List of cities in Lithuania

Vilnius, capital of Lithuania

In Lithuania, there are 103 cities (in Lithuanian: singular – miestas, plural – miestai). The term city is defined by the Parliament of Lithuania as compact areas populated by more than 3,000 people of whom at least two thirds work in the industry or service sector. Those settlements which have a population of less than 3,000 but historically had city status are still considered to be cities. Smaller settlements are called miestelis (plural miesteliai) which is translated as towns. Even smaller settlements (villages) are called kaimas (plural kaimai). Often the official status is not clear and people refer to both towns and villages as gyvenvietė (plural gyvenvietės) which in essence means settlement.

The cities started to form in the 13th-14th century together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first to receive city rights was Klaipėda. According to medieval law, a city could have its own fairs, taverns, guilds, courts, etc. Some former cities lost their status and are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė or Merkinė. Most of the cities in Lithuania were established before the 18th century. Their location is mostly determined by trade and transportation routes. Some of the newer cities grew because of railroad construction, for example Kaišiadorys, Vievis, Radviliškis, Ignalina or Mažeikiai. In the last century cities grew next to big industrial centers, for example Visaginas, Elektrėnai or Naujoji Akmenė. Five cities – Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and Anykščiai – have a special resort status.

Most of the cities are small. There are only 19 cities with a population of more than 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census 66.7% of the population lived in cities and the percentage is growing.

Cities

#CoACityPronunciation
(audio help)		 Population (2001) Population (2017) Granted city rightsCountyMunicipality
1Vilnius Listen • Info 554,281 574,221 1387Vilnius CountyVilnius City Municipality
2Kaunas Listen • Info 378,943 312,120 1408Kaunas CountyKaunas City Municipality
3Klaipėda Listen • Info 192,954 164,310 1257Klaipėda CountyKlaipėda City Municipality
4Šiauliai Listen • Info 133,883 107,086 1589Šiauliai CountyŠiauliai City Municipality
5Panevėžys Listen • Info 119,749 98,598 1837Panevėžys CountyPanevėžys City Municipality
6Alytus Listen • Info 71,491 54,437 1581Alytus CountyAlytus City Municipality
7Marijampolė Listen • Info 48,675 36,628 1792Marijampolė CountyMarijampolė Municipality
8Mažeikiai Listen • Info 42,675 33,281 1924Telšiai CountyMažeikiai District Municipality
9Jonava Listen • Info 34,954 29,031 1864Kaunas CountyJonava District Municipality
10Utena Listen • Info 33,860 27,041 1599Utena CountyUtena District Municipality
11Kėdainiai Listen • Info 32,048 25,310 1590Kaunas CountyKėdainiai District Municipality
12Telšiai Listen • Info 31,460 23,964 1791Telšiai CountyTelšiai District Municipality
13Visaginas Listen • Info 29,554 19,776 1977Utena CountyVisaginas Municipality
14Tauragė Listen • Info 29,124 23,120 1924Tauragė CountyTauragė District Municipality
15Ukmergė Listen • Info 28,759 20,591 1486Vilnius CountyUkmergė District Municipality
16Plungė Listen • Info 23,436 18,904 1792Telšiai CountyPlungė District Municipality
17Šilutė Listen • Info 21,476 16,812 1941Klaipėda CountyŠilutė District Municipality
18Kretinga Listen • Info 21,423 18,732 1609Klaipėda CountyKretinga District Municipality
19Radviliškis Listen • Info 20,339 16,344 1923Šiauliai CountyRadviliškis District Municipality
20Druskininkai Listen • Info 18,233 14,172 1893Alytus CountyDruskininkai Municipality
21Palanga Listen • Info 17,623 15,474 1791Klaipėda CountyPalanga City Municipality
22Rokiškis Listen • Info 16,746 14,351 1920Panevėžys CountyRokiškis District Municipality
23Biržai Listen • Info 15,262 15,262 1589Panevėžys CountyBiržai District Municipality
24Gargždai Listen • Info 15,212 16,814 1792Klaipėda CountyKlaipėda District Municipality
25Kuršėnai Listen • Info 14,197 14,197 1946Šiauliai CountyŠiauliai District Municipality
26Elektrėnai Listen • Info 14,050 13,664 1962Vilnius CountyElektrėnai Municipality
27Jurbarkas Listen • Info 13,797 12,972 1611Tauragė CountyJurbarkas District Municipality
28Garliava Listen • Info 13,322 13,423 1958Kaunas CountyKaunas District Municipality
29Vilkaviškis Listen • Info 13,283 11,117 1660Marijampolė CountyVilkaviškis District Municipality
30Raseiniai Listen • Info 12,541 11,203 1492–1506Kaunas CountyRaseiniai District Municipality
31Naujoji Akmenė Listen • Info 12,345 9,300 1792Šiauliai CountyAkmenė District Municipality
32Anykščiai Listen • Info 11,958 10,575 1516Utena CountyAnykščiai District Municipality
33Lentvaris Listen • Info 11,773 11,105 1946Vilnius CountyTrakai District Municipality
34Grigiškės Listen • Info 11,448 10,867 1958Vilnius CountyVilnius City Municipality
35Prienai Listen • Info 11,353 9,867 1609Kaunas CountyPrienai District Municipality
36Joniškis Listen • Info 11,329 10,881 1616Šiauliai CountyJoniškis District Municipality
37Kelmė Listen • Info 10,900 10,302 1947Šiauliai CountyKelmė District Municipality
38Varėna Listen • Info 10,845 10,296 1946Alytus CountyVarėna District Municipality
39Kaišiadorys Listen • Info 10,002 9,729 1946Kaunas CountyKaišiadorys District Municipality
40Pasvalys Listen • Info 8,709 8,296 1946Panevėžys CountyPasvalys District Municipality
41Kupiškis Listen • Info 8,451 8,082 1791Panevėžys CountyKupiškis District Municipality
42Zarasai Listen • Info 8,365 7,766 1843Utena CountyZarasai District Municipality
43Skuodas Listen • Info 7,896 7,358 1572Klaipėda CountySkuodas District Municipality
44Kazlų Rūda Listen • Info 7,401 7,162 1950Marijampolė CountyKazlų Rūda Municipality
45Širvintos Listen • Info 7,273 7,070 1950Vilnius CountyŠirvintos District Municipality
46Molėtai Listen • Info 7,221 6,949 1956Utena CountyMolėtai District Municipality
47Švenčionėliai Listen • Info 6,923 6,346 1920Vilnius CountyŠvenčionys District Municipality
48Šakiai Listen • Info 6,795 6,511 1776Marijampolė CountyŠakiai District Municipality
49Šalčininkai Listen • Info 6,722 6,563 1956Vilnius CountyŠalčininkai District Municipality
50Ignalina Listen • Info 6,591 6,119 1950Utena CountyIgnalina District Municipality
51Kybartai Listen • Info 6,556 6,209 1947Marijampolė CountyVilkaviškis District Municipality
52Pabradė Listen • Info 6,525 6,236 1946Vilnius CountyŠvenčionys District Municipality
53Šilalė Listen • Info 6,281 6,037 1950Tauragė CountyŠilalė District Municipality
54Pakruojis Listen • Info 6,057 5,750 1950Šiauliai CountyPakruojis District Municipality
55Nemenčinė Listen • Info 5,892 5,876 1955Vilnius CountyVilnius District Municipality
56Trakai Listen • Info 5,725 5,373 1409Vilnius CountyTrakai District Municipality
57Švenčionys Listen • Info 5,684 5,566 1800Vilnius CountyŠvenčionys district
58Vievis Listen • Info 5,303 5,049 1950Vilnius CountyElektrėnai Municipality
59Lazdijai Listen • Info 5,140 4,811 1957Alytus CountyLazdijai District Municipality
60Kalvarija Listen • Info 5,090 5,013 1791Marijampolė CountyKalvarija Municipality
61Rietavas Listen • Info 3,979 3,843 1792Telšiai CountyRietavas Municipality
62Žiežmariai Listen • Info 3,884 3,759 1792Kaunas CountyKaišiadorys District Municipality
63Eišiškės Listen • Info 3,765 3,610 1950Vilnius CountyŠalčininkai District Municipality
64Ariogala Listen • Info 3,697 3,458 1792Kaunas CountyRaseiniai District Municipality
65Venta Listen • Info 3,412 2,959 1978Šiauliai CountyAkmenė District Municipality
66Šeduva Listen • Info 3,400 3,200 1654Šiauliai CountyRadviliškis District Municipality
67Birštonas Listen • Info 3,225 3,172 1518?Kaunas CountyBirštonas Municipality
68Akmenė Listen • Info 3,140 2,690 1792Šiauliai CountyAkmenė District Municipality
69Tytuvėnai Listen • Info 2,851 2,690 1956Šiauliai CountyKelmė District Municipality
70Rūdiškės Listen • Info 2,559 2,472 1958Vilnius CountyTrakai District Municipality
71Pagėgiai Listen • Info 2,393 2,236 1923Tauragė CountyPagėgiai Municipality
72Neringa Listen • Info 2,386 3,371 1961Klaipėda CountyNeringa Municipality
73Vilkija Listen • Info 2,338 2,301 1792Kaunas CountyKaunas District Municipality
74Žagarė Listen • Info 2,312 2,115 1924Šiauliai CountyJoniškis District Municipality
75Viekšniai Listen • Info 2,270 2,198 1791Telšiai CountyMažeikiai District Municipality
76Skaudvilė Listen • Info 2,140 1,976 1950Tauragė CountyTauragė District Municipality
77Ežerėlis Listen • Info 2,051 2,014 1956Kaunas CountyKaunas District Municipality
78Gelgaudiškis Listen • Info 2,029 1,936 1958Marijampolė CountyŠakiai District Municipality
79Kudirkos Naumiestis Listen • Info 1,997 1,916 1643Marijampolė CountyŠakiai District Municipality
80Simnas Listen • Info 1,980 1,844 1626Alytus CountyAlytus District Municipality
81Salantai Listen • Info 1,942 1,825 1746Klaipėda CountyKretinga District Municipality
82Linkuva Listen • Info 1,797 1,735 1950Šiauliai CountyPakruojis District Municipality
83Veisiejai Listen • Info 1,762 1,592 1956Alytus CountyLazdijai District Municipality
84Ramygala Listen • Info 1,733 1,695 1957Panevėžys CountyPanevėžys District Municipality
85Priekulė Listen • Info 1,725 1,663 1948Klaipėda CountyKlaipėda District Municipality
86Joniškėlis Listen • Info 1,477 1,389 1736Panevėžys CountyPasvalys District Municipality
87Jieznas Listen • Info 1,476 1,311 1956Kaunas CountyPrienai District Municipality
88Daugai Listen • Info 1,458 1,432 1792Alytus CountyAlytus District Municipality
89Obeliai Listen • Info 1,371 1,293 1956Panevėžys CountyRokiškis District Municipality
90Varniai Listen • Info 1,355 1,258 1950Telšiai CountyTelšiai District Municipality
91Virbalis Listen • Info 1,351 1,250 1593Marijampolė CountyVilkaviškis District Municipality
92Vabalninkas Listen • Info 1,328 1,155 1775Panevėžys CountyBiržai District Municipality
93Seda Listen • Info 1,309 1,189 1950Telšiai CountyMažeikiai District Municipality
94Subačius Listen • Info 1,180 1,105 1958Panevėžys CountyKupiškis District Municipality
95Baltoji Vokė Listen • Info 1,073 1,073 1958Vilnius CountyŠalčininkai District Municipality
96Dūkštas Listen • Info 1,070 930 1956Utena CountyIgnalina District Municipality
97Pandėlys Listen • Info 1,024 941 1956Panevėžys CountyRokiškis District Municipality
98Dusetos Listen • Info 914 831 1950Utena CountyZarasai District Municipality
99Užventis Listen • Info 898 844 1746Šiauliai CountyKelmė District Municipality
100Kavarskas Listen • Info 809 692 1956Utena CountyAnykščiai District Municipality
101Smalininkai Listen • Info 653 600 1945Tauragė CountyJurbarkas District Municipality
102Troškūnai Listen • Info 525 451 1956Utena CountyAnykščiai District Municipality
103Panemunė Listen • Info 329 319 1837Tauragė CountyPagėgiai Municipality

Map

Map showing all cities marked with red dots. Bigger cities are written in larger letters. Click on the map for better resolution.

See also

Notes and sources

  • Population sizes are given according to Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) data for the census of 2001.
  • "City rights" means rights to self-governing. For older cities usually it is the date when Magdeburg rights were granted. Most dates are obtained from Lithuanian Wikipedia which assembled the information from several different sources. One of the main sources was Population Statistics. This information cannot be completely trusted.
  • Counties, municipalities and elderates are given according to Lithuanian Central Internet Gates data.
  • Stasys Vaitiekūnas, Elena Valančienė, Lietuvos geografija (Geography of Lithuania), Alma littera, 2004, pages 160-162. ISBN 9955-08-534-7
  • Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijos administracinių vienetų ir jų ribų įstatymas (Republic of Lithuania Law on Administrative Units and Their Borders), Seimas law database, June 19, 1994, law no. I-558.
  • At the time of 2001 census, there were 106 cities in Lithuania. Government of Republic of Lithuania made these changes:
  • On December 16, 2002 Juodupė lost city status and became a town;
  • On February 25, 2003 Kulautuva lost city status and became a town;
  • On April 8, 2003 Tyruliai lost city status and became a town.
  • Cities without coat of arms image do not have it confirmed by the President of Lithuania. Municipalities share coat of arms with their capitals with the exception of cities which are capitals of more than one municipality (i.e. a city municipality and a district municipality) in which case the city municipality shares the coat of arms with the city, while the district municipality has its own distinct coat of arms. Another notable exception is Trakai town, which has different coat of arms than does its municipality (Trakai District Municipality).
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