Pravieniškės

History

One flint and two stone axes have been found in the village. About a hundred tumuli that date to the 9–11th centuries are located about east of the village. Bronius Kviklys wrote in his work Mūsų Lietuva that Pravieniškės was first mentioned in 1613, but this information cannot be verified. The first reliably known mention of the village comes from baptismal records of December 1769. The village developed after a train station was constructed in 1861 on the Vilnius–Kaunas Railway. The railroad culvert built across the Praviena stream is recognized as an engineering monument of heritage. On 14 July 1912, a fire broke out in the village. Fifteen residential buildings were destroyed. On 22 June 1941, at the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, German airplanes dropped two bombs on the village, hitting the train station building and the railroad tracks. Sometime in fall 1942 – winter 1943, Soviet partisans burned down fuel storage in Pravieniškės. On 26 July 1944, the village saw some action between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army: Germans tried to counterattack to keep the railway station, but lost two armored vehicles and were pushed back by the Russians who lost twelve men. During the post-war years, village residents suffered from Soviet repressions. At least 10 residents were arrested and at least 13 were deported to Siberia in 1944–1951. The village established a collective farm (kolkhoz) in April 1950. It was named "Path to Freedom" (). In 1963, school children accidentally found remains of a Soviet airplane in a nearby forest. It was determined that the plane, piloted by Dmitrijus Otiakovskis, was shot down by the Germans on 26 June 1944. A memorial, featuring a blue propeller, was built in 1986. The village's coat of arms were approved by…

Geography

Pravieniškės is situated along the river (right tributary of the Neman River). It is located about east of Kaunas and west of Kaišiadorys. The village is surrounded by a forest that spans and is part of the larger Gaižiūnai Forest. The village also has peat deposits that measure about .

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,081
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,078
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  979
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  878
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  833
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  805
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  766
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  678