Alytus () is a city with municipal rights in southern

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It is the sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the 14th-largest city in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, and also the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Alytus County Alytus County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its Capital (political), capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the Regions of Lithuania, ethnographic region of Dz� ...

. Being the historical centre of the

Dzūkija Dzūkija () or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a poli ...

region, it is connected to several major roads, linking it with the cities of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

;

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

; Lazdijai, which is on the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

; and

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. In July 2024, its total population was counted as 50,996 people. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas river. For centuries, the city was divided into two separate entities. Even today, it consists of two parts still frequently referred to as ''Alytus I'' and ''Alytus II''. The ''Alytus I'' half is smaller, and less developed than the ''Alytus II'' half, which forms the city centre with parks,

microdistrict A microdistrict or microraion is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former socialist states. Residential districts in most of the cities a ...

s and industrial areas.

Name

The name of the city is believed to be derived from the Lithuanian

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

''Alytupis'' (meaning river). Its name in other languages includes the Polish ''Olita'', the German ''Aliten'', the Russian ''Olita'', the Belarusian ''Alita'', and the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

''Alite''.

History

Damaged buildings of the Alytus Old Town during the World War II in 1941

The first historical record of Alytus dates back to 1377, when it was mentioned in the Chronicles of Wigand of Marburg under the name of ''Aliten''. According to the chronicle the spot was occupied by a small, wooden fortress guarding the Lithuanian frontier with the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. The fort and the surrounding village gradually grew, despite being frequently a target of raids of both the Lithuanians and the Teutons. The

Treaty of Lake Melno The Treaty of Melno (; ) or Treaty of Lake Melno () was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Lake Meln ...

left the town on the Teutonic side of the border, but it was retaken soon afterwards. On 15 June 1581

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

and

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Stefan Batory granted the town the city rights based on the

Magdeburg Law Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

. The event is celebrated as the ''Alytus Day''. Until the

Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

the town was a part of the Trakai Voivodeship of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

and a notable center of commerce on the Nemunas river, serving as the main route for export goods from

Lithuania proper Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...

. The town was also important as the place where one of the royal economic offices was located. In the third partition of Poland and Lithuania, in 1795, the town was divided between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, following the Treaty of Tilsit, the western part was ceded to the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

it became part of the duchy's

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th ...

, the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. Although the state was tied with a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with Russia, both parts of the town remained completely separate until the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

of 1863. After that date, the autonomy of Poland was liquidated, but both parts of the town remained governed separately. In the late 19th century the town was incorporated into a chain of Russian fortified garrisons along the border with

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. It was tied with the rest of the world by a railway and a new road. In addition, the tsarist authorities constructed several

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

and an

Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

(in modern times converted to a

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

). However, despite the fortification effort by the Russians, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

managed to capture the town intact, without any major skirmish. In 1915 the town was incorporated into the so-called Ober Ost and both parts were once again united into a single administrative entity for the first time since 1795. Following the end of

the area remained contested by newly independent Poland and Lithuania, with the actual control held by the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

stationed in the area. When the Germans withdrew in early 1919, the town was seized by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. On 12 February 1919, the town became a battlefield for the first skirmish between the Russians and the Lithuanian forces, which eventually took control over it. Since then the town has been a part of the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Following the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

a large

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

camp for Polish soldiers was established in the city. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Alytus was under German occupation from 22 June 1941 until 15 July 1944. Following the German occupation of the city in 1941, the camp was converted into a prison camp for Soviet soldiers ( Stalag 343). The 1965 Soviet-era book ''Masinės žudynės Lietuvoje, 1941–1944'' lists two major mass graves in Alytus: Vidzgiris forest, then at the southeastern suburbs on the left bank of the river, estimated 60,000 people, most likely Jews from the eastern Soviet Union, and the Alytus forest, then at the eastern suburbs, estimated 35,000 people, most probably Soviet prisoners of war. Historian Gintaras Lučinskas argues that these numbers were politicized and grossly inflated, and the actual number of victims is in single digits of thousands. In 2015, a HVDC back-to-back station for the realization of a power interconnection between Poland and Lithuania (LitPol) was inaugurated west of Alytus. The facility built by ABB has a transmission capacity of 500 MW at a voltage of ±70 kV. The coat of arms features a white rose, one of two coat of arms in the country that features roses. "The bridge of White Rose" is the country's largest pedestrian bridge, whose name was chosen by the citizens. The bridge was built on the remains of a railway bridge, which was blown up by the Russians when they were retreating back in 1915.

Climate

Alytus has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with quite large seasonal differences.

Culture

Alytus hosted the Art Strike Biennial between 18 and 24 August 2009 in response to

becoming

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

for 2009. This included a demonstration and a three sided football match. The universal indoor Alytus Arena hosted the Eurobasket 2011 Group C matches in Alytus. In 2010, Alytus was awarded the Honourable Plate of the European Council. Alytus has a museum dedicated to veterans of both the Afghan wars. In Alytus, several Bonsai exhibitions were held with participants from European and other countries, such as Japan and the United States. Alytus has hosted an annual Tomato tasting since 2007. Participants offer a wide variety of tomatoes and discuss the various factors which help produce a rich crop of the fruit. Alytus has an industrial company named Snaigė, which manufactures

refrigerators A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external envir ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Alytus is twinned with: *

Amata According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...

, Latvia *

Berdychiv Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...

, Ukraine * Botkyrka, Sweden *

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

, United Kingdom *

Ełk Ełk is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of Ełk County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a glacier, and is surrounded by extensiv ...

, Poland * General San Martín, Argentina *

Giżycko County __NOTOC__ Giżycko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms of 1998. ...

, Poland * Hiratsuka, Japan *

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

, Ukraine *

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

, Norway *

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

, Denmark *

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

, China *

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

, Poland *

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

, Poland * Rochester, United States *

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France *

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

, Poland *

Vélizy-Villacoublay Vélizy-Villacoublay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the Kilometre Zero, center and ea ...

, France The city was previously twinned with: *

, Belarus *

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

, Belarus *

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

, Russia * Smarhonʹ, Belarus

Gallery

Alytus Saint Casimir church.jpg, Saint Casimir Church Alytus Angelu Sargu church2.jpg, Church of the Guardian Angels Alytaus sinagoga 2 (2021).jpg, Alytus Synagogue Alytus, Benedikto gimnazija.JPG, Saint Benedict Gymnasium Alytus. Piliakalnio progimnazija.JPG, Piliakalnis Progymnasium Memorejo 'silenta sonorilo' en Alytus b.jpg, "Silent bell" memorial for the Lithuanian partisans Alytus. Dailiųjų amatų mokykla.JPG, School of Fine Crafts File:Alytus, estrada.JPG, Stage in the Valley of Songs Alytus Tomato Tasting 2013, tiny tomatoes.jpg, Alytus Tomato Tasting 2013

Crater of Mars

In 1979, one of craters in planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

was named 'Alitus' after the city of Alytus by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

Notes

References

External links

Alytus County Governor's Administration

Alytus Municipality's site

Alytus News Website

Alytus Young Friend

The murder of the Jews of Alytus
during

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website. {{Authority control Capitals of Lithuanian counties Cities in Alytus County Cities in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania Municipalities administrative centres of Lithuania Municipalities of Alytus County