Utena manor
Both the settlement and the manor are one of the oldest ones in Lithuania. The mentioning of the regional duke Daumantas and Utena dates back to the middle of the XIIIc. (1261). There, where in about 1280 was a castle – on Narkūnai hillfort – Utena did not survive. The manor and the township evolved around the confluence of the rivers Krašuona, Vieša and Utenėlė. The manor was built nearer to the Krašuona river and the township west of it. Already in the XVc. feudal lords’ land (domain) was tilled by serfs. A century later an estate appeared. When in the XVc. Utena became the neighborhood of the castle and when after the wars with Livonia the castle was destroyed, in the present location Utena manor and the center of valsčius evolved. Utena manor belonged to the court of Grand Duke Alexander. Duke Mykolas Glinskis was appointed the supervisor of the manor. In this way, a sovereign manor with a township appeared which separated from the valsčius and paid separate taxes to the manor. Under the rule of Joachimas Bielskis the manor’s buildings were poor and they belonged to Utena neighborhood. The first elder was Jonas Liutaveras Chreptavičius. The sovereign manor was managed by 15 representatives. The manor and the township belonged to the ruler who appointed representatives. When there was shortage of money in the ruler’s treasury, the manor would be pledged to nobles. In 1518 Utena manor with the township and valsčius’ inhabitants as collateral was given to the nobleman Grigalius Astikas. A year later to Albertas Goštautas, who, when he became the voivode of Vilnius, was ordered to sell the royal Utena manor’s lands and servants to duke Andrius Masalskis. Since 1527 the manor was owned by Motiejus Miknavičius, Aleksas Paulavičius and others. In 1522 the Grand Duke of Lithuania donated some land from Utena and Užpaliai manors to Utena church. After invasions of the Swedish and then Russians at the beginning of the XVIIIc., by the decision of Seimas Utena manor was transferred to the Russians from Smolensk. Since the end of the XVIIIc. Utena manor with 3000 tithes of land fell into the hands of private landlords Strutinskiai. In the inventory act of 1596-12-31, which was compiled after the rule of the lord Joachimas Bielskis and now kept in the library of Vilnius University, when transferring the manor to A. and M. Cikauskai, it is said that the manor is very neglected: hallways without doors, without hinges, large windows without glass, without shutters, the same condition of side chambers. Next to the smaller house there is a palace with a big dining room, five frameless windows, in the other house there is a kitchen and a brewery. The third house is empty with a door-less hallway. The buildings are wooden, plastered. The small bread bakery has no doors, nearby there are stables and two granaries, which are empty.
In 1667 by the demand of the Seimas Utena manor with the valsčius fell into the Russians’ hands, later Polish landlords. Serfdom economy was developing, the countryside was becoming poorer, but the estate of the manor was growing. During the reforms of Žygimantas Augustas (XVIc.) Utena with the environs was assigned to Vilkmergė (Ukmergė) pavietas (powiat). In 1774, 150 peasants and 8 šlėktos (noble) yards belonged to Utena, Noliškis and Dičiūnai manors. In 1731, Utena manor was divided between A. Bilevičius and Strutinskis. In the XVIIIc. the Swedes burnt all Utena, then famine and plague started. In 1853 there were 26 inhabitants in the manor, 18 of whom were hired workers. Aleksandras Lučka was the representative of the manor, Anupras Šlepetys, the steward. In 1855 the manor fell into private Pilsudskis’ hands. To Utena parish also belonged Suginčiai with environs and marshal’s Juozapas Pilsudskis’ mother lived in the manor. It is written that he acquired the land with 768 serfs from Utena. Later he transferred Utena manor to Kriauzė, a brutal German. In 1853–1861 Utena manor was managed by Aleksandras Lučka. Apparently, Kriauzė did not live there but had the steward of the manor. There also were the Kriauzės in Obeliai manor. In autumn of 1856 the serfs of Utena manor revolted against Kriauzė. They were led by Bizokas, Katilius, Postelis. Even gendarmes were of no use. After complaints that were handed in to the Tsar who was travelling nearby, Kriauzė was removed. In 1881 in the census of Utena parish, in Utena manor there lived 65-year-old Aleksandras Balcevičius with his 36-year-old wife Teodora and 4 children. The new landlord came from Gaideliai manor. He was the works contractor of the highway Kaunas-Daugpilis, and he built still existing two-storey, red-brick palace of the manor, outbuildings and planted the gardens. He loved hunting and kept a lot of greyhounds. When he died (his grave is in the center of Utena parish graveyard), the manor was supervised by his wife Teodora. In 1883 in Balcevičiai manor there were workers’ strikes. There were litigations for the right to Ąžuolija pastures. In 1892, in Utena’s parish book there is written Teodora Balcevičienė with sons Aleksandras, Teodoras and daughter Teodora, that she owned 3000 tithes of land with Ąžuolija forests, estates and remote places. The landlords allotted quite a lot of land to their children – in this way, estates for their children appeared: Aleksandruvka, Teodoruvka, Januvka. In 1897 in the manor there lived 26 inhabitants. Till nowadays there have survived the house for farmhands (later a house for beggars) nearby the manor, old lindens near the cemetery and the manor, where there used to be troughs used for whipping serfs. The barn and threshing-floor barn have also remained. Recently the red poles of the gate of the manor were pulled down, which were just near the present Špokinė. During the WWI the manor palace was occupied by German, Russian and Lithuanian troops; then, “Saulė“ gymnasium was established there. The columns of the palace were pulled down and Baroque embellishments on the pediment were destroyed. In 1925 Utena manor was completely sold out – the Balcevičiai were left with 81ha of land. In the large plan of parceling it is recorded that before parceling the manor owned 655ha more and also dozen hectares in Paraudė, Liaumuškos, Podkiegeliai single homesteads.
