Merkinė
Sign in to saveMerkinė (also known by several other names) is a small town in Alytus County, Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Neman and Merkys rivers. The town belongs to the Varėna District Municipality and is located about 26 kilometers west of Varėna and 28 kilometers south of Alytus. As of 2021, the town had 963 residents.
Weather now
cached 190h ago12°light rain
53% 7.1 m/s OpenWeatherMap
Place details
- Locality
- Merkinė
- Region
- Alytaus apskritis
- Country
- Lietuva
- Population
- 0
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.settlement_type
- Town
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.name
- Merkinė
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.pushpin_map
- Lithuania
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.pushpin_map_caption
- Location of Merkinė
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.image_flag
- LTU Merkinė flag.svg
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.image_shield
- LTU Merkinė COA.svg
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.subdivision_type1
- Ethnographic region
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.subdivision_name1
- Dzūkija
- Settlement <! more fields are available for this Infobox See Template:Infobox Settlement >.subdivision_type2
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human settlement
- Official name
- Меrkinė
- Country
- Lithuania
- Located in
- Merkinė Eldership
- Population
- +1228
- Time zone
- UTC+02:00
- Image
- Merkine panorama.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P910
- Category:Merkinė
- P8168
- Maryland City
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Jewish history
- Economy
- References
- External links
Merkinė (also known by several other names) is a small town in Alytus County, Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Neman and Merkys rivers. The town belongs to the Varėna District Municipality and is located about 26 kilometers west of Varėna and 28 kilometers south of Alytus. As of 2021, the town had 963 residents.
Merkinė is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania. The Merkinė Castle was first mentioned in written sources in 1359. The first settlers inhabited the confluence of Merkys and Nemunas in the 9th-10th century BC, at the end of the Paleolithic. On top of Merkinė hill-fort stood one of the most important Lithuanian castles, built in the 13th century, which guarded against invasions of the Teutonic Order. Merkinė was a part of a strategic triangle - Kaunas - Vilnius - Merkinė, protected with the chains of hillforts and castles. The center of Merkinė town is a state-protected urbanistic monument. Merkinė is an important point of Lithuania's domestic tourism. The town lies entirely in the Dzūkija National Park territory.