Senoji Varėna – the Beginning of Varėna’s Story
Located at the confluence of the Merkys and Varėnė rivers, Senoji Varėna is a historic village where Lithuania’s most renowned artist and composer, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, was born and baptized. From here begins the Čiurlionis Road – a route marked by wooden oak crosses and pillars that stretches all the way to Druskininkai.
Senoji Varėna – also called First Varėna or the Old Town by locals – is still an undiscovered gem for many. Few people know that this is where not only Čiurlionis was born, but also one of Lithuania’s most prominent theater directors, Dalia Tamulevičiūtė, grew up. A local legend says the name “Varėna” comes from the goddess Varėnė, protector of hunters and fishermen living by the river. Others believe it originated from the word “varo” (to drive), as serfs of a local duke were required to drive wild animals during hunts.
Today, with about 1,050 residents, Senoji Varėna is seven times smaller than the modern town of Varėna, but historically it is the origin and heart of the region, where many of the area’s key events took place. As the saying goes: “Senoji Varėna is the very beginning of Varėna.” That’s why we invite you to begin your journey through the Varėna region here!
HISTORY OF SENOJI VARĖNA
Senoji Varėna (then simply “Varėna”) was first mentioned in 1413 in a letter from Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania to the Teutonic Order. It is known that Vytautas wrote at least 11 letters from his hunting manor near the Merkys River, known as Varėna. The village is frequently mentioned in the Lithuanian Metrica between 1553 and 1567, and in 1589, it was granted the right to hold weekly markets. Senoji Varėna suffered greatly during the wars of the 17th–18th centuries and was devastated by a plague in the early 1700s, leaving only the town’s postman alive. In the 18th century, the town came under the ownership of the Brzostowskinoble family, who built the first church there. The settlement became a town, complete with a water mill, distillery, green glass factory, and a playing card workshop established in 1776.
In 1862, the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw railway line was built 4 km south of the town, and the new station gradually overshadowed the town itself. In 1881, the Russian Empire began construction of its first military training ground near Senoji Varėna – the largest of its kind in the empire at the time. In 1899, the Varėna–Grodno railway branch was added, and the Artillery Station was built. Senoji Varėna began to thrive again, with Russian civil officials and officers building elegant homes. Unfortunately, the town was heavily damaged during World War I, as Russian forces tried to repel the German advance. During Lithuania’s Wars of Independence (1919–1920), the town changed hands several times between Soviet, Lithuanian, and Polish forces. From 1920, the Lithuanian–Polish demarcation line passed nearby.
By 1931, Senoji Varėna boasted over 30 shops, a cardboard factory, and locals earned a living rafting timber. In 1927, the former Russian officers' residence was turned into a sanatorium for lung patients, and the former Artillery Station into the Dainava Sanatorium. The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union was also active in the area. On September 10, 1941, during the Nazi occupation, 831 Jews from both Varėna settlements were murdered in the Polygon Forest near the town. In November 1946, the town was attacked by Lithuanian partisans led by A. Baublys (codename Merkys). Between 1944 and 1953, several local families were deported by the Soviet regime. During the Soviet occupation, Senoji Varėna was annexed to the city of Varėna in 1980, and later, in 1994, it was separated again and became an official village.
Source © visitvarena.lt
