Dotnuva

History

The first mention of the name Dotnuva was in 1372. The Dotnuva estate was known from the 16th century. In 1636, the first wooden church was built. The Polish-Lithuanian Brzostowski family, the owners of surrounding land and town, invited Bernardines from Vilnius and in 1701, a Bernardine monastery was established in the town. The monastery was begun in 1768 and the church in 1773–1810. This monastery also kept the primary school similar to the other Bernardine monasteries. The school was opened in 1796 and in beginning of the 19th century grew to the level of high school (gymnasium). But as the monks got involved in the 1831 Uprising against Russian rule, the school was closed in 1836. The town has a long history of farming education. In 1911–1914 Pyotr Stolypin founded the farming school in the old estate. A new building for this school was built (destroyed in 1944). In 1924, Dotnuva Agricultural College was founded at the Dotnuva estate, today called Akademija. During the Soviet occupation on 26 February 1947, the first kolkhoz in Lithuania – the Marytės Melnikaitės kolūkis – was established nearby.

Most-observed species

• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  38
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  37
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  37
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  34
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27
• White Stork

  Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22