Biržai

Biržai

 

a city; center of Biržai Raion, Lithuanian SSR. Located near Lake Sirven on the Apaščia River. Terminal station of a railroad branch from Siauliai (67 km). Population, 10,100 (1968). There are a flax-weaving factory, a flax-processing plant, a plant for reinforced-concrete structures, a brewery, a cannery, and a butter plant. The city also has a museum of local lore. Birzai has been a city since 1589; the ruins of an ancient castle have been preserved. Two geological preserves with karst depressions and downwarps and the Likenai balneological health resort are located nearby.