JAŠIŪNŲ FACTORY HISTORY

Mykolas Balinskis (in Polish Michał Baliński)

History of the factory in Jašiūnai

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, Jašiūnai was one of the most important centers of industrial enterprises and technological progress in Southeastern Lithuania. The owners of the Jašiūnai Manor, the Balinski family, who had acquired the estate from the Radziwiłł family, recognized the significance of industry early on and began establishing workshops, factories, and plants.

One of these factories, a distillery, began operations in 1904 when the manor's owner, Mykolas Balinskis, requested a commission to accept the newly built vodka distillery for operation. This request, found in the archives of the Vilnius University Library, marks the founding year of the distillery. In 1906, on August 27, representatives of the Jašiūnai Distillery approached the Vodka Distillation Supervision Committee under the Vilnius Agricultural Society, requesting the establishment of a more precise production rate for one bucket of 40-degree alcohol. They also inquired about that year's potato harvest. These were the initial steps that led to the production of alcohol, which continued until 1959.



It is believed that during World War II, the distillery could produce about 85,000 liters of pure alcohol per season. The produced vodka had an approximate strength of 30 degrees. The Balinski family maintained ownership of the manor until 1939, departing on September 18 of that year, when the Soviet Red Army entered Jašiūnai. In 1959, the production of spirit vinegar began, continuing the traditions to this day.