LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Tautos; The Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Nations.
ENKėdainiai is a peculiar town in the centre of Lithuania. From its establishment the town always entertained relations with other countries, nations and religions. Even the name of Kėdainiai, first recorded in written sources in 1372 in the Chronicle of Livonia, was mentioned by the German Hermann Wartberge, whose countrymen, the Swordbearers, devastated the central part of Lithuania. In the second half of the 15th century, the activity of the German Hansa merchants had a strong influence on Kėdainiai. Having established their factory (Kontor) in Kaunas in 1445, the Hansa merchants engaged in shipping on the river Nevėžis and actively traded with Kėdainiai. This follows from the fact that Kėdainiai is mentioned in 1471 among five towns of the Great Duchy of Lithuania that traded with the Hansa: Vilnius, Kaunas, Grodno and New Trakai. These commercial contacts had a great impact on the town’s growth. It is no coincidence that the Polish Chronicler Jan Długosz used the term oppidum or ‘town’ with reference to Kėdainiai in 1480. [From the publication]