Šalčininkai

Šalčininkai
Soleczniki (Polish)
City
City centre with monument to Adam Mickiewicz
City centre with monument to Adam Mickiewicz
Flag of Šalčininkai
Flag
Coat of arms of Šalčininkai
Coat of arms
Šalčininkai is located in Lithuania
Šalčininkai
Šalčininkai
Location of Šalčininkai
Coordinates: 54°19′0″N 25°23′0″E / 54.31667°N 25.38333°E / 54.31667; 25.38333
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionDzūkija
County Vilnius County
MunicipalityŠalčininkai district municipality
EldershipŠalčininkai eldership
Capital ofŠalčininkai district municipality
Šalčininkai eldership
First mentioned1311
Granted town rights1956
Area
 • Total
3 km2 (1 sq mi)
Population
 (2021[1])
 • Total
6,857
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Šalčininkai (pronunciationⓘ; Polish: Soleczniki; Yiddish: סאָלעטשניק Solechnik; Belarusian: Салечнікі) is a city in Vilnius County, in south-eastern Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.

Etymology

The name of the city derives from Šalčia river, šalta meaning cold in Lithuanian.[2]

History

Church in 1937

In the medieval period the region around Šalčininkai was dominated by Lithuanians and it was the birthplace of many authors of the earliest Lithuanian-language texts (including Stanislovas Rapalionis, Jurgis Zablockis and Aleksandras Rodūnonis). In 1420, Lithuanian-speaking Nicholas of Šalčininkai was born in Šalčininkai and in 1453–1467 he served as the Bishop of Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[3]

In the late 19th century many of the local inhabitants mixed with the neighbouring Belarusians and called themselves tutejszy ("the locals"), while staying Catholics, they didn't assign themselves to a single ethnic group.

The region is known for its uncodified Belarusian[4] vernacular (also known as 'po prostu', meaning 'simply' or 'plainly')[5] and the city itself is considered the provincial centre of Polish culture in Lithuania (the urban centre being Vilnius).

Šalčininkai attained the town status in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality.

Demographics

According to the latest census of 2021, Šalčininkai had 6857 inhabitants and features a multi-ethnic population of 4930 Poles (71.9%), 920 Lithuanians (15.7%), 438 Russians (6.4%), 286 Belarusians (4.2%), 61 Ukrainians (0,9%) and 222 people of other background (3.2%). 12.2% of all inhabitants in Šalčininkai district municipality, according to the 2021 census were born abroad, while 87.8% were born in Lithuania. This was a decrease from 14.3%, recorded by the previous – 2011 census. Out of 34.5 thousand inhabitants in 2011, 3711 or 10.7% of all the inhabitants were born in Belarus, 728 or 2.1% in Russia.[6]

In 2000 coat of arms of Šalčininkai was adopted by a decree of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, designed by Arvydas Každailis, coat of arms consists of three hazelnuts symbolizing solidarity.[7]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania

Šalčininkai is twinned with:[8]

References

  1. ^ "GYVENTOJAI GYVENAMOSIOSE VIETOVĖSE" (XLSX). Osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ^ Šalčininkų rajono miestų vardų kilmė ir kirčiavimas
  3. ^ Tumelis, Juozas. "Mikalojus Dziežgovskis". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Jankowiak: Po prostu for me is just a synonym of Belarusian language" – Lithuanian Polish media article – an interview with the Polish linguist on "po prostu speech
  5. ^ "A language which is not" – Lithuanian Russian tv series about the so-called Tutejszy phenomenon and an analysis of the speech by the linguist
  6. ^ Population and Housing Censuses of Lithuania, 2011, 2021
  7. ^ "LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS PREZIDENTAS DEKRETAS DĖL ŠALČININKŲ HERBO PATVIRTINIMO". infolex.lt. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas". Salcininkai.lt (in Lithuanian). Šalčininkų rajono savivaldybė. Retrieved 2021-04-02.


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