Kupiškis is a small town in the North East of Lithuania. It is the centre of the district municipal administration. It is also a cultural and industrial centre of local significance. The town was named after the River Kupa. It was founded somewhat upstream from the place where the Kupa and the Levens flow together.
The archaeological findings provide evidence that even in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. people dwelt in the surroundings of Kupiskis. However, there is no information on when the very settlement was founded. The findings around the mound show that in the 8th century A.D. a wooden defence castle loomed there.
Kupiskis, as a town of Zygimantas the Elder, the ruler of Lithuania, was first mentioned in historical sources in 1529. In 1561-1565, it was the centre of a small rural district and belonged to Upyte and later — to Ukmerge districts. At that time the main road from Vilnius to Riga went via Kupiskis.
In the early centuries, Kupiskis region peasants shared the glories of growing the best marketable flax with Rokiskis peasants. Kupiskis was the centre of trading in flax. This is evidenced by the first still existing stone building of the town — flax warehouse, built in the first half of the 18th century.
In 1616, the first Catholic church was built in Kupiskis. In 1781, the first school of Lankasteriai family was established.
Kupiskis was several times devastated by fires. However, the railway line Daugpilis-Siauliai-Liepoja, built in 1873, contributed to its revival and it was slowly growing despite of wars and occupations.