The Molėtai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities 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 ...

. Molėtai is known for its many lakes. There are about 220 lakes in the district and they cover about 7% of the total territory. Since it is only about 60 km north of

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 ...

, many Vilnians own summer homes there. The area offers many recreational opportunities. It is easy to reach Molėtai because there is a highway connecting Vilnius and

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 ...

which divides the district into two almost equal parts. Since there is little industry, the district is proud of its lack of

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

. The land is not very

fertile Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...

, therefore the district's government is focused on developing

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Another natural resource of the district are its

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s which cover about 26.6% of its territory.

Structure

District structure: * 1 city – Molėtai; * 5 towns – Alanta, Balninkai, Dubingiai,

Giedraičiai Giedraičiai is a town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania with about 700 residents. It is located some 45 km north of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, on the banks of Lake Kiementas. It is the capital of an elderate. The town, a ...

and Joniškis; * 928 villages. Population of largest Molėtai District Municipality elderships (2011): * Molėtai – 6434 *

– 684 * Naujasodis – 496 * Suginčiai – 426 * Toliejai – 379 *

Videniškiai Videniškiai is a historic village in the Molėtai District Municipality, Lithuania. It is located about west of Molėtai. It is situated between the Ukmergė–Molėtai road and the . According to the 2011 census, it had 368 residents. In the 16 ...

– 368 * Alanta – 348 * Balninkai – 319 * Joniškis – 258 * Inturkė – 237

Nature and geography

File:AlantosSen001.JPG, Landscape near Alanta File:Baltieji Lakajai.jpg, Baltieji Lakajai File:Kertuojos piliakalnis.JPG, Kertuojis mound File:Kiementas2015.jpg, Kiementas lake

References

Municipalities of Utena County Municipalities of Lithuania {{UtenaCounty-geo-stub