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Vilnius County is the biggest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius.
History
Vilnius county was first established in 1566. During the centuries the boundaries and the jurisdiction constantly changed. During World War I, it was occupied by the German army. After the war, the area was ruled by Polish volounteers. Following the start of the Polish-Soviet War, in 1919 it was occupied by the Red Army, which was pushed back by the Polish Army. In 1920 it was again occupied by the Red Army, but Soviets officially recognized the sovereignty of Lithuanian Republic over the city immidiately after defeat during Warsaw battle. The Polish commander Pilsudski, which was born in Lithuania and was Lithuanian Pole, ordered his subordinate to "rebel" his Lithuanian-Belorussian division and capture Vilnius city, without declaring war on Lithuania. During this operation territories around Vilnius were occupied by Polish troops (see Central Lithuania). This way, the bigger part of present Vilnius County and Utena County (but without Utena town itself) were included into Lithuanian Republic only after 1939.
After WWII Vilnius County existed as a relic of prewar independent state in Lithuanian SSR for short time in 1944 - 1950 . In this period, significant part of its population moved to Poland during so called repatriation (Lithuanian authorities tried to prevent the action due to opinion that many of repatriated Poles were of Lithuanian or Belarusian origin).
After reestablishment of Lithuania in 1990, Vilnius county also was reestablished in different borders in 1994.
Districts
The county is subdivided into 6 districts
External link
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