Varėna district
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Varėna district municipality Varėnos rajono savivaldybė |
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| Municipality | ||
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 Location in Lithuania |
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 Map of Varėna district municipality |
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| Coordinates: 54°13′N 24°34′E / 54.217°N 24.567°ECoordinates: 54°13′N 24°34′E / 54.217°N 24.567°E | ||
| Country |
 Lithuania
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| Ethnographic region | Dzūkija | |
| County | Alytus County | |
| Capital | Varėna | |
| Elderships | 8 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2,218 km2 (856 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 1st | |
| Population (2001 census) | ||
| • Total | 31,200 | |
| • Rank | 41st | |
| • Density | 14/km2 (36/sq mi) | |
| • Density rank | 60th | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Telephone code | 310 | |
| Major settlements | Varėna (pop. 10,845) | |
| Website | www |
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Varėna District Municipality (Lithuanian: Varėnos rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Alytus County in southern Lithuania.
Along with Vilnius region, a large part of Varėna District Municipality was on the Polish side of not-mutually recognized border during the interwar period. This was mainly due the strategic Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway. Unlike in neighboring regions, where the number of Poles is high, the territories now comprising the municipality always had a Lithuanian majority. The Varėna District, as it was then called, was formed during the Soviet Union, with the small town of Varėna chosen as the capital. Varėna was chosen over the then much larger Senoji Varėna (literally "Old Varėna") as the capital, due to its proximity to a railroad. It only became the center of region in the 1970s when it underwent industrialization under Soviet leadership. During a municipality reform the territory was renamed to Varėna District Municipality and the westernmost parts of it ceded to Druskininkai Municipality.
Most of the municipality is covered by forests and swamps, it is the largest and least densely populated municipality of Lithuania. The river Merkys passes through its territory, there are over 100 lakes, and the Dainava Forest. It borders Druskininkai Municipality to the west, Alytus District Municipality to the northwest, Trakai District Municipality to the northeast, and Šalčininkai District Municipality also to the west. To the south it shares a border with Belarus.
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Wikipedia