Czesław Miłosz was born on 30 June 1911 in Szetejniec, not far from Kėdainiai. In his works, the Nobel Prize winner often returned to his so-called small homeland, which for him was his native land: the area around Kėdainiai and the Niewiaža River flowing there, which the poet and prose writer immortalised in his novel Issa Valley. The novel's Issa is precisely the Nevaža.

Kėdainiai commemorated the Nobel laureate by awarding him the title of honorary citizen of the city in 1990. Two years later, Czeslaw Milosz visited his home town in the summer.

The short Kranto Street running along the bank of the Nemėžis River flowing through the town was also named after him, with the consent of the Kėdainians living there. The new street nameplate was unveiled on 6 July 2011, as part of the town's Day celebrations.

A Milosz Chair called the Milosz Chair was erected on the river bank in 2011. The Milosz Chair (Milošofonas), created by the Kėdainiai-based metalwork artist Feliksas Paulauskas, was placed on the riverbank in 2011.