List of cities in Lithuania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Lithuania there are 103 cities (in Lithuanian: singular - miestas, plural miestai). The term city is defined by the Parliament of Lithuania as compact areas populated by more than 3,000 people of whom at least two thirds work in the industry or service sector. Those settlements which have a population of less than 3,000 but historically had city status are still considered to be cities. Smaller settlements are called miestelis (plural miesteliai) which is translated as towns. Even smaller settlements (villages) are called kaimas (plural kaimai). Often the official status is not clear and people refer to both towns and villages as gyvenvietė (plural gyvenvietės) which in essence means settlement.

The cities started to form in the 13th-14th century together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first city to receive city rights was Klaipėda. According to medieval law, a city could have its own fairs, taverns, guilds, courts, etc. Some former cities lost their status are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė or Merkinė. Most of the cities in Lithuania are old, established before the 18th century. Their location is mostly determined by trade and transportation routes. Some of the newer cities grew because of railroad construction, for example Kaišiadorys, Vievis, Radviliškis, Ignalina or Mažeikiai. In the last century cities grew new to big industry centers, for example Visaginas, Elektrėnai or Naujoji Akmenė. Five cities - Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and Anykščiai have a special resort status.

Most of the cities are small. There are only 19 cities with population of more than 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. This forms a good network to support economic development throughout the country. About 66.7% (as of 2001 census) of the population live in cities and the percentage is growing.

Contents 1 List 2 Map 3 Notes and sources 4 See also

[edit] List

#	City	Pronunciation (audio help)	Population (2001)	Population (2005)	Granted city rights	County	Municipality
1	Vilnius	Listen • Info	554,281	540,318	1387	Vilnius County	Vilnius city municipality
2	Kaunas	Listen • Info	378,943	361,274	1408	Kaunas County	Kaunas city municipality
3	Klaipėda	Listen • Info	192,954	187,442	1257	Klaipėda County	Klaipėda city municipality
4	Šiauliai	Listen • Info	133,883	129,075	1589	Šiauliai County	Šiauliai city municipality
5	Panevėžys	Listen • Info	119,749	115,604	1837	Panevėžys County	Panevėžys city municipality
6	Alytus	Listen • Info	71,491	69,481	1581	Alytus County	Alytus city municipality
7	Marijampolė	Listen • Info	48,675	47,693	1792	Marijampolė County	Marijampolė municipality
8	Mažeikiai	Listen • Info	42,675	41,389	1924	Telšiai County	Mažeikiai district municipality
9	Jonava	Listen • Info	34,954	34,782	1864	Kaunas County	Jonava district municipality
10	Utena	Listen • Info	33,860	33,086	1599	Utena County	Utena district municipality
11	Kėdainiai	Listen • Info	32,048	31,613	1590	Kaunas County	Kėdainiai district municipality
12	Telšiai	Listen • Info	31,460	30,539	1791	Telšiai County	Telšiai district municipality
13	Visaginas	Listen • Info	29,554	28,438	1977	Utena County	Visaginas city municipality
14	Tauragė	Listen • Info	29,124	28,504	1924	Tauragė County	Tauragė district municipality
15	Ukmergė	Listen • Info	28,759	28,006	1486	Vilnius County	Ukmergė district municipality
16	Plungė	Listen • Info	23,436	23,246	1792	Telšiai County	Plungė district municipality
17	Šilutė	Listen • Info	21,476	21,258	1941	Klaipėda County	Šilutė district municipality
18	Kretinga	Listen • Info	21,423	21,425	1609	Klaipėda County	Kretinga district municipality
19	Radviliškis	Listen • Info	20,339	19,883	1923	Šiauliai County	Radviliškis district municipality
20	Druskininkai	Listen • Info	18,233	16,890	1893	Alytus County	Druskininkai municipality
21	Palanga	Listen • Info	17,623	17,611	1791	Klaipėda County	Palanga city municipality
22	Rokiškis	Listen • Info	16,746	16,118	1920	Panevėžys County	Rokiškis district municipality
23	Biržai	Listen • Info	15,262	14,999	1589	Panevėžys County	Biržai district municipality
24	Gargždai	Listen • Info	15,212	15,510	1792	Klaipėda County	Klaipėda district municipality
25	Kuršėnai	Listen • Info	14,197	13,854	1946	Šiauliai County	Šiauliai district municipality
26	Elektrėnai	Listen • Info	14,050	13,819	1962	Vilnius County	Elektrėnai municipality
27	Jurbarkas	Listen • Info	13,797	13,625	1611	Tauragė County	Jurbarkas district municipality
28	Garliava	Listen • Info	13,322	13,423	1958	Kaunas County	Kaunas district municipality
29	Vilkaviškis	Listen • Info	13,283	13,102	1660	Marijampolė County	Vilkaviškis district municipality
30	Raseiniai	Listen • Info	12,541	12,305	1492–1506	Kaunas County	Raseiniai district municipality
31	Naujoji Akmenė	Listen • Info	12,345	11,748	1792	Šiauliai County	Akmenė district municipality
32	Anykščiai	Listen • Info	11,958	11,757	1516	Utena County	Anykščiai district municipality
33	Lentvaris	Listen • Info	11,773	11,832	1946	Vilnius County	Trakai district municipality
34	Grigiškės	Listen • Info	11,448	11,566	1958	Vilnius County	Vilnius city municipality
35	Prienai	Listen • Info	11,353	11,131	1609	Kaunas County	Prienai district municipality
36	Joniškis	Listen • Info	11,329	11,129	1616	Šiauliai County	Joniškis district municipality
37	Kelmė	Listen • Info	10,900	10,597	1947	Šiauliai County	Kelmė district municipality
38	Varėna	Listen • Info	10,845	10,555	1946	Alytus County	Varėna district municipality
39	Kaišiadorys	Listen • Info	10,002	9,734	1946	Kaunas County	Kaišiadorys district municipality
40	Pasvalys	Listen • Info	8,709	8,562	1946	Panevėžys County	Pasvalys district municipality
41	Kupiškis	Listen • Info	8,451	8,243	1791	Panevėžys County	Kupiškis district municipality
42	Zarasai	Listen • Info	8,365	8,001	1843	Utena County	Zarasai district municipality
43	Skuodas	Listen • Info	7,896	7,598	1572	Klaipėda County	Skuodas district municipality
44	Kazlų Rūda	Listen • Info	7,401	7,330	1950	Marijampolė County	Kazlų Rūda municipality
45	Širvintos	Listen • Info	7,273	7,176	1950	Vilnius County	Širvintos district municipality
46	Molėtai	Listen • Info	7,221	7,059	1956	Utena County	Molėtai district municipality
47	Švenčionėliai	Listen • Info	6,923	6,585	1920	Vilnius County	Švenčionys district municipality
48	Šakiai	Listen • Info	6,795	6,605	1776	Marijampolė County	Šakiai district municipality
49	Šalčininkai	Listen • Info	6,722	6,644	1956	Vilnius County	Šalčininkai district municipality
50	Ignalina	Listen • Info	6,591	6,307	1950	Utena County	Ignalina district municipality
51	Kybartai	Listen • Info	6,556	6,395	1947	Marijampolė County	Vilkaviškis district municipality
52	Pabradė	Listen • Info	6,525	6,398	1946	Vilnius County	Švenčionys district municipality
53	Šilalė	Listen • Info	6,281	6,157	1950	Tauragė County	Šilalė district municipality
54	Pakruojis	Listen • Info	6,057	5,998	1950	Šiauliai County	Pakruojis district municipality
55	Nemenčinė	Listen • Info	5,892	5,885	1955	Vilnius County	Vilnius district municipality
56	Trakai	Listen • Info	5,725	5,504	1409	Vilnius County	Trakai district municipality
57	Švenčionys	Listen • Info	5,684	5,658	1800	Vilnius County	Švenčionys district
58	Vievis	Listen • Info	5,303	5,246	1950	Vilnius County	Elektrėnai municipality
59	Lazdijai	Listen • Info	5,140	5,027	1957	Alytus County	Lazdijai district municipality
60	Kalvarija	Listen • Info	5,090	5,066	1791	Marijampolė County	Kalvarija municipality
61	Rietavas	Listen • Info	3,979	3,937	1792	Telšiai County	Rietavas municipality
62	Žiežmariai	Listen • Info	3,884	3,852	1792	Kaunas County	Kaišiadorys district municipality
63	Eišiškės	Listen • Info	3,765	3,688	1950	Vilnius County	Šalčininkai district municipality
64	Ariogala	Listen • Info	3,697	3,627	1792	Kaunas County	Raseiniai district municipality
65	Venta	Listen • Info	3,412	3,221	1978	Šiauliai County	Akmenė district municipality
66	Šeduva	Listen • Info	3,400	3,270	1654	Šiauliai County	Radviliškis district municipality
67	Birštonas	Listen • Info	3,225	3,138	1518?	Kaunas County	Birštonas municipality
68	Akmenė	Listen • Info	3,140	2,973	1792	Šiauliai County	Akmenė district municipality
69	Tytuvėnai	Listen • Info	2,851	2,775	1956	Šiauliai County	Kelmė district municipality
70	Rūdiškės	Listen • Info	2,559	2,527	1958	Vilnius County	Trakai district municipality
71	Pagėgiai	Listen • Info	2,393	2,321	1923	Tauragė County	Pagėgiai municipality
72	Neringa	Listen • Info	2,386	2,834	1961	Klaipėda County	Neringa municipality
73	Vilkija	Listen • Info	2,338	2,326	1792	Kaunas County	Kaunas district municipality
74	Žagarė	Listen • Info	2,312	2,208	1924	Šiauliai County	Joniškis district municipality
75	Viekšniai	Listen • Info	2,270	2,248	1791	Telšiai County	Mažeikiai district municipality
76	Skaudvilė	Listen • Info	2,140	2,081	1950	Tauragė County	Tauragė district municipality
77	Ežerėlis	Listen • Info	2,051	2,066	1956	Kaunas County	Kaunas district municipality
78	Gelgaudiškis	Listen • Info	2,029	1,985	1958	Marijampolė County	Šakiai district municipality
79	Kudirkos Naumiestis	Listen • Info	1,997	1,951	1643	Marijampolė County	Šakiai district municipality
80	Simnas	Listen • Info	1,980	1,940	1626	Alytus County	Alytus district municipality
81	Salantai	Listen • Info	1,942	1,887	1746	Klaipėda County	Kretinga district municipality
82	Linkuva	Listen • Info	1,797	1,770	1950	Šiauliai County	Pakruojis district municipality
83	Veisiejai	Listen • Info	1,762	1,673	1956	Alytus County	Lazdijai district municipality
84	Ramygala	Listen • Info	1,733	1,678	1957	Panevėžys County	Panevėžys district municipality
85	Priekulė	Listen • Info	1,725	1,690	1948	Klaipėda County	Klaipėda district municipality
86	Joniškėlis	Listen • Info	1,477	1,432	1736	Panevėžys County	Pasvalys district municipality
87	Jieznas	Listen • Info	1,476	1,423	1956	Kaunas County	Prienai district municipality
88	Daugai	Listen • Info	1,458	1,453	1792	Alytus County	Alytus district municipality
89	Obeliai	Listen • Info	1,371	1,335	1956	Panevėžys County	Rokiškis district municipality
90	Varniai	Listen • Info	1,355	1,310	1950	Telšiai County	Telšiai district municipality
91	Virbalis	Listen • Info	1,351	1,314	1593	Marijampolė County	Vilkaviškis district municipality
92	Vabalninkas	Listen • Info	1,328	1,225	1775	Panevėžys County	Biržai district municipality
93	Seda	Listen • Info	1,309	1,260	1950	Telšiai County	Mažeikiai district municipality
94	Subačius	Listen • Info	1,180	1,122	1958	Panevėžys County	Kupiškis district municipality
95	Baltoji Vokė	Listen • Info	1,073	1,075	1958	Vilnius County	Šalčininkai district municipality
96	Dūkštas	Listen • Info	1,070	992	1956	Utena County	Ignalina district municipality
97	Pandėlys	Listen • Info	1,024	985	1956	Panevėžys County	Rokiškis district municipality
98	Dusetos	Listen • Info	914	866	1950	Utena County	Zarasai district municipality
99	Užventis	Listen • Info	898	844	1746	Šiauliai County	Kelmė district municipality
100	Kavarskas	Listen • Info	809	753	1956	Utena County	Anykščiai district municipality
101	Smalininkai	Listen • Info	653	644	1945	Tauragė County	Jurbarkas district municipality
102	Troškūnai	Listen • Info	525	534	1956	Utena County	Anykščiai district municipality
103	Panemunė	Listen • Info	329	324	1837	Tauragė County	Pagėgiai municipality

[edit] Map

Map showing all cities marked with red dots. Bigger cities are written in larger letters. Click on the map for better resolution.

[edit] Notes and sources

• Population sizes are given according to Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) data for 2005. The cities are sorted according to 2001 census data because it is more reliable (data from 2005 is derived from census data using various formulas and models).

• "City rights" means rights to self-governing. For older cities usually it is the date when Magdeburg rights were granted. Most dates are obtained from Lithuanian Wikipedia which assembled the information from several different sources. One of the main sources was Population Statistics. This information cannot be completely trusted.

• Counties, municipalities and elderates are given according to Lithuanian Central Internet Gates data.

• Stasys Vaitiekūnas, Elena Valančienė, Lietuvos geografija (Geography of Lithuania), Alma littera, 2004, pages 160-162. ISBN 9955-08-534-7

• Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijos administracinių vienetų ir jų ribų įstatymas (Republic of Lithuania Law on Administrative Units and Their Borders), Seimas law database, June 19, 1994, law no. I-558.

• At the time of 2001 census, there were 106 cities in Lithuania. Government of Republic of Lithuania made these changes:

• On December 16, 2002 Juodupė lost city status and became a town;
• On February 25, 2003 Kulautuva lost city status and became a town;
• On April 8, 2003 Tyruliai lost city status and became a town.

• Cities without coat of arms image do not have it confirmed by the President of Lithuania. Other cities have coats of arms confirmed, but they are unavailable. Municipalities share coat of arms with their capitals with the exception of cities which are capitals of more than one municipality (i.e. a city municipality and a district municipality) in which case the city municipality shares the coat of arms with the city, while the district municipality has its own distinct coat of arms. Another notable exception is Trakai town, which has different coat of arms than does its municipality (Trakai district municipality).

[edit] See also

• List of towns in Lithuania
• Subdivisions of Lithuania

v • d • e List of cities in Europe Sovereign states Albania · Andorra · Armenia1 · Austria · Azerbaijan2 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus1 · Czech Republic · Denmark4 · Estonia · Finland · France4, 5, 6 · Georgia2 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Republic of Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan3 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia3 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain6 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey3 · Ukraine · United Kingdom (England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales) Dependencies, autonomies, other territories Abkhazia 2 · Adjara1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Åland · Azores · Crimea · Faroe Islands · Gagauzia · Gibraltar · Greenland7 · Guernsey · Jan Mayen · Jersey · Kosovo · Isle of Man · Madeira8 · Nagorno-Karabakh1 · Nakhchivan1 · Northern Cyprus1 · Republika Srpska · South Ossetia 2 · Svalbard · Transnistria Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Entirely in Southwest Asia.  2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions.  3 / 4 / 5 / 6 Has part of its territory in Asia / North America / South America / Africa.  7 / 8 Entirely on the North American Plate / African Plate.