Trakai

Sister cities

• Koszalin
• Schönebeck
• Lutsk
• Rheine
• Alanya
• Ivano-Frankivsk

History

The first settlements in this area appeared as early as the first millennium A.D. The city, as well as its surroundings, started developing in the 13th century in the place of Senieji Trakai (Old Trakai). According to a legend after a successful hunting party, Grand Duke Gediminas discovered a beautiful lake-surrounded place not far from Kernavė, then capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and decided to build a castle in the location. This was how the Old Trakai Castle was built in Senieji Trakai. The name of Trakai was first mentioned in Teutonic Knights' chronicles in 1337. This year is considered to be the official date of city's foundation. When Grand Duke Gediminas finally settled in Vilnius, Senieji Trakai was inherited by his son Kęstutis. The Duchy of Trakai developed and the city entered its best decades. Kęstutis moved the town from Senieji Trakai to its current location, which is sometimes known as Naujieji Trakai. The new location was a place of intensive construction: a new castle was built on the strait between lakes Galvė and Luka and known as the Peninsula Castle, and another one, known as the Island Castle, on an island in Lake Galvė. A village grew around the castles. The vicinity of Trakai was protected by Senieji Trakai, Strėva, Bražuolė, Daniliškės and other hillforts from attacks by the Teutonic Knights. Despite the protection, both wooden castles were successfully raided by the Teutonic Knights several times in a row. The town was in the center of a conflict between Grand Duke Jogaila (later to become King of Poland) with his uncle Kęstutis. In 1382 Jogaila's and Kęstutis's armies met near Trakai, but Jogaila tricked Kęstutis and imprisoned him in Kreva. A few weeks later Kęstutis died in captivity and Jogaila transferred the castles to his…

Geography

There are 200 lakes in the region, the deepest being Galvė with its 21 islands. Galvė covers an area of 3.88 km2, Vilkokšnis lake – 3.37 km2, the lake of Skaistis – 2.96 km2. There are Trakai Historical National Park and Aukštadvaris Regional Park founded in the territory of the region. Trakai Historical National Park was founded on 23 April 1991 to preserve Trakai as a centre of Lithuanian statehood as well as the park's authentic nature. The park covers 82 km2, 34 km2 of which are covered by forests, and 130 km2 of which are covered by lakes. Aukštadvaris Regional Park was founded in 1992 to preserve the valuable landscapes in the upper reaches of Verknė and Strėva. The area of the park is 153.5 km2, most of which is covered by forests. There are 72 lakes here, the biggest of which is Vilkokšnis. Trakai is a city built on water. The city is surrounded by the lakes of Luka (Bernardinai), Totoriškės, Galvė, Akmena, Gilušis. There are a number of architectural, cultural and historical monuments in Trakai. The history museum in the castle was established in 1962. Festivals and concerts take place in the island castle in summer.

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  857
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  828
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  819
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  563
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  542
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  468
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  441
• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  427