| Varėna | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Varėna logo.svg |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Brandmark |
| Pushpin Map: | Lithuania |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Varėna |
| Coordinates: | 54.2111°N 24.5722°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Ethnographic region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Dzūkija |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alytus County |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Varėna district municipality |
| Subdivision Type6: | Capital of |
| Subdivision Name6: | Varėna district municipality Varėna eldership |
| Established Date: | 1377 |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date2: | 1946 |
| Established Title2: | Granted town rights |
| Area Total Km2: | 12 |
| Population Total: | 7794 |
| Population As Of: | 2024[1] |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
Varėna is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania.
The name of the town comes from an old village - Senoji Varėna (at the time called simply Varėna), while the new, present Varėna was being established nearby. The place name itself comes from the name of the Varėnė River.[2] In other languages, the town is referred to as:pl|Orany
The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, 4km (02miles) south of Sena Varėna (Old Varėna). At that time it was a small settlement, but following steady development it eventually became the center of the district. In the interbellum period, following World War I, the town was annexed by Poland, and renamed Orany. It was located near the then Polish-Lithuanian border, in the Wilno-Troki County (Powiat wileńsko-trocki) of the Wilno Voivodeship. In 1939, following the German-Soviet Invasion of Poland, Varėna was returned to Lithuania.
On September 9, 1942, all the Jews of the town of Varėna were collected in the local synagogue. On that day, even though the Germans had tried to prevent him from doing so, the priest Jonas Gylys entered the synagogue and encouraged the Jews to be brave in their last hours rather than convert to Christianity.
On the following day (or, according to another source, on the 9th itself) all of the Jews were taken from the synagogue to Ežeriekai - a grove of trees near the village of Druckūnai, 1.51NaN1 from the town, on the side of the road leading to the village. Two large pits had been dug there 25m (82feet) apart, one for the men and one for the women. Germans forced the victims in groups toward the pits and shot them there.
According to the report of Karl Jaeger, commander of Einsatzkommando 3A, 831 Jews from Varėna (and the surrounding areas) – 541 men, 149 women, and 141 children – were killed on that day.[4]
In 1946 around 2000 Poles were repatriated to Poland.[5]
Following industrialization in the 1970s, the town grew rapidly. Currently there are 9,240 residents in Varėna. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested region in Lithuania.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania.
Varėna is twinned with:
