Šalčininkai
City
City centre with monument to Adam Mickiewicz
City centre with monument to Adam Mickiewicz
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
 • Total3 km2 (1 sq mi)
Population
 (2021[1])
 • Total6,857
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

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

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

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, to name a few). At the late 19 century most of the local inhabitants were assimilated with the neighboring Belarusians and called themselves Tutejszy (the locals), while staying Catholics, that meant Polish self-identification of many.

The region is known for its uncodified Belarusian[3] vernacular (also known as 'po prostu', meaning 'simply' or 'plainly')[4] 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. 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.[5]

Šalčininkai contains the highest percentage number of self-identified Poles of any town in Lithuania. The town's coat of arms, designed by Arvydas Každailis, shows three hazelnuts symbolizing solidarity.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Šalčininkai is twinned with:[6]

References

  1. ↑ "GYVENTOJAI GYVENAMOSIOSE VIETOVĖSE" (XLSX). Osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ↑ Šalčininkų rajono miestų vardų kilmė ir kirčiavimas
  3. ↑ "Jankowiak: Po prostu for me is just a synonim of Belarusian language" – Lithuanian Polish media article – an interview with the Polish linguist on "po prostu speach
  4. ↑ "A language which is not" – Lithuanian Russian tv series about the so-called Tutejszy phenomenon and an analysis of the speach by the linguist
  5. ↑ Population and Housing Censuses of Lithuania, 2011, 2021
  6. ↑ "Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas". Salcininkai.lt (in Lithuanian). Šalčininkų rajono savivaldybė. Retrieved 2021-04-02.


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