Regions of Lithuania

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Historical ethnographic regions Etnoregionai.JPG
Historical ethnographic regions
Regions within borders of modern Lithuania. Based on the map approved by Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture, a special council established by Seimas.
Lithuania Minor (Mazoji Lietuva)
Samogitia (Zemaitija)
Aukstaitija
Suvalkija
Dzukija Liet-etno-regionai.png
Regions within borders of modern Lithuania. Based on the map approved by Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture, a special council established by Seimas.
   Lithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva)
   Samogitia (Žemaitija)
   Suvalkija
   Dzūkija

Lithuania can be divided into historical and cultural regions (called ethnographic regions). The exact borders are not fully clear, as the regions are not official political or administrative units. They are delimited by culture, such as country traditions, traditional lifestyle, songs, tales, etc. To some extent regions correspond to the zones of Lithuanian language dialects. This correspondence, however, is by no means strict. For example, although the Dzūkian dialect is called South Aukštaitian, it does not mean that Dzūkija is part of Aukštaitija. In certain parts of some regions, dialects of other regions are spoken, while for example in Samogitia, there are three indigenous dialects (southern, northern and western Samogitian), some of which are subdivided into subdialects.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Regions in politics

No region, except for Samogitia, has ever been a political or an administrative entity. However, some work was done recently to delimit their boundaries more clearly, as there is a project to change the system of counties in Lithuania into ethnographic regions, which would be called lands (singular - žemė, plural - žemės). This project is also supported by the view that with the limited functions of counties, 10 of them are not needed for Lithuania. Another supporting argument is that in other countries historical territories are being revived, while in Lithuania artificially made counties exist. The project was supported by the former president Rolandas Paksas, yet now it is not clear when or if the project will be completed at all. However, Dzūkija quite recently adopted the coat of arms and emblem which would be used in case the reform were to be implemented. Alytus County, which lies almost entirely within Dzūkija, adopted soon thereafter a coat of arms that is based on the Dzūkija coat of arms. Samogitia has a flag and a coat of arms dating from the time of the Duchy of Samogitia; these symbols are considerably older than the flag of Lithuania. Lithuania Minor has a flag used since the 17th century, and an anthem originating from the 19th century. However, if the reform were to be implemented, most likely there would be just 4 lands, not 5, because most of Lithuania minor is located within the modern borders of Russia (in the Kaliningrad Oblast) and many Lithuanians were expelled from there. The relatively small remaining part is also populated mostly by relative newcomers, as much of the local population died in the Second World War or was expelled. Therefore, Lithuania minor would probably be attached to Samogitia.

Despite the fact that the regions are not political/administrative entities, most regions have their "capitals" (cities which are commonly considered to be capitals). These cities are not necessarily the largest in the region.

NUTS-2 statistical regions

In 2016, Seimas announced the creation of new NUTS-2 regions for Lithuania: "Sostinės regionas" or "capital region", and "Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas" or "middle and western Lithuania". [1] The new regions were approved by the European parliament on 21 November 2016.

Capital region covers a land area of 9,731 km2 and has a population of approximately 0.8 million people. The middle and western region Lithuania covers a land area of 55,569 km2 and has a population of approximately 2.0 million people. [2]

In 2018, the capital region had a GDP per capita of €23,000 and a total GDP of €19 billion. The middle and western Lithuania region had a GDP per capita of €13,000 and total GDP of €26 billion. [3] [4]

List of regions

NameCoat of arms
Aukštaitija Coat of arms of Aukstaitija.svg (Literally Highlands). Region in northeastern Lithuania, also includes some historical Lithuanian territories of southwestern Latvia and northwestern Belarus. Capital Panevėžys, it is also largest city of region.
Samogitia Grand Coat of Arms of Samogitia.svg (Žemaitija, literally Lowlands). Region in western Lithuania. Capital is Telšiai, largest city is Šiauliai.
Dzūkija Coat of arms of Dzukija.svg (Dzūkija or Dainava (the latter name literally means "Land of songs")). Region in the southeast of Lithuania, also includes vast historically Lithuanian territories of Belarus, and some territories of Poland. Capital is Alytus, largest city is Vilnius.
Suvalkija Coat of arms of Suvalkija.svg (Sūduva or Suvalkija). Region in the southwest of Lithuania, the smallest ethnographic region. Capital is Marijampolė, largest city - Kaunas.
Lithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva). Region at the Baltic sea coast, also includes territories with large historical Lithuanian population of what is now Kaliningrad Oblast and a bit of northern Poland. Largest city is Klaipėda.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Samogitia Ethnographic region in Lithuania

Samogitia or Žemaitija is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai. Žemaitija has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect.

Lithuanian nobility legally privileged class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

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Kaunas County County in Lithuania

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Telšiai City in Samogitia, Lithuania

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Aukštaitija ethnographic region of Lithuania

Aukštaitija is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The name comes from the relatively high elevation of the region, particularly the eastern parts.

Dzūkija an ethnographic region of Lithuania

Dzūkija or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population and has never been defined as a political or administrative unit. Traditionally, Alytus is regarded as the capital of the region, although it is not the largest city in Dzūkija.

Administrative divisions of Lithuania

This article is about the administrative divisions of Lithuania.

Varėna District Municipality Municipality in Dzūkija, Lithuania

Varėna District Municipality is a municipality in Alytus County in southern Lithuania.

Alytus District Municipality Municipality in Dzūkija, Lithuania

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Zervynos Village in Dzūkija, Lithuania

Zervynos is an ethnographic village in the Varėna district, Lithuania. It is situated within the territory of the Dzūkija National Park near the Ūla River. The Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway runs through this village. Zervynos has 48 homesteads; 8 homesteads and 32 separate buildings are officially declared ethnographic monuments. The village was among the sites short-listed for nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though the village is isolated by the Dainava Forest, it is a busy place during summer as tourists kayaking in the Ūla River pass through the settlement.

The Battle of Skuodas or Schoden was a medieval battle fought in ca. 1259 near Skuodas in present-day Lithuania during the Lithuanian Crusade. The Samogitian army of 3,000 invaded Courland and on their way back defeated the Livonian Order, killing 33 knights and many more low-rank soldiers. In terms of knights killed, it was the eighth largest defeat of the Livonian Order in the 13th century. This victory led to a Semigallian insurrection against the Livonian crusaders, which lasted from 1259 to 1272.

Aukštaitian is one of the dialects of the Lithuanian language, spoken in ethnographic regions of Aukštaitija, Dzūkija and Suvalkija. It became the basis for the standard Lithuanian language.

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Suvalkija

Suvalkija or Sudovia is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija are called suvalkiečiai (plural) or suvalkietis (singular). It is located south of the Neman River, in the former territory of Vilkaviškis bishopric. Historically, it is the newest ethnographic region as its most distinct characteristics and separate regional identity formed during the 19th century when the territory was part of Congress Poland. It was never a separate political entity and even today it has no official status in the administrative division of Lithuania. However, it continues to be the subject of studies focusing on Lithuanian folk culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the NUTS codes of Lithuania (LT), the three levels are:

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References

  1. "Dėl Sostinės bei Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionų statistinių rodiklių skelbimo ir perdavimo Europos Komisijai (Eurostatui) - Naujienos - Lietuvos statistikos departamentas - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas". www.stat.gov.lt (in Lithuanian).
  2. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/3329771/Population.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjQ9Mu0sqniAhXhk4sKHaYXCPkQFjALegQIBRAF&usg=AOvVaw2qBxMzbr24oDoK07xY-VH5&cshid=1558330751138
  3. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/9618249/1-26022019-AP-EN.pdf/f765d183-c3d2-4e2f-9256-cc6665909c80
  4. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?articleId=7016550