Šalčininkai
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Šalčininkai | |
|---|---|
 City centre with monument to Adam Mickiewicz | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Šalčininkai Location of Šalčininkai | |
| Coordinates: 54°19′0″N 25°23′0″E / 54.31667°N 25.38333°E | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| Ethnographic region | Dzūkija |
| County |  Vilnius County |
| Municipality | Šalčininkai district municipality |
| Eldership | Šalčininkai eldership |
| Capital of | Šalčininkai district municipality Šalčininkai eldership |
| First mentioned | 1311 |
| Granted town rights | 1956 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3 km2 (1 sq mi) |
| Population (2021[1]) | |
| • Total | 6,857 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Šalčininkai (; Polish: Soleczniki; German: Sassenicken; Yiddish: סאָלעטשניק Solechnik; Belarusian: Салечнікі) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.
The name of the city derives from Šalčia river, šalta meaning cold in Lithuanian.[2]
History
[edit]In the medieval period the region around Šalčininkai was dominated by Lithuanians and it was the birthplace of many authors of the earliest Lithuanian-language texts (including Stanislovas Rapalionis, Jurgis Zablockis and Aleksandras Rodūnonis, to name a few)[citation needed]. At the late 19 century most of the local inhabitants were assimilated with the neighboring Belarusians and called themselves tutejszy ("the locals"), while staying Catholics, that meant Polish self-identification of many.[citation needed]
The region is known for its uncodified Belarusian[3] vernacular (also known as 'po prostu', meaning 'simply' or 'plainly')[4] and the city itself is considered the provincial centre of Polish culture in Lithuania (the urban centre being Vilnius).[citation needed]
Šalčininkai attained the town status in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality.[citation needed]
Demographics
[edit]According to the latest census of 2021, Šalčininkai had 6857 inhabitants and features a multi-ethnic population of 4930 Poles (71.9%), 920 Lithuanians (15.7%), 438 Russians (6.4%), 286 Belarusians (4.2%), 61 Ukrainians (0,9%) and 222 people of other background (3.2%). 12.2% of all inhabitants in Šalčininkai district municipality, according to the 2021 census were born abroad, while 87.8% were born in Lithuania. This was a decrease from 14.3%, recorded by the previous – 2011 census. Out of 34.5 thousand inhabitants in 2011, 3711 or 10.7% of all the inhabitants were born in Belarus, 728 or 2.1% in Russia.[5]
Šalčininkai contains the highest percentage number of self-identified Poles of any city in Lithuania.[citation needed]
The city coat of arms, designed by Arvydas Každailis, shows three hazelnuts symbolizing solidarity.[citation needed]
Notable people
[edit]- Władysław Kozakiewicz (born 1950), Polish pole vaulter and Olympic champion
- Henoch Leibowitz
- Aaron Soltz
Twin towns – sister cities
[edit]Šalčininkai is twinned with:[6]
Bełchatów County, Poland
Hude, Germany- Kadzidło, Poland
- Kaźmierz, Poland
- Kętrzyn County, Poland
- Łomża, Poland
- Łowicz, Poland
- Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Poland
- Płońsk, Poland
- Radom County, Poland
- Stare Miasto, Poland
- Świdnik, Poland
- Szczytno, Poland
- Tarnowo Podgórne, Poland
- Warsaw West County, Poland
- Wolsztyn County, Poland
- Wschowa, Poland
- Żnin, Poland
References
[edit]- ^ "GYVENTOJAI GYVENAMOSIOSE VIETOVĖSE" (XLSX). Osp.stat.gov.lt. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Šalčininkų rajono miestų vardų kilmė ir kirčiavimas
- ^ "Jankowiak: Po prostu for me is just a synonym of Belarusian language" – Lithuanian Polish media article – an interview with the Polish linguist on "po prostu speech
- ^ "A language which is not" – Lithuanian Russian tv series about the so-called Tutejszy phenomenon and an analysis of the speech by the linguist
- ^ Population and Housing Censuses of Lithuania, 2011, 2021
- ^ "Tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas". Salcininkai.lt (in Lithuanian). Šalčininkų rajono savivaldybė. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
