Aukštaitija (; literally ''Highland'' or ''Upland'') is the name of one of five ethnographic
regions of Lithuania
Lithuania can be divided into five historical and cultural regions (called ethnography, ethnographic regions). The exact borders are not fully clear, as the regions are not official political or administrative units. They are delimited by cult ...
. The name comes from the fact that the lands are in the upper basin of the
Nemunas, as opposed to the
Lowlands that begin from
Å iauliai
Å iauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
westward. Although
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
is surrounded by Aukštaitija, the city itself is not considered to be a part of any ethnographic region in most cases.
Geography
Aukštaitija is in the northeast part of Lithuania and also encompasses a small part of
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. The largest city located entirely within this region,
Panevėžys
Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
, is considered to be the capital, though not in a political sense. Sometimes
Utena
Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...
is regarded as a symbolical capital.
The largest cities by population are:
*
Panevėžys
Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
– 84,587
*
Jonava
Jonava () is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of .
It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. ''Achema'', t ...
– 26,423
*
Utena
Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...
– 25,397
*
KÄ—dainiai
Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...
– 22,677
*
Ukmergė – 20,154
*
Visaginas – 18,024
*
Radviliškis
Radviliškis () (; ; , ''Radvilishok'') is a city in the Radviliškis district municipality, Šiauliai County, Lithuania. Radviliškis has been the administrative center of the district since 1950, and is an important railway junction.
History ...
– 15,161
The region has many lakes, mainly on the eastern side.
Subdivisions
History
Historically, Aukštaitija corresponded to the
Duchy of Lithuania
The Duchy of Lithuania (; ) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative ...
until the 13th century. Its initial capital was most likely
KernavÄ—
KernavÄ— was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 238, 2021). It is located in the Å irvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuanian ...
. In the 1322 treaty of
Gediminas
Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
, Aukštaitija was called ''terra Eustoythen'' (land of Aukštaitians).
Some German sources also titled Grand Duke
Gediminas
Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
, after whom the
Gediminids
The House of Gediminas (), or simply the Gediminids, were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in th ...
dynasty is named, ''Rex de Owsteiten'' (King of Aukštaitija).
Aukštaitija was mentioned as ''Austechia'' in ''
Chronicon terrae Prussiae'', written around 1326.
Politically, from the end of the 13th century, it comprised the Duchy of Vilnius/Lithuania and the Duchy of
Trakai
Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...
, and it is possible that the term was then used to refer to both of them. Since the 15th century, the
Trakai
Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...
and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
voivodeships made up Aukštaitija, a political and ethnic entity also known as
Lithuania proper
Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...
.
Demographics
The local people mainly speak the
Aukštaitian dialect of
Lithuanian. Under the new classification of dialects, Lithuanian is divided into only two dialects, Aukštaitian and
Samogitian, with all other varieties now classified as subdialects. The
Sudovian and
Dzūkian dialects are also considered subdialects of Aukštaitian; the specific subdialect spoken in Aukštaitija is thus known as East Aukštaitian.
The region has
Russian and
Belarusian minorities in the east. The subdialects spoken there use more loanwords from those languages. However, the usage of dialects in the region, as in Lithuania in general, is declining.
See also
*
Aukštaitija National Park
*
Samogitia
Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aukstaitija
Lithuanian ethnographic regions
Historical regions in Lithuania