Senoji Varėna is an old village in

Varėna district municipality Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Varėna district municipality, district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested Municipalities of Lithu ...

, in southern

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 ...

, near Merkys River and Rivulet Varėnė confluence, 4 kilometers north of

Varėna Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested municipality of Lithuania as more than 50% of the di ...

, on the road

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 ...

–

Druskininkai Druskininkai (; also see other names) is a spa city on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai is known for being a spa resort since the 19th century. Name The exact origi ...

Name origins

The village name comes from the Varėnė river which goes through it. There is a legend in folk stories that name Varėna comes from goddess Varėnė who was taking care of hunters and fishermen living by the river.

History

The village was mentioned for the first time in Teutonic letters in the year 1413. During the rule of

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

, it was the location of a ducal residence, and in 1416 Władysław sent letters from the settlement to

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-milit ...

Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg (1360 or 1370 – 15 December 1423) was the 28th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1414 to 1422. Biography Küchmeister was born in Silesia, as a son of Saxon nobility. He was the procurato ...

. In the 17th century, the town was built by

starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

Brzostowski. It was the hometown of the most famous Lithuanian painter and composer

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (; – ) was a Lithuanian composer, painter, choirmaster, cultural figure, and writer in Polish. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and Art Nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. ...

References

Villages in Alytus County {{AlytusCounty-geo-stub