Administrative divisions of Lithuania

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This article is about the administrative divisions of Lithuania.

Contents

[edit] Current division (1994- )

The current administrative division was created in 1994 and modified in 2000.

Lithuania is divided into:

  • 10 counties (Lithuanian: plural - apskritys, singular - apskritis), each named after their principal city (see: Counties of Lithuania). These "apskritys" should not be confused with apskritys that existed in the interwar period.
  • the counties are subdivided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: plural - savivaldybės, singular - savivaldybė). There are three types of municipalities:
    • 43 district municipalities (Lithuanian: rajono savivaldybė). They roughly correspond to districts that existed under the Soviet rule. Before 1994 they were known just as districts and still are commonly referred to as districts. The word "municipality" was added in effort to diminish the Soviet heritage (districts were created as raions throughout the Soviet Union);
    • 8 city municipalities (Lithuanian: miesto savivaldybė). They are situated around major or important cities. In common language they are referred to as just cities or as just municipalities (because word "municipality" in Lithuanian language is associated more with cities and city rights than with districts);
    • 9 municipalities. They were all established after 1994 and they do not have the word "district" associated with them.
  • municipalities consist of over 500 elderships (Lithuanian: plural - seniūnijos, singular - seniūnija).
Current administrative division of Lithuania. Click the map for higher resolution.
Current administrative division of Lithuania. Click the map for higher resolution.

Each municipality's government is elected in democratic elections of municipality councils. The elections used to take place every 3 years, but now they are held every 4 years. The municipality mayors are elected by municipality councils. Also, municipality councils appoint elders to be in charge of an eldership. Currently it is proposed that both mayors and elders should be elected in direct elections.

Counties are ruled by apskrities viršininkas (officially translated as "governor") who is appointed by the central government in Vilnius. Their primary duty is to ensure that the municipalities obey the laws of Lithuania and the constitution. They do not have great powers vested in them, and so it is suggested that 10 counties are too much for Lithuania (the smallest county has only 4 municipalities). It is proposed to replace the counties with 4 or 5 lands, a new administrative unit, that would be decided according to the ethnographic regions of Lithuania and based on the 5 major cities.

See: Counties of Lithuania, List of municipalities of Lithuania, Elderships.

[edit] The Soviet period (1945-1994)

Lithuanian SSR was divided into 4 sritys (singular - sritis; it is the local translation of Russian "oblast" and corresponded to them by size and meaning). Each sritis had some districts (with more and smaller districts than later ones):

  • Kauno sritis - 23 districts
  • Klaipėdos sritis - 16 districts
  • Šiaulių sritis - 24 districts
  • Vilniaus sritis - 24 districts

Both districts and sritys were called after their capital cities, exceptions were:

Also, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Naujoji Vilnia and Druskininkai were sritis administered cities ("Srities pavaldumo miestai", singular "Srities pavaldumo miestas").

This division was changed in 1953, leaving only district division without division into oblasts. However, the later districts were much larger than districts under early Soviet occupation (there were 44 districts in late occupation and 87 under early occupation), therefore districts of both periods should not be compared despite bearing the same name.

Lithuania (and before that Lithuanian SSR) was divided into 44 districts ("rajonai", singular - "rajonas") and 11 republican administered cities ("Valstybinio pavaldumo miestai", singular - "Valstybinio pavaldumo miestas") (note: 2 of these cities were actually collections of small towns). After 1994, all these districts were made into district municipalities, some of the zones of smaller republican administered cities enlarged and formed into municipalities, some new municipalities carved out of the largest districts, and the largest republican administered cities becoming city municipalities.

Districts were called after their capital cities, exceptions were:

[edit] The interwar (1918-1945)

At first, Lithuania consisted of 20 apskritys (singular - apskritis). Joniškis Apskritis was established a bit later and became the 21st apskritis. After Klaipėda region was acquired, it was divided into 3 apskritys (Klaipėda Apskritis, Šilutė Apskritis and Pagėgiai Apskritis), and so Lithuania then consisted of 24 apskritys. Apskritys were subdivided into valsčiai (singular - valsčius).

Please note that Lithuania claimed more apskritys as some were disputed with Poland (see Vilnius region) and so 24 includes only those apskritys that at least in part were under Lithuania's control. After Lithuania acquired one fifth of Vilnius region, it took back 2 apskritys (Vilnius Apskritis and Švenčioniai Apskritis), but at the time Lithuania had lost Klaipėda region. So there were 23 apskritys under Lithuania's control.

There were also 5 apskritys which were never retaken. So, overall in Lithuanian-claimed lands there were 31 apskritis, out of which 7 were fully in Vilnius region or Suvalkai region, 3 fully in Klaipėda region, 2 had their capitals in Vilnius region so temporary capitals had to be declared, and few others had areas in Vilnius region.

These were apskritys of the interwar independent Lithuania:

Apskritys in Lithuania (capital in brackets):

  1. Alytus Apskritis (Alytus) - part of this apskritis was taken by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939
  2. Ašmena Apskritis (Ašmena) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, taken by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
  3. Augustavas Apskritis (Augustavas) - this apskritis was in Suvalkai region, taken by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
  4. Biržai Apskritis (Biržai)
  5. Gardinas Apskritis (Gardinas) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, taken by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
  6. Joniškis Apskritis (Joniškis)
  7. Kaunas Apskritis (Kaunas)
  8. Kėdainiai Apskritis (Kėdainiai)
  9. Klaipėda Apskritis (Klaipėda) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in 1923-1939
  10. Kretinga Apskritis (Kretinga)
  11. Lyda Apskritis (Lyda) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, taken by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
  12. Marijampolė Apskritis (Marijampolė)
  13. Mažeikiai Apskritis (Mažeikiai)
  14. Pagėgiai Apskritis (Pagėgiai) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in 1923-1939
  15. Panevėžys Apskritis (Panevėžys)
  16. Plungė Apskritis (Plungė)
  17. Raseiniai Apskritis (Raseiniai)
  18. Rokiškis Apskritis (Rokiškis)
  19. Seiniai Apskritis (Seinai, temporary - Lazdijai) - part of this apskritis was taken by Poland as part of Suvalkai region; this included capital Seinai, therefore temporary capital of apskritis was in Lazdijai
  20. Suvalkai Apskritis (Suvalkai) - this apskritis was in Suvalkai region, taken by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
  21. Šakiai Apskritis (Šakiai)
  22. Šiauliai Apskritis (Šiauliai)
  23. Šilutė Apskritis (Šilutė) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in 1923-1939
  24. Švenčioniai Apskritis (Švenčionys) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, taken by Poland; part of Švenčionių Apskritis reattached to Lithuania in 1939
  25. Tauragė Apskritis (Tauragė)
  26. Telšiai Apskritis (Telšiai)
  27. Trakai Apskritis (Trakai, temporary till 1939 - Kaišiadorys) - part of this apskritis was taken by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939; up till 1939, capital Trakai was in Poland, so temporary capital was Kaišiadorys.
  28. Ukmergė Apskritis (Ukmergė) - part of this apskritis was taken by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939
  29. Utena Apskritis (Utena)
  30. Vilkaviškis Apskritis (Vilkaviškis)
  31. Vilnius Apskritis (Vilnius) - This apskritis was in Vilnius region, taken by Poland; part of Vilniaus Apskritis reattached to Lithuania in 1939
  32. Zarasai Apskritis (Zarasai) - part of this apskritis was taken by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939; during some time it was called Ežerėnų Apskritis and it's capital -- Ežerėnai

[edit] Under the German rule (1914-1918)

The subdivisions used to change rapidly due to changes in battlefields. In 1915 most of Lithuanian territories (except for Lithuania Minor and Palanga) became part of newly established Ober Ost. In July of 1918 the Lithuanian province was established. It consisted of 3 government precincts (Valdžios nuovada, plural - Valdžios nuovados):

The government precincts were subdivided into apskritys.

[edit] In the Russian Empire (1795-1914)

During the occupation of Russian Empire, there was one Vilnius Governorate (Guberniya) initially. In two years it was merged with Slonim Governorate to form Lithuania Governorate. In 1801 it was divided into Lithuania - Vilnius Governorate (consisting of 11 powiats) and Lithuania - Gardin Governorate, and therefore there was no single unit representing Lithuania since that time.

In 1843 another administrative reform took place. Unofficially three governorates were considered to be Lithuanian: Vilnius Governorate, Kaunas Governorate and Suvalkai Governorate. Also, some parts of Courland Governorate and Grodna Governorate could be also considered as Lithuanian. Governorates were subdivided into counties.

  • Kaunas Governorate had 7 counties
  • Suvalkai Governorate had 6 counties
  • Vilnius Governorate had 7 counties

Because of the similar number of subdivisions it could seem that the governorates were of about similar size. This was not true however, Suvalkai Governorate was clearly the smallest and its territory was about one third of size of Kaunas Governorate or Vilnius Governorate, and counties in Suvalkai Governorate were smaller too.

[edit] Late Grand Duchy of Lithuania

See also: Administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In its later years, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was divided into 8 voivodships (Lithuanian: plural - vaivadijos, singular - vaivadija) and one eldership (plural - seniūnijos, singular - seniūnija). Prior to Union of Lublin, there were 13 voivodships (four southern ones and one western voivodship were demised to Poland later). These first line administrative units and those subdivided into powiats (Lithuanian: plural - pavietai, singular - pavietas). The latter had more meaning.

Divisions (voivodships are called after their capital, unless specified otherwise):

Voivodships lost to Poland prior to Union of Lublin:

Vassal state, acquired after Livonian War:

Also there was the Duchy of Livonia (later known as Livonian Voivodship, capital - Daugavpils) and Livonia (capital - Riga): these lands were condominiums of Lithuania and Poland, after Union of Lublin. Smolensk Voivodship, the largest of all, was also ruled for some time, but then taken by Russia.

[edit] Middle Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy at the time consisted of various types of administrative units. There were 2 voivodships, 1 eldership, some lands, duchies, volosts (lithuanian - valsčius) and sritys (singular - sritis). Some lands weren't attributed to any of the units. All the administrative units enjoyed a different level of independence and such, as was the tradition.

[edit] Early Grand Duchy of Lithuania

[edit] External links

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