Marijampolė County () is one of the ten
counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. It is in the southwest of the country and roughly corresponds to the historical region of
Sudovia. Its
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
and the largest town is
Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...
. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Marijampolė County remains as a territorial and statistical unit.
It borders the
Tauragė County
Tauragė County (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Tauragės apskritis'') is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was ...
in the north,
Kaunas County
Kaunas County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania. It is in the centre of the country, and its Capital (political), capital is Kaunas. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished.
Symbols
The county's coat of arms can be blazoned ...
and
Alytus County
Alytus County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its Capital (political), capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the Regions of Lithuania, ethnographic region of Dz� ...
in the east,
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
in the south and
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in the west.
History

The county includes part of the ancient Sudovian lands. After the long fights with the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
in the late 13th - 14th centuries, most of the old inhabitants of Sudovia were decimated and the land was ravaged. Sudovia began to recover in the late 15th century, when settlers from various parts of
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
began to occupy former Sudovian lands. The close proximity to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
allowed the new settlers to establish close trade links.
During the
Kościuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...
, in 1794,
Vilkaviškis
Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of and rivers.
The city got its name from the Vilkauj ...
was the site of a battle between Polish insurgents and
Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
troops. After the
Third Partition of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
in 1795, Sudovia became part of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The former established the Marijampolė County, which was initially called Starapolė-Senapilė County.
In 1807, it became part of the short-lived Polish
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
, and after its dissolution in 1815, the region became part of newly established
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, which was under Russian rule. It was successively part of the administrative units of
Łomża Department,
Augustów Voivodeship,
Augustów Governorate and
Suwałki Governorate
Suwałki Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, which had its seat in the city of Suwałki. It covered a territory of about .
History
In 1867, the territories of the Augustów ...
. It was the place of multiple battles of the
November
November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. November was the ninth month of the calendar of Romulus . November retained its name (from the Latin ''novem'' meaning " ...
and
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
s against Russian rule.
During the years of
Lithuanian press ban
The Lithuanian press ban () was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet, in force from 1865 to 1904, within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications t ...
, Sudovia was an important route for
Knygnešiai (Lithuanian book smugglers) due to the region's proximity to the border of
Lithuania Minor
Lithuania Minor (; ; ) or Prussian Lithuania (; ; ) is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is a historical region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Obla ...
, where Lithuanian press was still legal at the time. From here, the banned press spread throughout
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 ...
. In 1894, the Sudovian book smugglers, in an effort to mobilize their forces, to obtain and distribute the Lithuanian press on a regular basis, founded the secret in Marijampolė.
After 123 years Sudovia returned to
Lithuanian administration after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the collapse of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
and the withdrawal of the occupying German army. In 1918–1919, the southern outskirts with
Vištytis and
Liubavas were disputed by newly reestablished Poland, with local
Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
forming Polish communes, which, however, were forcibly dissolved by Lithuanian forces.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, it was
occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, and by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in 1941-1944, when it was part of the Kaunas Regional District. The county was abolished in 1950.
Marijampolė County was reconstituted in 1994 as an administrative-territorial unit comprising several municipalities. The coat of arms of Marijampolė County was adopted in 2004. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished and its functions were transferred to municipalities and ministries, while the county itself remained a territorial unit.
Climate
Marijampolė County has a
Warm Summer Continental or
Hemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, which is characterized by warm to hot (and often humid) summers and long and frosty winters. The region is one of the warmest in Lithuania, with the average temperature in July being 18.5 °C (65 °F). The average temperature in a year is 7.5 °C (46 °F).
Subdivisions
Marijampolė County is divided into 5 municipalities which are further divided into 42
elderships (seniūnija). The largest municipality is Šakiai District Municipality, while the most populous is Marijampolė Municipality.
The municipalities are listed in the following table (in alphabetical order).
Cities
#
Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...
#
Vilkaviškis
Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of and rivers.
The city got its name from the Vilkauj ...
#
Kazlų Rūda
#
Šakiai
Šakiai () is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas.
History
It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village, which was first mentioned in 1599. In 1719 Šakaičiai was renamed to Šaki ...
#
Kalvarija
#
Kybartai
Kybartai is a town in Marijampolė County, Vilkaviškis District Municipality in south-western Lithuania. It is located west of Vilkaviškis and is on the border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.
History
Kybartai was founded during the reign of ...
#
Gelgaudiškis
#
Kudirkos Naumiestis
Kudirkos Naumiestis () is a town in southern Lithuania. It is located south-west of Šakiai.
History
The settlement was first mentioned in 1561 as a village called ''Duoliebaičiai.''
In 1639 the town was renamed ''Vladislavovas'' () by Cec ...
Education
The chief and only university of the county is
Marijampolė University of Applied Sciences. While
Marijampolė Vocational Training Centre is the chief
vocational school
A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...
in the region.
Gallery
Paežerių dvaras.jpg, Paežeriai Manor
Vilkaviškio bažnyčia.JPG, Vilkaviškis Cathedral
Gelgaudiškio dvaro rūmai 3.jpg, Gelgaudiškis Manor
Marijampolė, Rygiškių Jono gimnazija.JPG, Gymnasium in Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...
Kazlu Rudos sav 2022.jpg, Town Hall in Kazlų Rūda
Kalvarija Church 01.jpg, Holy Name of Mary church in Kalvarija
References
External links
Social and demographic characteristics of Marijampolė CountyEconomy of Marijampolė CountyEnvironment of Marijampolė County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marijampole County
Counties of Lithuania