Šalčininkai

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

The name of the city derives from Šalčia river, than means in Lithuanian language šalta – cold. The region around Šalčininkai was inhabited by Lithuanians and it is one of the centres where forefathers of written Lithuanian language were born, but during the course of history, the demographics changed and now in the environs of Šalčininkai, uncodified Belarusian vernacular is widespread and the city itself is considered the most important provincial centre of Polish culture in Lithuania.

Between 1920 and 1939, Šalčininkai was part of Poland and was known as Soleczniki. Šalčininkai attained the town status in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality.