Vilnius County

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Vilniaus Apskritis


(Location)	(Coat of arms)

Administrative divisions

ISO_3166-2 code

LT-VL

Number of municipalities

Number of elderates

107

General information

Capital

Vilnius

Major cities

Vilnius (pop. 542,287)
Ukmergė (pop. 28,759)
Elektrėnai (pop. 14,050)

Area (rank)

9,760 km² (1st)

Population (rank)

850,700 (1st)

Pop. density (rank)

87.2/km² (1st)

County governor

Gintaras Gibas

Official website

http://www.vilnius.aps.lt

Population sizes are given according to the 2001 census data

Map of Vilnius County

Image:Vilnius County map.png

Vilnius County (Lithuanian: Vilniaus apskritis) is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius.

[edit] History

Until the Partitions of Poland in late 18th century the area belonged to the Vilnius Voivodship and Trakai Voivodship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In Russian Empire it belonged to the Northwestern Krai and approximately corresponded to its Vilno guberniya. During World War I, following the German offensive of 1915, it was occupied by the German army. After the war, some parts of the area was ruled by local Polish self-government established after the German Ober-Ost army withdrew from the area.

Following the start of the Polish-Bolshevik War, in 1919 it was occupied by the Red Army, which was pushed back by the Polish Army. In 1920 it was again occupied by the Red Army, but Soviets officially recognized the sovereignty of Lithuanian Republic over the city immediately after defeat during Battle of Warsaw. During their retreat, the Bolsheviks passed the sovereignty over the area to Lithuania. The Polish commander Józef Piłsudski ordered his subordinate general Lucjan Żeligowski to "rebel" his Lithuanian-Belarusian division and capture the city of Vilnius, without declaring war on Lithuania. The area of the future Vilnius County was seized by the Polish forces without significant opposition from Lithuanian forces and Gen. Żeligowski created a short-lived state called Republic of Central Lithuania. Following the elections held there in 1922 the state was incorporated into Poland (see Vilnius region, Central Lithuania).

In the effect of the Nazi-Soviet Alliance and the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the area was captured by the Soviet Union, which transferred parts of present Vilnius County and Utena County to Lithuania, only to annex it the following year. In 1941 it was conquered by the Nazi Germany. During the World War II the area saw formation of many resistance units, most notably the Polish Home Army and, since 1943, the Soviet partisans.

After the war Vilniaus Apskritis existed as a relic of the pre-war independent state in Lithuanian SSR between 1944 and 1950. In this period, significant part of its population moved to Poland during so called repatriation. 80% of Poles living in the city itself were forcibly expelled. However the inhabitants of the rural areas surrounding it were in large part allowed to stay. Thus only 31.3% of inhabitants of the area left for Poland. Today Poles constitute 29.01% of population of the Vilniaus Apskritis (as per the 2001 census).

After the reestablishment of Lithuania in 1990, Vilnius county was established differently in 1994. This entity has different boundaries than any previous entity and is not directly related to previous entities in this area; mission of the county is different as well, its primary goal (same as that of other counties of Lithuania) is to oversee that municipalities in its area follow the laws of Lithuania.