| Kalvarija is the city in south-western Lithuania, located in Marijampolė County. It is bordered in the south – with the Republic of Poland, to the west – with Vilkaviškis district, in the north – with the Marijampolė Municipality, in the east – the Lazdijai area. Through the Kalvarija passes international highway Via Baltica (Helsinki-Warsaw), major railway line Kaunas-Brussels-Šeštokai-Suwalki, good roads connect with Lazdijai, Alytus and Vištytis scenic lake surroundings.HistoryHistory reveals that word Kalvarija was first mentioned in 1684, when near the village Triobiai was built the manor that was called Kalvarija. Later, around 1700 the name of the village changed to Triobiai – Kalvarija. It proves that village and the manor is no longer separate but one unit. Over time the village expanded and the name of it changes only to Kalvarija. In 1791 Stanislaw August Poniatowski recognized that Kalvarija had the right to call itself a town and confirmed the municipality’s coat of arms. Kalvarija developed rapidly when the new St. Petersburg-Warsaw road was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1840 began the construction of a new Catholic church, which still stands today. Kalvarija continued to expand in twentieth century as well but peaceful life was stopped because of World War I. By the outbreak of it, Kalvarija had over 10,000 inhabitants; the destruction of two-thirds of the town during the war caused the population decline. During the battle city was strongly damaged, building were destroyed, villages was burnt and people killed.In 1918 Lithuania declared its independence but only after half a year German soldier’s left Kalvarija city. Despite all incidents life in the city stabilized. In 1950 Kalvarija became the center of the region. In 1991 was approved the current coat of arms. |
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)