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Aukštaitija

Aukštaitija

Aukštaitija (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ɐukʃˈtɐǐːtʲɪjɐ], Highlands) is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania.[1] The name comes from the relatively high elevation of the region, particularly the eastern parts.[2]

[[INLINE_IMAGE|https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,8,55.57,24.823,400x400.png?lang=en&domain=en.wikipedia.org&title=Auk%C5%A1taitija&groups=_0888c37b81d63d8d02df82355be6917593632aef|undefined||h400|w400]]

Geography

Detailed relief map of Lithuania

Detailed relief map of Lithuania

Landscape of Aukštaitija

Landscape of Aukštaitija

Aukštaitija is in the northeast part of Lithuania and also encompasses a small part of Latvia and Belarus. The largest city and, though not in any strict political sense, the considered capital of the region is Panevėžys, which has over 100,000 inhabitants. The largest cities (by population; those over 20,000 inhabitants) are:

  • Panevėžys – 119,749 (considered to be capital)

  • Jonava – 34,954

  • Utena – 33,860

  • Kėdainiai – 32,048

  • Visaginas – 29,554 (note – this city was built by the Soviets and is mainly inhabited by Russians and other Soviet nationalities, therefore it is part of this ethnographic region only geographically)

  • Ukmergė – 28,759

  • Radviliškis – 20,339

The region has many lakes, mainly in the eastern side.

History

Historically Aukštaitija had been correspondent to the Duchy of Lithuania up to the 13th century. Its initial capital most likely was Kernavė. In the treaty of Gediminas of 1322, Aukštaitija is named terra Eustoythen ('land of Aukštaitians(=highlanders)'). Aukštaitija was mentioned as Austechia in Chronicon terrae Prussiae written around 1326. Politically, since the end of the 13th century, it comprised the Duchy of Vilnius/Lithuania and Duchy of Trakai, and perhaps was employed to refer to them both taken together. Since the 15th century, corresponding Trakai Voivodeship and Vilnius Voivodeship made up Aukštaitija, as a political and ethnically based unit, also known as Lithuania Propria.

Demographics

Local people mainly speak the Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian. Under the new classification of dialects Lithuanian is divided into just two dialects, Aukštaitian and Samogitian with all previous dialects being classified as subdialects. The Sudovian and Dzukian dialects are also considered subdialects of Aukštaitian now, therefore the specific subdialect spoken in Aukštaitija is known as East Aukštaitian.

The region has Russian and Belarusian minorities in the east, subdialects there use more loan words from those languages. However the usage of dialects, as in Lithuania in general, is decreasing.

Symbols

Aukštaitian Coat of Arms

Aukštaitian Coat of Arms

Flag of Aukštaitija

Flag of Aukštaitija

The proposed designs by R. Rinkunas of the Aukštaitian flag and coat of arms were introduced to the public in March 2007.[3]

See also

  • Aukštaitija National Park

  • Samogitia

References

[1]
Citation Linkwww.thinglink.comThingLink. "AUKŠTAITIJA by baltvile". www.thinglink.com. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[2]
Citation Linkwww.llbm.lt"Etnografinių regionų metai". www.llbm.lt. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[3]
Citation Linkwww.heraldry-wiki.com"Aukštaitija - Herb Aukštaitija (coat of arms, crest)". www.heraldry-wiki.com. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[4]
Citation Linkwww.thinglink.com"AUKŠTAITIJA by baltvile"
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[5]
Citation Linkwww.llbm.lt"Etnografinių regionų metai"
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.heraldry-wiki.com"Aukštaitija - Herb Aukštaitija (coat of arms, crest)"
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM
[7]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 19, 2019, 7:02 PM