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Varėna District Municipality Varėnos rajono savivaldybė
Municipality
FlagCoat of armsBrandmark
Location in Lithuania
Map of Varėna district municipality
Coordinates: 54°13′N 24°34′E / 54.217°N 24.567°E / 54.217; 24.567
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Dzūkija
County	Alytus County
Capital	Varėna
Elderships	8
Government
• Type	City Council
• Body	Varėna Council
• Mayor	Algis Kašėta (PAC)
• Leading	Political Committee 9 / 25
Area
• Total	2,218 km (856 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Population
• Total	19,918
• Rank	41st
• Density	9.0/km (23/sq mi)
• Rank	60th
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Telephone code	310
Major settlements	Varėna (pop. 7,794)
Website	www.varena.lt/en

Varėna District Municipality (Lithuanian: Varėnos rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Alytus County in southern Lithuania.

History

Along with Vilnius region, a large part of Varėna District Municipality was on the Polish side of not-mutually recognized border during the interwar period. This was mainly due to the strategic Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway. Unlike in neighboring regions, where the number of Poles is high, the territories now comprising the municipality always had a Lithuanian majority. The Varėna District, as it was then called, was formed during the Soviet Union, with the small town of Varėna chosen as the capital. Varėna was chosen over the then much larger Senoji Varėna (literally "Old Varėna") as the capital, due to its proximity to a railroad. It only became the center of region in the 1970s when it underwent industrialization under Soviet leadership. During a municipality reform the territory was renamed to Varėna District Municipality and the westernmost parts of it ceded to Druskininkai Municipality.

Geography

Most of the municipality is covered by forests and swamps, it is the largest and least densely populated municipality of Lithuania. It borders Druskininkai Municipality to the west, Alytus District Municipality to the northwest, Trakai District Municipality to the northeast, and Šalčininkai District Municipality also to the west. To the south it shares a border with Belarus.

The district is in the Nemunas Basin. The Nemunas itself passes by its western edge while the Merkys (with its tributaries Ūla, Grūda, Varėnė) is the main watercourse. There is the largest march in Lithuania the Čepkeliai March which is declared as a strict natural reserve. There are more than 100 lakes. Most of them are small, endorhetic, while some, like Ilgis, Nedingis, Lavysas, Glėbas, are larger.

68.9% of the district's territory is occupied by forests, mostly, by the Dainava Forest (ancient Hrodna Wood), the largest in the country. There are circa 40 nature monuments - old pine trees used for beekeeping, some outcrops, unique geological landforms.

The main part of the district is in the Dainava Plain. North-western side is covered by the Dzūkian Highland, while eastern side is in the Eišiškės Plateau where is the highest point of Varėna District Municipality - the Riliškiai Hill (193 m).

• Rivers: Nemunas, Merkys, Ūla, Varėnė, Grūda, Strauja, Katra.
• Lakes and ponds: Ilgis, Nedingis, Lavysas, Glėbas, Grūda Lake, Varėna 1st Reservoir.
• Marches: Čepkeliai March, Pastalikė March.
• Forests: Dainava Forest, Subartonys Forest.
• Protected areas: Dzūkija National Park, Čepkeliai Natural Reserve, Ūla Landscape Sanctuary, Merkys Ichtiological Sanctuary, Pelesa Botanical-Zoological Sanctuary, etc.

Economics

Tourism is on rise, as Dzūkija National Park is located in the region. Also, forestry, construction materials, textile, food (milk) industry is being developed.

Council

Varėna district municipality council currently has 25 seats. The last elections took place in December 2002, and the term limit is 4 years.
The results of the 2002 elections:

• Lithuanian Center Union - 18
• Christian Coalition with Algis Kašėta - 2
• Social Democratic Party of Lithuania - 2
• New Union Social Liberals - 2
• Liberal democrat party - 1

Transportation

The road network is sparse, but a railway connects the district with Vilnius. There are stations in Valkininkai, Matuizos, Varėna, Marcinkonys, and stops in Kalviai, Pamerkiai, Zervynos, Darželiai, Margionys, Kabeliai, Senovė (the last three recently closed after the train route to Hrodna was discontinued).

Elderships

Varėna District Municipality is divided into 8 elderships:

Population

Demography

Ethnic makeup (2011 census):

• Lithuanians - 22967 (90.5%)
• Poles - 1612 (6.35%)
• Russians - 307 (1.02%)
• Belarusians - 237 (0.93%)
• Others less than 0.5% each

Largest settlements

Largest cities or towns in Varėna District Municipality 2021 Lithuanian Census
	Rank		Eldership	Pop.
Varėna Matuizos	1	Varėna	Varėna Eldership	8202	Senoji Varėna Merkinė
	2	Matuizos	Matuizos Eldership	1073
	3	Senoji Varėna	Varėna Eldership	1073
	4	Merkinė	Merkinė Eldership	963
	5	Marcinkonys	Marcinkonys Eldership	493
	6	Perloja	Varėna Eldership	484
	7	Naujieji Valkininkai	Valkininkai Eldership	368
	8	Kriviliai	Vydeniai Eldership	319
	9	Žilinai	Jakėnai Eldership	315
	10	Gudžiai	Varėna Eldership	294

Population by locality

• Status: M - city; MST - town; K, GST - village; VS - homestead

References

1. "Rezultatai - Savivaldybių tarybų ir merų rinkimai 2023".
2. "Resident population on 1 July". osp.stat.gov.lt. 2024-07-19.
3. ^ "Varėnos rajono savivaldybė". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. 24. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. 2014. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
4. "GYVENTOJAI GYVENAMOSIOSE VIETOVĖSE". Osp.stat.gov.lt. Archived from the original (XLSX) on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
5. "Lithuania 2011 Census". Lietuvos statistikos departamentas. 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
6. "Population by locality". 2011 Population and Housing Census. Statistics Lithuania. Archived from the original (XLS) on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013. ward (seniūnija)

External links

• Official page of Varena district

v t e Alytus County
Municipalities Alytus (city) Alytus (district) Druskininkai Lazdijai Varėna Cities Alytus Daugai Druskininkai Lazdijai Simnas Varėna Veisiejai Towns Butrimonys Kapčiamiestis Krokialaukis Krosna Leipalingis Merkinė Nemunaitis Rudamina Seirijai Šeštokai Šventežeris Valkininkai Viečiūnai
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• Varėna District Municipality
• Municipalities of Alytus County
• Municipalities of Lithuania