 28 workshops, a dairy farm, 3 elementary schools, a gymnasium, a Jewish religious school, a needlework and cooking school for girls, a hospital, a library, 2 bookstores Cinema ^[2] . In 1931, a monument dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Lithuania's independence was opened in the central square in front of the church (sculptor R. Antinis ).

C 1940 as part of the Lithuanian SSR . In the period 1940-1941 and 1944-1953. 155 residents were deported ^[2] . In 1940, the Rokiskis estate was nationalized; the museum of local lore was located in the main building of the estate.

During World War II , June 27, 1941 was occupied by the German army ^[15] . Since June 1941, the Einsatzgruppen began executions of the Jewish population, communists and Soviet prisoners of war ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} . On August 15-16, 1941, according to Jäger's report , 3207 Jews, partisans and communists were killed ^[20] . The remaining Jews were deported to the ghetto in Joniskis and killed there.

On July 31, 1944, the city ​​was liberated by the troops of the First Baltic Front during the Šiauliai operation ^[15] . Since 1950, it was the center of the Rokiski district of the Lithuanian SSR. Since 1991 as part of Lithuania. Since 1993 it has been the center of the Rokiski city headman. In 1993, the emblem and flag of the city were approved. In the same year, the historical center of the city was included in the Register of Cultural Property of the Republic of Lithuania (code 17102) ^[2] .

In 1999, in honor of the 500th anniversary of the city, a monument to the Arch was erected on Independence Square. The authors of the project are Leonas улкиulkis, Gediminas сulkis, Eliana Buchute and Lada Markeevaite.

In the XIX century, the Rokiskis estate was one of the largest suppliers of flax fiber, flax and hemp seeds in Lithuania ^[21] . In Soviet times, the Pilot Plant of Agricultural Machines, a cheese factory, a cannery and a feed mill, and a sewing factory worked. Between 1965 and 1985 An airport operated from Rokiskis, from which there were regular flights to Vilnius.

Currently, the office of Rokiškio sūris , the largest Lithuanian dairy producer, is located in Rokiskis. Rokiskyuris grew out of a small company founded in 1925 on the basis of the Tizengauzen dairy farm. In 1964, a cheese factory was built.

Another important enterprise is the Rokiš machine-building plant ( lit. Rokiškio mašinų gamykla ), which produces agricultural machinery.

• Neo-Gothic Church of St. Matthew (built in 1877, interior decoration completed in 1885)
• Rokiski Kalwaria
• Rokiskis Manor
• Doll house
• Länginas пyapki Central City Park

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  Rokiskis Manor

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  Independence Square Building

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  Church of St. Matthew

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  Independence Monument

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  Republican street

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  City center

The city has 1 gymnasium and 2 gymnasiums, 3 kindergartens, a library of Juozas Kelitis. In addition, the city has a branch of Panevezys College (the former Rokiski School of Culture), Rokiska School of Technology, Business and Agriculture, and the Center for Adult and Youth Education. Since 1932, the museum of local lore has been operating in the city (located in the main building of the Rokiskis manor).

The city has an amateur theater. There are two theater festivals in Rokiskis - the National Festival of Theater of the Republic and the international festival "Interrampa".

• Algirdas Brazauskas - Lithuanian statesman, President of the Republic of Lithuania (1993-1998), Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania (2001-2006)
• Bronius Brujas - Lithuanian stained glass artist
• Iolanta Vilyutite - Lithuanian basketball player
• Loreta Grauginene - Lithuanian political and public figure
• Monika Mironaitė - Lithuanian theater actress
• Yakov Smushkevich - Soviet military leader
• Raividas Stanis - Lithuanian athlete, high jumper
• Anthony Urbsch - Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church

•   Poland Pabianice
•   Belarus Pastavy

• Miškinis, A. Rokiškis // Vidurio Lietuvos miestai ir miesteliai. - Vilnius: Savastis, 2009 .-- S. 100-136. (lit.)
• Miškinis, A. Rokiškis // Rokiškis. Miestas. Kraštas, Žmonės. - Vilnius: Diemedžio leidykla, 1999 .-- pp. 83-146. (lit.)
• Rokiškis // Mūsų Lietuva. - Boston: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla, 1965. - T. 2. - S. 136. (lit.)

• Rokiškio rajono savivaldybė (lit.)
• Rokiškio miesto istorinė dalis // Kultūros vertybių registras (lit.)