Vilnius District Municipality () is one of the 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It surrounds the capital city of Vilnius on three sides. The municipality is also bordered by Trakai district and Elektrėnai municipality in the west, Astravyets and Ashmyany districts of Belarus in the east, Širvintos, Molėtai and Švenčionys districts in the north and Šalčininkai district in the south.

The population of the district is one of the fastest growing in Lithuania because of the migration of Vilnius' inhabitants to the suburbs. It stood at 116,584 in January 2024,2024 01 01 Gyventoju skaičius pagal savivaldybes up from 84 thousand in the early 1990s, meaning an increase by more than a third in less than 30 years.

History

Vilnius district municipality is situated in the territory once settled by the Baltic (), and numerous archaeological sites from this period are situated within its borders. During the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the major part of what is now Vilnius district municipality was the nucleus of the Duchy of Lithuania, while the territory to the north of Maišiagala belonged to the . There is some evidence that Bukiškis just north of Vilnius whose historic name was Gedvydžiai could be associated with Duke Gedvydas and through this link – with Mindaugas.„Būtovės slėpiniai: Kernavė ar Vilnius?“ According to Jan Długosz, the pagan ruler of Lithuania Algirdas was cremated in the sacred forest of Kukaveitis near Maišiagala after his death in Maišiagala castle in 1377. Nemenčinė (1338), Maišiagala (1254, 1365) and Medininkai (1387), known from written sources from the 13th-14th centuries, were among the oldest settlements in Lithuania. These were trade and defense centers with castles as well as religious centers – after the Christianization of Lithuania, early churches were built here. As Vilnius was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the territory around the city was forming the very center of the state, so-called Lithuania proper. It was the major part of a much larger and later – Vilnius Voivodeship. After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Vilna Governorate was formed and Vilensky Uyezd occupied all of what is now Vilnius district municipality. When Vilnius and its suburbs in 1923 were incorporated into Interwar Poland, what is now Vilnius district municipality was the core of Wilno-Troki County. After World War II, Vilnius district municipality was formed. The initially small Vilnius district (938 km2) was soon significantly enlarged, absorbing Naujoji Vilnia district (in 1959) and Nemenčinė district (in 1962) and parts of Ukmergė district, but transferring some smaller administrative territories to Molėtai district and Švenčionys district, including Pabradė (in 1962). After 1962 (then 2313 km2), there were only minor administrative reforms, attaching some territories from Vilnius district municipality (now 2129 km2) to Vilnius city. In March 1987, the villages of Pašilaičiai, Fabijoniškės, Kelmija, Raisteliai and parts of the villages of Pavilionys, Baltoji Vokė, Prašiškės, Bajorai, Buivydiškės, Grigaičiai and Vanaginė were attached to Vilnius city.Visuotinio 1989 m. gyventojų surašymo duomenys, Vilnius, 1993 Almost all of the municipality belongs to the Vilnius urban belt, forming suburban environs of the capital city.THE METROPOLITAN REGIONS OF LITHUANIA. RESIDENTIAL DIFFERENTIATION IN THE XXI CENTURY

Some projects, that may have been changed the district radically were not implemented.

During the interwar period, hydropower plant was started to be built in 1938 only to be abandoned in 1940. The reservoir between Turniškės and Nemenčinė was not created. During the 70s, a plan to build a pumped storage plant in Sudervė was too dropped off and such a plant was built in Kruonis instead.

Demographics

The district has significant Polish minority population in Lithuania, with 46% of the population claiming Polish ethnicity. But the number has been dwindling from more than 80% in the late 1980s because of suburbanisation, age structure (younger newcomer inhabitants are mostly Lithuanians, while older population in villages are mostly Poles) and acculturation.

At the 2011 Census, Poles amounted to 52.07% out of 95,348 inhabitants. 32.47% were Lithuanians, 8.01% Russians, 4.17% Belarusians, 0.65% Ukrainians and 0.11% Jews.

In 2021, according to the census results, ethnographic composition was the following: Poles – 46.75%, Lithuanians – 38.52%, Russians – 7.35%, Belarusians – 3.26%, Ukrainians – 0.63%, Other – 0.86% and 2.64% of inhabitants did not declare their ethnographic identity.[Apie rajoną. Teritorija ir gyventojai https://www.vrsa.lt/apie-rajona/teritorija-ir-gyventojai/5]

Elderships The municipality is divided into 23 elderships: # EldershipCoat of Arms Administrative center Areain km2 Population(2019)Density per km2 1 Avižieniai Eldership Avižieniai 52.08 11,598 2Bezdonys Eldership-Bezdonys121.422,8863Buivydžiai EldershipBuivydžiai98.039084Dūkštos Eldership –Dūkštos89.661,9305Juodšiliai Eldership –Juodšiliai23.634,6716Kalveliai Eldership –Kalveliai119.914,1707Lavoriškės Eldership –Lavoriškės121.622,2778Maišiagala EldershipMaišiagala99.92,8729Marijampolis Eldership –Marijampolis121.883,55310Medininkai EldershipMedininkai64.241,06811Mickūnai EldershipMickūnai93.565,58312Nemenčinė Eldership –Nemenčinė147.233,72813Nemenčinė City EldershipNemenčinė3.984,88614Nemėžis EldershipNemėžis39.769,06215Paberžė EldershipPaberžė208.813,40716Pagiriai Eldership –Pagiriai89.397,20217Riešė EldershipDidžioji Riešė103.766,49818Rudamina EldershipRudamina52.495,88619Rukainiai Eldership –Rukainiai141.212,64820Sudervė Eldership –Sudervė71.292,87121Sužionys Eldership –Sužionys164.421,79122Šatrininkai Eldership –Vėliučionys35.402,96623Zujūnai Eldership –Zujūnai65.447,467

Structure

District structure. one city – Nemenčinė; four small towns: Bezdonys, Maišiagala, Mickūnai, Šumskas 1091 villages.

Largest residential areas by population (2011Lietuvos statistikos departamentas. http://web.stat.gov.lt/uploads/docs/Gyventojai_gyvenamosiose_vietovese.xls or 2021 – if specified): Nemenčinė – 5,054 Skaidiškės – 4,133 Rudamina (Vilnius) – 3,981 Pagiriai (Vilnius) – 3,451 Didžioji Riešė – 2,520 Nemėžis – 2,498 Avižieniai – 2,125 Valčiūnai – 1,874 Juodšiliai – 1,744 Zujūnai – 1,660 Maišiagala – 1,636 Kalveliai – 1,592 Galgiai – 1,426 Mickūnai – 1,389 Grigaičiai – 1,325 Buivydiškės – 1,314 Vaidotai – 1,287 Riešė – 1,234 Gineitiškės – 1,093 Kalviškės – 974 Bajorai – 945 (2021) Bukiškis – 922 Paberžė – 919 Šumskas – 919 Marijampolis – 870 Rastinėnai – 805 (2021) Rukainiai – 770 Bendoriai – 764 Bezdonys – 743 Didžiosios Kabiškės – 716 Mostiškės – 631 Lavoriškės – 621 Sudervė – 588 (2021) Anavilis – 574 Glitiškės – 549 Lindiniškės – 534 (2021) Brinkiškės – 532 (2021) Vėliučionys – 516 Medininkai – 493 Papiškės – 489 (2021) Pikeliškės – 458 (2021) Keturiasdešimt Totorių – 451 Melekonys – 450 (2021) Saldenė – 446 (2021) Viktariškės – 446 (2021) Kuprioniškės – 424 (2021) Skirgiškės – 423 (2021) Pakalniškės – 423 (2021) Pikutiškės – 402 (2021) Daržininkai – 401 (2021) Parudaminys – 397 (2021) Sužionys – 397 Skaisteriai – 389 (2021) Kena – 369 (2021)

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities Vilnius District Municipality is twinned with: Radom, Poland

Gallery

References