Varena
Encyclopedia
Varėna is a city in Dzūkija
Dzukija
Dzūkija or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population and has never been defined as a political or administrative unit...

, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

.

History

The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
The Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, Russian "Санкт-Петербурго-Варшавская железная дорога" is a long railway, built in the 19th century by the Russian Empire to connect Russia with Central Europe. At the time the entire railway was within Russia, as Warsaw was under a Russian partition of Poland...

, 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Sena Varėna
Sena Varena
Senoji Varėna is a village in Varėna district municipality, near Merkys River and Rivulet Varėnė confluence, 4 kilometers north of Varėna, on the road Vilnius–Druskininkai....

 (Old Varėna). At that time it was a small settlement, but following steady development it eventually became the center of the district in 1950. In the interbellum period, the town was annexed by Poland, known then as Orany. It was located near then Polish-Lithuanian border, in the Wilno-Troki County (Powiat wileńsko-trocki) of the Wilno Voivodeship. Following the joint Nazi and Soviet attack on Poland, Varėna was taken by Lithuania.

After the 1970s the town grew rapidly following industrialization. Currently there are 10,555 residents in Varėna. Varėna district is the largest and most forested region in Lithuania.

In 1946 around 2000 Poles were forced to leave for Poland.

Famous people

Lithuanian painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis , also known as M. K. Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian painter and composer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. During his short life he composed about 250 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings...

 was born in Sena Varėna
Sena Varena
Senoji Varėna is a village in Varėna district municipality, near Merkys River and Rivulet Varėnė confluence, 4 kilometers north of Varėna, on the road Vilnius–Druskininkai....

in 1875.
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