Veliuona
Town
Official seal of Veliuona
Seal
Veliuona is located in Lithuania
Veliuona
Veliuona
Coordinates: 55°4′56″N 23°16′16″E / 55.08222°N 23.27111°E / 55.08222; 23.27111
Country Lithuania
CountyTauragė County
Population
 (2011)
 • Total726
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Veliuona (Samogitian: Veliouna, Polish: Wielona, German: Wehlonen) is a small town on the Nemunas River in the Jurbarkas district municipality in Lithuania.

History

Veliuona (also known as Junigeda) was first mentioned in 1291 in the chronicle of Peter of Duisburg. The town is primarily known as the burial place of Gediminas. An old church, founded by Vytautas the Great in 1421, was rebuilt and enlarged in 1636. In 1501–1506 m. Veliuona was granted Magdeburg rights by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Alexander Jagiellon. In the 18th century Veliuona belonged to prince Józef Poniatowski, in the 19th century to the Zalewski family. In July 1941,[1] an Einsatzgruppen of German and Lithuanian nationalists murdered dozens of Jews from the town in mass executions.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania".
  2. ↑ "Holocaust Atlas of Lithuania".


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