Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; ; ) is a city in northwestern

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 ...

, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 32,000, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania and eighteenth largest city in the Baltic States. The city is the administrative center of Mažeikiai District Municipality in Telšiai County. It is the largest city that does not have its own

county 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 ...

History

Mažeikiai was first mentioned in written sources in 1335. A chronicler of the Livonian Order wrote about a campaign of the Order, during which the land of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Mažeika was devastated. It was located in the Duchy of Samogitia in the

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, ...

within 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 ...

. The town started growing rapidly in 1869 when the Libau–Romny Railway connecting

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 ...

and

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

was constructed. In 1893, the town had 13 shops and 5 alehouses. In 1894 an

Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

was built, and a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

had been founded several years earlier. In 1902 a

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was established, followed by an Evangelical-Lutheran church in 1906. From 1899 to 1918 the town was called Muravyov. In 1919, Mažeikiai became the county centre and received the rights of self-government. During the first years of independence, Mažeikiai was subject to a

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession (law), possession or control of territories (land, maritime territory, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial ...

between Lithuania and Latvia because of its importance as a railway hub between the Latvian cities of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Jelgava and Liepāja. In 1921 Latvian claims for the town were rejected by an international commission. A hospital and a library were opened in 1922 and a museum in 1928. In 1939, the population of the town was recorded as 5,618. In 1940 26 industrial companies, 4 banks and a credit union operated in Mažeikiai. 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 ...

, Mažeikiai was under occupation of

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 ...

from 26 June 1941 until 31 October 1944. It was administered as a part of the '' Generalbezirk Litauen'' of '' Reichskommissariat Ostland''. In August 1941, a mass killing occurred in which 4,000 Jews from the Mažeikiai district were killed. In 1950, Mažeikiai became the district centre.

Economy

In 1980 an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

plant Mažeikių Nafta was opened. Today it is one of the largest industrial plants in Lithuania. In 1999, it was privatized and sold to an American company Williams International. In 2001, facing financial problems, Williams sold the refinery to Yukos. However, Yukos ran afoul with the Russian government and, facing bankruptcy, sold the refinery to PKN Orlen in 2006.
PKN Orlen Acquired Mazeikiu Nafta
'', Mažeikių Nafta company website (news, 15 December 2006) In 2004, Mažeikių Nafta financed the construction of the New Church of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Culture

In 1928 the Mažeikiai Museum was founded by teacher Stasys Ličkūnas. According to the official website of the Mažeikiai district municipality, the museum preserves and exhibits archaeological, historical, ethnographic, and folk art collections of the Samogitia region. mazeikiai.lt. Mažeikiai has one of the largest cultural centres in Lithuania. It was established in 1946 as a ''culture house''. In 2005 it moved to a new building which has three halls: the great hall contains 750 seats, the small hall has 250 seats, while the entertainment hall has up to 500 seats. The centre has 20 amateur art collectives. In 1922 a public library was founded in the city. In 1975 it moved to a new three-story building. In 1976 it became a central library in the district with 21 rural and 2 urban branches.

Twin towns – sister cities

Mažeikiai is twinned with: * Havířov, Czech Republic * Lebedyn, Ukraine * Liezen, Austria * Paide, Estonia * Płock, Poland * Saldus, Latvia * Stendal, Germany

Notable residents

* Rokas Jokubaitis (born 2000), Lithuanian basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Gallery

DSCN3625 resize.JPG, Merkelis Račkauskas gymnasium Mažeikiai, Ventos progimnazija.JPG, Venta gymnasium Mazeikiu muziejus, 2006-01-17.JPG, Museum of Mažeikiai Orthodox church in Mažeikiai, May 2019.jpg, Orthodox church Laisvės gatvė naktį.jpg, Laisvės (Freedom) Street at night Mazeikiai.Naftininku gatve resize.JPG, Naftininkų Street Mažeikiai, Eifelis.JPG, Shopping mall "Eifelis"

References

External links

Official website

Information about Mazeikiai city

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazeikiai Cities in Telšiai County Cities in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania Mažeikiai District Municipality Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Telshevsky Uyezd Territorial disputes of Lithuania