Šiauliai County Explained

Official Name:Šiauliai County
Native Name:Šiaulių apskritis
Native Name Lang:lt
Settlement Type:County
Subdivision Type:Country
Iso Code:LT-SA
Parts Type:Municipalities
P1:Akmenė district municipality
P2:Joniškis district municipality
P3:Kelmė district municipality
P4:Pakruojis district municipality
P5:Radviliškis district municipality
P6:Šiauliai city municipality
P7:Šiauliai district municipality
Seat Type:Administrative centre
Seat:Šiauliai
Area Total Km2:8,537
Area Note:(13.1% of the area of Lithuania)
Population Total:261452
Population Density Km2:auto
Population As Of:2020-01-01
Population Rank:4th of 10 (10.4% of the population of Lithuania)
Demographics Type2:GDP
Demographics2 Footnotes:[1]
Demographics2 Title1:Total
Demographics2 Info1:€4.6 billion (2022)
Blank Name Sec2:HDI (2019)
Blank Info Sec2:0.854[2]
· 6th
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+2
Timezone Dst:EEST
Utc Offset Dst:+3

Šiauliai County (Lithuanian: Šiaulių apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Šiauliai. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished,[3] and since that date, Šiauliai County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. It borders Latvia.

History

Formation of administrative regions in Lithuania started in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Middle Ages, with the bulk of the territory of the current Šiauliai County forming part of the Duchy of Samogitia, itself divided into tracts.

In October 1795, Catherine II of Russia granted Šiauliai the city rights and the privilege to become the capital town of the region. Administrative division of Russian Empire remained unchanged up to the end of World War I. When the war came to its end, in 1918 Lithuania was restored as an independent state.

On December 17, 1918, a circular No.1 was issued "On Municipalities in Lithuania" that declared that the entire area of Lithuania would be divided into the regions - apskritys (county sometimes translated into English as a provinces or counties). There were ten apskritys in Lithuania.

In 1937, Siauliai county's overall territory was 6042 km2 and 210 thousands people lived there. It was the largest apskritis in Lithuania.

In 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and reformed the administrative system. The county system remained until 1950 when the counties were abolished and entire area was divided into smaller units - districts, or rajonas in Lithuanian.

Only in 1994 - four years after the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990 - the apskritys were created again. However, the interwar apskritys should not be mixed with current apskritys, as their purpose, sizes, and number are all different, see administrative division of Lithuania. The entire area of Lithuania is currently divided into ten larger units - apskritys and smaller districts, consisting of urban and rural elderships.

Municipalities

The County encompasses municipalities of:

Cities

  1. Šiauliai
  2. Radviliškis
  3. Kuršėnai
  4. Joniškis
  5. Naujoji Akmenė
  6. Kelmė
  7. Pakruojis
  8. Šeduva
  9. Akmenė
  10. Venta
  11. Tytuvėnai
  12. Žagarė
  13. Linkuva
  14. Užventis

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BENDRASIS VIDAUS PRODUKTAS PAGAL APSKRITIS 2022 M.. osp.stat.gov.lt.
  2. Web site: Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 2018-09-13.
  3. Web site: Dėl apskričių viršininkų administracijų likvidavimo. Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. 21 August 2011.