Marcinkonys

Coordinates: 54°03′40″N 24°24′0″E / 54.06111°N 24.40000°E / 54.06111; 24.40000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcinkonys
Town
Street in Marcinkonys
Street in Marcinkonys
Coat of arms of Marcinkonys
Marcinkonys is located in Lithuania
Marcinkonys
Marcinkonys
Location of Marcinkonys
Coordinates: 54°03′40″N 24°24′0″E / 54.06111°N 24.40000°E / 54.06111; 24.40000
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionDzūkija
County Alytus County
MunicipalityVarėna district municipality
EldershipMarcinkonys eldership
Capital ofMarcinkonys eldership
Population
 (2021)
 • Total493
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Marcinkonys (Polish: Marcinkańce) is a town in Varėna district, Lithuania, located 21 km. south-west of Varėna. It is the administrative center of the Marcinkonys Eldership and it houses the administrations of the Dzūkija National Park and Čepkeliai Nature Reserve. According to the 2020 estimate, it had 591 residents.[1]

Marcinkonys town is located c. 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Druskininkai, 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Varėna.

History[edit]

Throughout the history the place was under Russian, Polish, and Soviet rules and therefore it may be referred to by multiple names and spellings, including Marcinkańce (Polish name), Martsinkantse (phonemic transliteration of the Polish name), Martsinkantsy (transliteration of the Russified Polish name), and Martsinkonis (transliteration of Russian Марцинконис).[2]

The settlement was first mentioned in 1637 as a camp of foresters. It began growing after completion of the railway station in its location for the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway in 1864.

During the Holocaust, the town had the Marcinkonys Ghetto for the Lithuanian Jews. Some Jews escaped during the liquidation of the ghetto and managed to survive the war.[3]

Etymology[edit]

The name Marcinkonys comes from a personal name Lithuanian: Marcinkónis (also Marcìnka, Marciñkus) which originates from Slavic forms for a name Martin, Marcin (Polish: Marcinko, Marcinek, Belarusian: Маpтынчык).[4]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19591,223—    
19791,080−11.7%
1989835−22.7%
YearPop.±%
2001765−8.4%
2011640−16.3%
2021493−23.0%
Source: 1959, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2011

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Marcinkonių seniūnija".
  2. ^ United States Board of Geographic Names - Marcinkonys. Accessed January 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Browning, Christopher R. (2000). Nazi policy, Jewish workers, German killers. Cambridge University Press. pp. 157–160, 166. ISBN 978-0-521-77490-1.
  4. ^ Šimkus, Šarūnas (2023). Varėnos krašto vietovardžių etimologinis žodynas (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Liutauras Leščinskas. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-609-447-388-3.