Elektrėnai

Infobox Settlement
name = Elektrėnai
nickname =
settlement_type= City
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Elektrėnai
image_shield = Elektrenai COA.gif
latd=54|latm=47|lats=10|latNS=N|longd=24|longm=39|longs=40|longEW=E
subdivision_type =Country
subdivision_name =LTU
subdivision_type1=Ethnographic region
subdivision_name1=Aukštaitija
subdivision_type2=County
subdivision_name2=Vilnius County
subdivision_type3=Municipality
subdivision_name3=Elektrėnai municipality
subdivision_type4=Eldership
subdivision_name4=Elektrėnai eldership
subdivision_type6=Capital of
subdivision_name6=Elektrėnai municipality
Elektrėnai eldership
established_date =1961
established_title=Established
established_date2=1962
established_title2=Granted city rights
population_total = 14050
population_as_of = 2001
population_footnotes=
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

Elektrėnai is a city of about 14,000 inhabitants in Lithuania; since 2000 it is the capital of the Elektrėnai municipality. It is conveniently situated between the two largest cities in Lithuania – Vilnius and Kaunas.

History

Elektrėnai is one of the newest towns of Lithuania, having been established during the Soviet times as the living space for workers of the nearby power plant. The name of the new town was derived from word "elektra" (English: "electricity"). Most of the buildings in Elektrėnai are large monolith housing projects built during the Soviet times and there are no historical buildings. The town, however, is close to Elektrėnai Lagoon, an artificial lake that was created in order to cool down the Elektrėnai power plant. The water is several degrees warmer than water at the other nearby lakes.

Ice hockey

Elektrėnai is famous for its tradition of ice hockey. For quite some time Elektrėnai was the only city with a large, well-equipped skating ring in Lithuania. Two NHL players - Darius Kasparaitis and Dainius Zubrus - were born in the town and trained by Aleksey Nikiforov, a famous coach who currently resides in Long Island. Local team Energija is the strongest ice hockey team in Lithuania and inhabitants of Elektrėnai make a considerable part of the national ice hockey team, despite the fact that the number of Elektėnai inhabitants makes only a very small portion of Lithuania's population.