Šalčininkai

Šalčininkai
City
Church in the town
Coat of arms
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Dzūkija
County	Vilnius County
Municipality	Šalčininkai district municipality
Eldership	Šalčininkai eldership
Capital of	Šalčininkai district municipality Šalčininkai eldership
First mentioned	1311
Granted city rights	1956
Population  (2005)
• Total	6,644
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Šalčininkai (, Polish: Soleczniki) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.

Šalčininkai received its city rights in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality. Šalčininkai features a multi-ethnic population of Poles (72%), Lithuanians (13%), Russians (7%), Belarusians (4%). Šalčininkai contains the highest percentage number of Poles of any city in Lithuania. The city's coat of arms, designed by Arvydas Každailis, shows three hazelnuts symbolizing solidarity of the population. Polish pole vaulting Olympic champion Władysław Kozakiewicz was born in the town.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Lithuania

Twin towns - Sister cities

Šalčininkai is twinned with:

• Łowicz, Poland (since 2003)
• Żnin, Poland (since 2003)
• Sokółka, Poland
• Łomża, Poland