This article is about administrational division of Lithuania.

Current division

Lithuania consists of 10 apskritys', (singular - apskritis), each named after their principal city. The counties are subdivided into 56 municipalities, both cities and districts (see: List of municipalities in Lithuania). Municipalities cosists of over 300 elderships. This administrative division was created in 1994. The most important unit is the municipality (some muicipalities are historically called "district municipalities", and thus shortened just to "district", others are called "city municiaplities", sometimes shotrtened just to "city", or leaving just the name of city, and some are called just "municipalities"). Each municipality has it's elected government, which is elected in elections of municipality councils, which previously used to be done every 3 year but now is done every 4 year. Then the municiaplity council elects mayor of the municipality and other required personell (larger municipalities has larger councils and more officials). Also, municipality council sends elders to the elderships in it's territory (small municipalities does not have elderships though). Now there is a proposal though that both mayors and elders would be elected in direct elections by people. As for apskritys, these are regions to whcih whole Lithuania is partitioned and they are ruled by people (called "Ruler of Apskritis") who are sent by central government. Their job is to ensure that in the municipalities which are in territory of their apskritis are working according to the laws of Lithuania and the constitution. They don't have a big power vested on them, and so there is idea that 10 apskritys are not needed for Lithuania, because that puts that on average each of them has just 6 municipalities to look after (and in reality smaller ones has only 4 municipalities in their territory), therefore there is a proposal to change apskritys by 4 lands, a new administrative unit, which would be carved according to the ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Akmenė district, a district in Šiauliai County with Naujoji Akmenė town as a center. ... A mayor (Latin maīor better) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Elder (Seniūnas) is a person who is the leader of elderly (seniūnija in Lithuanian), smallest Lithuanias administrative division (County being the largest, and municipality or district - second by size). ... Lithuania is divided into historical and cultural regions: Aukštaitija (literally Upper Lithuania) comprises present Vilnius county, Utena County, Panevėžys County and the eastern part of Šiauliai County. ...

See: Apskritys of Lithuania, List of municipalities in Lithuania, Elderships. Akmenė district, a district in Šiauliai County with Naujoji Akmenė town as a center. ...

Division of the late Soviet period and first independence years (until 1994)

Lithuania (and before that Lthuanian SSR) was divided into 44 districts ("rajonai", singlar - "rajonas") and 11 republican administered cities ("Valstybinio pavaldumo miestai", singular - "Valstybinio pavaldumo miestas") (note: 2 of these cities were actually ollections 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 largest districts, and the largest republican administered cities becoming city municipalities.

Districts were called after their capital cities, exceptions were:

• Klaipėda district - capital Gargždai
• Akmenė district - capital Naujoji Akmenė; at first capital was Akmenė but then it was moved.

Division at the early Soviet period

Lithuanian SSR was divided into 4 sritys (singular - sritis; it is local translation of Russian "oblast" and was corresponding to them by size and meaning). Each sritis had some districts (with more and smaller districts than later ones): State motto: Visų šalių proletarai, vienykitės Official language According to the constitution, all languages were equal. ... An oblast (Russian, Ukrainian: о́бласть) is a name for the subnational entity of Bulgaria, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union. ...

• Kauno sritis - 23 districts, capital - Kaunas
• Klaipėdos sritis - 16 districts, capital - Klaipėda
• Šiaulių sritis - 24 districts, capital - Šiauliai
• Vilniaus sritis - 24 districts, capital - Vilnius

Also, Šiauliai, Panevežys, Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Naujoji Vilnia and Druskininkai were the sritis administered cities ("Srities pavaldumo miestai", singular "Srities pavaldumo miestas"). City Flag Kaunas (Polish: Kowno, often anglicized as Kovno; Russian Каунас, formerly Ковно), is the second largest city in Lithuania with 400,000 inhabitants. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes also Vilna in English, Belarusian Вільня, Polish Wilno, Russian Вильнюс, German Wilna, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania with population in excess of 540 thousand (in 2003). ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes also Vilna in English, Belarusian Вільня, Polish Wilno, Russian Вильнюс, German Wilna, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania with population in excess of 540 thousand (in 2003). ... City Flag Kaunas (Polish: Kowno, often anglicized as Kovno; Russian Каунас, formerly Ковно), is the second largest city in Lithuania with 400,000 inhabitants. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Druskininkai (Polish Druskienniki) is a spa on Nemunas River in Lithuania, close to the borders to Belarus and Poland. ...

This division was changed in the 1960ties, leaving district division only without division into oblasts. However, the later districts were way larger than districts under early Soviet occupation (there were 44 distrcits in late occupation and 87 under early occupation), therefore districts of both times despite of same name should not be compared. An oblast (Russian, Ukrainian: о́бласть) is a name for the subnational entity of Bulgaria, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union. ...

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

• Smėliai district - capital Ukmergė, which was also capital of Ukmergė district
• Panemunė district - capital Garliava
• Klaipėda district - capital Gargždai

Partisan division

Organised partisan fight was divided into 3 sritys (singular - sritis), these were subdivided into counties, and these - into teams.

Division in the interwar

In the interwar period, Lithuania consisted of 21 apskritys (singular - apskritis) - or 20 if excluding Joniškio Apskritis which was estabilished later. After Klaipėda region was aquired, it was carved into 3 apskritys (Klaipėdos apskritis, Šilutės apskritis and Pagėgių apskritis), and so Lithuania then consisted of 24 apskritys. Please note that actually Lithuania consisted of more apskritys, but some were occupied by Poland (see Vilnius region) and so 24 includes only those apskritys at least part of which was in Lithuania. After Lithuania aquired one fifth of Vilnius region, it took back 2 of formerly occupied apskritys (Vilniaus apskritis and Švenčionių apskritis), but at the time Lithuania had lost Klaipėda region, so overally there were 23 apskritys inside Lithuanian controlled lands. There were also 5 apskritys which were not ever retaken. So, overally 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 for them were declared instead, and some other had parts of them in Vilnius region. Apskritys were subdivided into valsčiai (singular - valsčius). The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ...

These were apskritys of the interwar independent Lithuania:

Apskritys in Lithuania (capital in brackets):

• Alytaus Apskritis (Alytus) - part of this apskritis was occupied by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939
• Ašmenos Apskritis (Ašmena) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, occupied by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
• Augustavo Apskritis (Augustavas) - this apskritis was in Suvalkai region, occupied by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
• Biržų Apskritis (Biržai)
• Gardino Apskritis (Gardinas) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, occupied by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
• Joniškio Apskritis (Joniškis) <==Proove existance please, then remove this - different sources says different things
• Kauno Apskritis (Kaunas)
• Kėdainių Apskritis (Kėdainiai)
• Klaipėdos Apskritis (Klaipėda) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in years 1923-1939
• Kretingos Apskritis (Kretinga)
• Lydos Apskritis (Lyda) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, occupied by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
• Marijampolės Apskritis (Marijampolė) <==Proove existance please, then remove this - different sources says different things
• Mažeikių Apskritis (Mažeikiai)
• Pagėgių Apskritis (Pagėgiai) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in years 1923-1939
• Panevežio Apskritis (Panevežys)
• Plungės Apskritis (Plungė)
• Raseinių Apskritis (Raseiniai)
• Rokiškio Apskritis (Rokiškis)
• Seinų Apskritis (Seinai, temporary - Lazdijai) - part of this apskritis was occupied by Poland as part of Suvalkai region; this included capital Seinai, therefore temporary capital of apskritis was in Lazdijai
• Suvalkų Apskritis (Suvalkai) - this apskritis was in Suvalkai region, occupied by Poland, and was never reattached to Lithuania
• Šakių Apskritis (Šakiai)
• Šiaulių Apskritis (Šiauliai)
• Šilutės Apskritis (Šilutė) - this Apskritis was in Klaipėda region, therefore administered by Lithuania in years 1923-1939
• Švenčionių Apskritis (Švenčionys) - this apskritis was in Vilnius region, occupied by Poland; part of Švenčionių Apskritis reattached to Lithuania in 1939
• Tauragės Apskritis (Tauragė)
• Telšių Apskritis (Telšiai)
• Trakų Apskritis (Trakai, temporary till 1939 - Kaišiadorys) - part of this apskritis was occupied by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939; up till 1939, capital Trakai was occupied too, so temporary capital was Kaišiadorys.
• Ukmergės Apskritis (Ukmergė) - part of this apskritis was occupied by Poland as part of Vilnius region, it gained some more territories in 1939
• Utenos Apskritis (Utena)
• Vilkaviškio Apskritis (Vilkaviškis)
• Vilniaus Apskritis (Vilnius) - This apskritis was in Vilnius region, occupied by Poland; part of Vilniaus Apskritis reattached to Lithuania in 1939
• Zarasų Apskritis (Zarasai) - part of this apskritis was occupied 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

Alytus is the capital of Alytus County, Lithuania, with 70,000 inhabitants. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... City Flag Kaunas (Polish: Kowno, often anglicized as Kovno; Russian Каунас, formerly Ковно), is the second largest city in Lithuania with 400,000 inhabitants. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: 大连; Traditional Chinese: 大連; pinyin: Dàlián; Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), formerly Lüda or Luta, is an ice-free seaport and a sub-provincial city in eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern Peoples Republic of China (Manchuria). ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Trakai (Polish Troki) - a town and lake resort in Lithuania, a part of Trakai national park territory and an administrative centre of the region. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Trakai (Polish Troki) - a town and lake resort in Lithuania, a part of Trakai national park territory and an administrative centre of the region. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... Utena is a town in north east Lithuania, the capital of Utena County. ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes also Vilna in English, Belarusian Вільня, Polish Wilno, Russian Вильнюс, German Wilna, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania with population in excess of 540 thousand (in 2003). ... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... Vilnius region refers to territory of Lithuania which was under Polish control in the interwar period. ...

Divisions of Lithuania in the Imperial Russia

During the occupation of Russian empire, there was one Lithuanian Gubernya initially, but later it was divided into smaller parts, therefore there was no unit representing Lithuania since that time. Inoficially however, three gubernyas considered to be Lithuanian: Vilnius gubernya, Kaunas gubernya and Suvalkai gubernya. Also, some parts of Courland gubernya and Grodna gubernya coud be considered as Lithuanian too. Gubernyas were subdivided into counties. Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

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

Because of similar number of subdivisions it could seem that gubernyas were of about similar size, this was not true however, Suvalkai gubernya was clearly the smallest and it's territory was about one third of size of Kaunas gubernya or Vilnius gubernya, and counties in Suvalkai gubernya were smaller too.

Divisions of late Grand Duchy of Lithuania

In it's late years, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was divided into 8 voivodships (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 (plural - pavietai, singular - pavietas). The later had more meaning. The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and Pogoń in Polish The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ), Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie) was an... The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and Pogoń in Polish The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ), Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie) was an... A Voivodship ( Romanian: Voievodat, Polish: Województwo, Serbian: Vojvodstvo or Vojvodina) was a feudal state in medieval Romania, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Serbia (see Vojvodina), ruled by a Voivod. ... The Union of Lublin, painted by Jan Matejko The Union of Lublin (Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія; Polish: Unia lubelska) - signed July 1, 1569 in Lublin, united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with official name: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (The... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and...

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

• Brasta Voivodship - 2 powiats
• Minskas Voivodship - 3 powiats
• Mstislavlis Voivodship - 1 powiat
• Naugardukas Voivodship - 3 powiats
• Polockas Voivodship - 1 powiat
• Samogitian Eldership (capital - Raseiniai) - 1 powiat
• Trakai Voivodship - 4 powiats
• Vilnius Voivodship - 5 powiats
• Vitebskas Voivodship - 2 powiats

Voivodships lost to Poland prior to Union of Lublin: Categories: Poland geography stubs | Polish historical voivodships (14th century-1795) | Polish historical voivodships (1921-1939) ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... The Union of Lublin, painted by Jan Matejko The Union of Lublin (Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія; Polish: Unia lubelska) - signed July 1, 1569 in Lublin, united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with official name: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (The...

• Kijevas Voivodship - 1 powiat
• Palenkė Voivodship (capital - Drohičinas) - 3 powiats
• Podolė Voivodship (capital - Braclavas) - 1 powiat
• Voluinė Voivodship (capital - Luckas) - 3 powiats
• Zaporožė

Vassal state (aquired in War of Livonia:

• Duchy of Courland (capital - Mintauja, Latvian Jelgava)

Also there were Duchy of Livonia (sometimes called Livonian Voivodship, capital - Daugavpils) and Livonia (capital - Riga): these lands were condominiums of Lithuania and Poland, after Union of Lublin. Smolenskas Voivodship, the largest of all, was also ruled for some time, but then taken by Russia. Courland, Kurland, Couronia, or Curonia, a former Baltic province of the Teutonic Order state in Livonia (ca. ... Jelgava (Russian: Ìèòàâà, Polish: Mitawa, German: Mitau) is a town in Western Latvia, best remembered as the former capital of the Duchy of Courland. ... This article is about the region in Europe. ... Livonian Voivodship (Polish: Województwo Inflanckie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia part of the (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) since in was formed in 1620s out of the Wenden Voivodship till the partitions in 1772 Voivodship Governor (Wojewoda) seat: Deneburg (Daugavpils) Administrative division... Daugavpils (Russian Двинcк Dvinsk, Lithuanian Daugpilis, German Dünaburg, Polish Dyneburg or Dźwińsk, Yiddish דענענבורג Denenburg), population 115,265 in 2000 census) is the second largest city in Latvia. ... This article is about the region in Europe. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... In international law, a condominium is a territory in which two sovereign powers have equal rights. ... The Republic of Lithuania (in Lithuanian, Lietuva) is a republic in Northeastern Europe. ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... The Union of Lublin, painted by Jan Matejko The Union of Lublin (Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія; Polish: Unia lubelska) - signed July 1, 1569 in Lublin, united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with official name: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (The...

Divisions of the 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, valsčiai (singular - 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. The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and Pogoń in Polish The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ), Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie) was an... A Voivodship ( Romanian: Voievodat, Polish: Województwo, Serbian: Vojvodstvo or Vojvodina) was a feudal state in medieval Romania, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Serbia (see Vojvodina), ruled by a Voivod. ... Land is sometimes used synonymously with country. ... A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ...

Divisions of the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania