Mažeikiai

Mažeikiai is a town located in the northern part of Lithuania near the Latvian border. The history of Mažeikiai does not go as far back as the oldest times, though it is known that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries this land belonged to Ceklis region, which suffered a lot from the crusaders. The formation of the town began in 1868 after the Liepaja - Romny railway line was laid. At the crossing of the three roads from Viekšniai, Leckava and Tirkšliai, one of the railway stops was located and it was named after a small farm whose master was Mažeika.

In 1871, trains began running on this line, and in 1874, Mažeikiai was connected to Riga by a railway. In 1880, 19 plots of land were parceled out for contraction of houses near the stop, and in 1895, the first streets were laid out with cobblestones. A chemist’s and other shops were opened. Small workshops appeared. Later on, Mažeikiai springs up when in 1902 a new railway station palace of brick, locomotives and repair workshops and a school for railway men were built. Throughout the ages Mažeikiai was only a railway junction and the town of small factories and workshops. When oil–processing enterprise “Mažeikiai Nafta” was built in 1980, Mažeikiai became a large industrial town. Mažeikiai can claim to be the eighth largest city in Lithuania and is one of the most economically important towns. .

Mažeikiai people live an active cultural life. There are many various art collectives (folk, dances, choirs, pop groups of children) in the district, whose participates in many festivals in Lithuania and other countries. There is one especially well known town festival “Žemaičių Dūdos” (Samogitian Pipes), where many Lithuanian and foreign art collectives come.

View Larger Map