Marijampolė County

{{Short description|County of Lithuania}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Marijampolė County |native_name = Marijampolės apskritis |native_name_lang = lt |settlement_type = County |leader_title = |leader_name = | image_skyline =  {{multiple image | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/2 | total_width = 270 | image1 = Greenery near the Vilkaviškis Cathedral in Vilkaviškis, Lithuania in 2024.jpg{{!}}Vilkaviškis Cathedral | image2 = Marijampolės Degučių mikrorajonas. Gyvybės medis.JPG{{!}}Street art of Marijampolė | image3 = Kazlų Rūda, urėdija.jpg{{!}}Forests of Kazlų Rūda | image4 = Paežerių dvaras.jpg{{!}}Paežeriai Manor | image5 = Kalvarija church - panoramio.jpg{{!}}Holy Name of Mary church in Kalvarija | caption1 = Vilkaviškis Cathedral | caption2 = Street art of Marijampolė | caption3 = Forests of Kazlų Rūda | caption4 = Paežeriai Manor | caption5 = Church in Kalvarija}} |image_map = Marijampole County in Lithuania.svg |map_caption = Location of Marijampolė County |image_shield = LTA Marijampolės apskritis COA.svg |image_flag = Marijampole County flag.svg |coordinates = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{LTU}} |iso_code = LT-MR |parts_type = Municipalities |parts = |p1= Kalvarija municipality |p2= Kazlų Rūda municipality |p3= Marijampolė municipality |p4= Šakiai district municipality |p5= Vilkaviškis district municipality |seat_type = Administrative centre |seat = Marijampolė |area_total_km2 = 4,466 |area_note = (6.8% of the area of Lithuania) |population_total = 136671 |population_density_km2 = auto |population_as_of = 2016-01-20 |population_rank = 6th of 10 (5.4% of the population of Lithuania)  | demographics_type2 = GDP | demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="Counties">{{cite web|title=BENDRASIS VIDAUS PRODUKTAS PAGAL APSKRITIS 2023 M.|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?articleId=13016705|website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref> |demographics2_title1 = Total |demographics2_info1 = €2.0 billion (2023) · 7th | blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2022) | blank_info_sec2 = 0.835<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|title=Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-13}}</ref> {{color|green|very high}} · 9th |timezone = EET |blank1_name_sec2 = Highways |blank1_info_sec2 = 22px|link=A5 highway (Lithuania) 22px|link=A7 highway (Lithuania) 32px|link=A16 highway (Lithuania) |utc_offset = +2 |timezone_DST = EEST |utc_offset_DST = +3 |website = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 7 }}

'''Marijampolė County''' ({{langx|lt|Marijampolės apskritis}}) is one of the ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the southwest of the country and roughly corresponds to the historical region of Sudovia. Its capital and the largest town is Marijampolė. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dėl apskričių viršininkų administracijų likvidavimo|url=http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=392936|publisher=Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania|access-date=21 August 2011}}</ref> and since that date, Marijampolė County remains as a territorial and statistical unit.

It borders the Tauragė County in the north, Kaunas County and Alytus County in the east, Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland in the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia in the west.

== History == thumb|left|upright|Suwałki Governorate in 1911

The county includes part of the ancient Sudovian lands. After the long fights with the Teutonic Order in the late 13th - 14th centuries, most of the old inhabitants of Sudovia were decimated and the land was ravaged. Sudovia began to recover in the late 15th century, when settlers from various parts of Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to occupy former Sudovian lands. The close proximity to Poland and Prussia allowed the new settlers to establish close trade links.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Povilaitis |first1=Vitas |title=Marijampolės apskritis |url=https://lietuvai.lt/wiki/Marijampol%C4%97s_apskritis |website=lietuvai.lt |publisher=Enciklopedija Lietuvai ir pasauliui (ELIP) |access-date=14 July 2024}}</ref>

During the Kościuszko Uprising, in 1794, Vilkaviškis was the site of a battle between Polish insurgents and Prussian troops.<ref>{{cite book|author=|title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV|year=1895|language=pl|location=Warszawa|pages=94–95}}</ref> After the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Sudovia became part of Prussia. The former established the Marijampolė County, which was initially called Starapolė-Senapilė County.

In 1807, it became part of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw, and after its dissolution in 1815, the region became part of newly established Congress Poland, which was under Russian rule. It was successively part of the administrative units of Łomża Department, Augustów Voivodeship, Augustów Governorate, and Suwałki Governorate. It was the place of multiple battles of the November and January Uprisings against Russian rule.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zieliński|first=Stanisław|title=Bitwy i potyczki 1863-1864. Na podstawie materyałów drukowanych i rękopiśmiennych Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu|year=1913|language=pl|publisher=Fundusz Wydawniczy Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu|location=Rapperswil|pages=254–273}}</ref>

During the years of Lithuanian press ban, Sudovia was an important route for Knygnešiai (Lithuanian book smugglers) due to the region's proximity to the border of Lithuania Minor, where Lithuanian press was still legal at the time. From here, the banned press spread throughout Lithuania proper. In 1894, the Sudovian book smugglers, in an effort to mobilize their forces, to obtain and distribute the Lithuanian press on a regular basis, founded the secret {{ill|Society of the Sietynas|lt|Sietynas (organizacija)}} in Marijampolė.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sajauskas |first1=Justinas |title=Knygnešiai Suvalkijoje |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/knygnesiai |website=mle.lt |publisher=LNB Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras |access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref>

After 123 years, Sudovia returned to Lithuanian administration after World War I, the collapse of the Russian Empire and the withdrawal of the occupying German army. In 1918–1919, the southern outskirts with Vištytis, Liubavas, Klinavas and Reketija were disputed by newly reestablished Poland, with local Poles forming Polish communes, which, however, were forcibly dissolved by Lithuanian forces.<ref name=tr>{{cite journal|last=Radziwonowicz|first=Tadeusz|title=Droga do Niepodległej (Suwalszczyzna listopad 1918 – sierpień 1919)|journal=Zeszyt Naukowy Muzeum Wojska|issue=22|year=2009|language=pl|pages=99–100}}</ref>

During World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, and by Nazi Germany in 1941-1944, when it was part of the Kaunas Regional District. The county was abolished in 1950.

Marijampolė County was reconstituted in 1994 as an administrative-territorial unit comprising several municipalities. The coat of arms of Marijampolė County was adopted in 2004. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished and its functions were transferred to municipalities and ministries, while the county itself remained a territorial unit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marijampolės apskritis |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/marijampoles-apskritis/ |website=vle.lt |publisher=LNB Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras |access-date=14 July 2024}}</ref>

== Climate == Marijampolė County has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system, which is characterized by warm to hot (and often humid) summers and long and frosty winters. The region is one of the warmest in Lithuania, with the average temperature in July being 18.5 °C (65 °F). The average temperature in a year is 7.5 °C (46 °F).

{{Weather box | location = Kybartai | metric first = Yes | single line = Yes | Jan record high C = 12 | Feb record high C = 16.5 | Mar record high C = 21.8 | Apr record high C = 24 | May record high C = 30 | Jun record high C = 33.4 | Jul record high C = 34.7 | Aug record high C = 32 | Sep record high C = 28 | Oct record high C = 26 | Nov record high C = 18 | Dec record high C = 11 | year record high C = 34.7 | Jan mean C = -2.4 | Feb mean C = -1.8 | Mar mean C = 1.6 | Apr mean C = 7.8 | May mean C = 13 | Jun mean C = 16.3 | Jul mean C = 18.5 | Aug mean C = 18 | Sep mean C = 13.3 | Oct mean C = 7.9 | Nov mean C = 3.2 | Dec mean C = -0.6 | year mean C = 7.9 | Jan record low C = -34 | Feb record low C = -25 | Mar record low C = -23 | Apr record low C = -7 | May record low C = -3 | Jun record low C = 1 | Jul record low C = 5 | Aug record low C = 2 | Sep record low C = -4 | Oct record low C = -10 | Nov record low C = -16 | Dec record low C = -26 | year record low C = -34 | source 1 = Lietuvos hidrometeorologijos tarnyba <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meteo.lt/klimatas/lietuvos-klimatas/klimato-duomenys/ |title= Klimato duomenys |access-date= July 14, 2024}}</ref> | date = July 2024 | source = | width = 50% }}

== Subdivisions ==

Marijampolė County is divided into 5 municipalities which are further divided into 42 elderships (seniūnija). The largest municipality is Šakiai District Municipality, while the most populous is Marijampolė Municipality.

The municipalities are listed in the following table (in alphabetical order).

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |-bgcolor="D0D8DD" | align="center"|'''Municipality''' | align="center"|'''Population (2021)<ref>{{citation|title=2021 m. gyventojų ir būstų surašymas|url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/4432752/2021_surasymo_lankstinukas.pdf|website=osp.stat.gov.lt}}</ref>''' | align="center"|'''Area (km2)''' | align="center"|'''Seat''' | width="30%" align="center"|'''Other towns''' | align="center"|'''Total seniūnijas''' |-bgcolor="F0F8FF" |- |40px Kalvarija Municipality | align="right"| 9,927 | align="right"| 440 |Kalvarija |Jungėnai, Sangrūda, Liubavas | align="center"|4 |- |40px Kazlų Rūda Municipality | align="right"| 11,054 | align="right"| 555 |Kazlų Rūda |Antanavas, Jūrė, Bagotoji | align="center"|4 |- |40px Marijampolė Municipality | align="right"| 54,846 | align="right"| 755 |Marijampolė |Puskelniai, Liudvinavas, Igliauka | align="center"|8 |- |40px Šakiai District Municipality | align="right"| 26,931 | align="right"| 1,453 |Šakiai |Gelgaudiškis, Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lukšiai | align="center"|14 |- |40px Vilkaviškis District Municipality | align="right"| 35,368 | align="right"| 1,259 |Vilkaviškis |Kybartai, Pilviškiai, Virbalis | align="center"|12 |- |}

==Cities== #Marijampolė #Vilkaviškis #Kazlų Rūda #Šakiai #Kalvarija #Kybartai #Gelgaudiškis #Kudirkos Naumiestis

==Education== The chief and only university of the county is Marijampolė University of Applied Sciences, while Marijampolė Vocational Training Centre is the chief vocational school in the region.

==Gallery== <gallery> Vilkaviškio bažnyčia.JPG|Vilkaviškis Cathedral Gelgaudiškio dvaro rūmai 3.jpg|Gelgaudiškis Manor Marijampolė, Rygiškių Jono gimnazija.JPG|Gymnasium in Marijampolė Kazlu Rudos sav 2022.jpg|Town Hall in Kazlų Rūda Kudirkos paminklas.jpg|Monument to Vincas Kudirka in Kudirkos Naumiestis </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/marijampoles%20apskritis_socdemas_11_25.pdf Social and demographic characteristics of Marijampolė County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324025144/http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/marijampoles%20apskritis_socdemas_11_25.pdf |date=2012-03-24 }} *[http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/marijampoles%20apskritis_ekonomika.pdf Economy of Marijampolė County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324025156/http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/marijampoles%20apskritis_ekonomika.pdf |date=2012-03-24 }} *[http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/Aplinka_Marijampoles_aps_EN.pdf Environment of Marijampolė County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324025207/http://regionai.stat.gov.lt/pdf/Aplinka_Marijampoles_aps_EN.pdf |date=2012-03-24 }}

{{coord|54|33|31|N|23|20|58|E|source:euwiki_region:LT-MR_type:adm1st|display=title}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marijampole County}} Category:Marijampolė County Category:Counties of Lithuania