History

FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF THE COUNTRY OF MOLETAI

People live in Molėtai already before Christ. However, this settlement was first mentioned in historical sources in 1387, when Grand Duke Jogaila donated it to the Bishop of Vilnius on the occasion of Lithuania's baptism. About 1517 Molėtai manor was established, and breweries and distilleries operated there. Before 1522 a church was built. 1539 Molėtai is already called a town. After the third division of Rzeczpospolita in 1795. The manor of Molėtai went to the noble Pamarneckis, later to the Huten-Čapskis. The town expanded northeast of the manor. 1866 There was only one street in Molėtai - along the road to Utena. In place of the parish school in 1777. was established in 1867. official. Before the war, Molėtai was the center of the county. On several occasions, the town was almost completely destroyed by fires. The last one destroyed everything in 1949. in the summer. Only a brick red brick merchant building remained in the center. 1956 Molėtai became a city.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME

The origin of the name Molėtai is not really clarified. According to the legend, Molėtai was once a large city. It occupied a large area with as many as seven churches. Maybe the place name should have come from the word "clay", but Molėtai is not in a mole, but in a sandy place. In some dialects, the generic noun "clay" means meadow, in others clay soil. 1884 Lake Siesartis is called Maliaty in a geography guide published in Warsaw. Scientists believe that the previous name of the lake was Molėtai. This has to do with the interpretation of the origin of the city name. The legend about the origin of Molėtai tells that one nobleman, while driving a carriage to Utena, got stuck in the clay and could not get out of there. He cried out to help people, but they couldn’t help either. Then the nobility settled in this land and called the town Molėtai.

COAT OF ARMS OF MOLĖTAI CITY

The coat of arms of Molėtai is in a silver shield field, with blue gulls flying upwards, a red shield head with a golden key. Although Molėtai is an old settlement, it was granted city rights only in 1950. 1970 a coat of arms was created. The key symbol was used at the suggestion of art critic Stasys Pinkas, as Molėtai has long been an old administrative center. Kirai (seagulls) symbolize the spa beauty of the country, the favorite resting places of Vilnius residents. The coat of arms was abolished in the same year. According to the 1970 The coat of arms of Molėtai (painter M. Jonaitienė (Urmanavičiūtė)) was approved by the President of the Republic of Lithuania in 1997. June 27