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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 city 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 are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė or Merkinė. Most of the cities in Lithuania are old, 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 new to big industry 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 population of more than 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. This forms a good network to support economic development throughout the country. At the 2001 census 66.7% of the population lived in cities and the percentage is growing.
Map showing all cities marked with red dots. Bigger cities are written in larger letters. Click on the map for better resolution.
Kaunas
Klaipėda
Šiauliai
Panevėžys
Alytus
Marijampolė
Mažeikiai
Jonava
Utena
Kėdainiai
Telšiai
Visaginas
Tauragė
Ukmergė
Šilutė
Plungė
Kretinga
Radviliškis
Druskininkai
Palanga
Counties of Lithuania, Akmenė district municipality, Lithuania, Šiauliai, Municipalities of Lithuania
Kaunas, Counties of Lithuania, Jonava district municipality, Kėdainiai district municipality, Lithuania
Counties of Lithuania, Biržai district municipality, Lithuania, Panevėžys, Municipalities of Lithuania
Counties of Lithuania, Anykščiai District Municipality, Ignalina District Municipality, Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania
Kaunas County, Panevėžys County, Šiauliai County, Vilnius County, Utena County
Alytus District Municipality, Druskininkai Municipality, Varėna district municipality, Lithuania, Alytus
Latvia, European Union, Russia, Sweden, Estonia
Counties of Lithuania, Lithuania, Tauragė, Municipalities of Lithuania, Jurbarkas District Municipality