Grigiškės


Grigiškės '' is a town in the Vilnius city municipality, Lithuania. It is an industrial town with AB Grigiškės, a major paper factory built in 1923. Grigiškės is situated on the both banks of the Vokė river, south from the river Neris.

History

Mounds from the 5th to 10th centuries show that the surrounding lands have been inhabited for a long time. Kunigiškės, Kauno Vokė and Salos-Afindevičiai villages were there, modern Grigiškės settlement was founded only in the 20th century.
The name in 1923 was given by Hrihoriy Kurec, a Belarusian industrialist, who built a paper and cardboard factory and a water power plant with a unique Grigiškės water aqueduct.
In the aftermath of World War II, factory was expanded, many new workplaces were created and returning Belarusian workers from Siberia, who were prohibited to live in Vilnius, settled here. In the Soviet era, Grigiškės factory also manufactured fiberboards.
On 15 May 1958, Grigiškės became an urban-type settlement and the first Lithuanian schools were established. In 1968, a library was built. On 10 December 1996, by the decree of the Lithuanian president, Grigiškės coat-of-arms was finally validated. Since 19 March 2000, Grigiškės has been part of Vilnius city municipality.