Zarasai District Municipality

Zarasai District Municipality Zarasų rajono savivaldybė
Municipality
UTC+3 (EEST)
Telephone code	385
Major settlements	Zarasai (pop. 5,947)
Website	www.zarasai.lt

Zarasai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It borders with Latvia and Belarus.

It has significant Russian minority population in Lithuania, with sixth of the population claiming Russian ethnicity.^[2]

Local government units

The district has the following localities:

• 2 cities (miestas): Zarasai (capital) and Dusetos
• 3 towns (miestelis): Antalieptė, Salakas, and Turmantas
• about 800 rural settlements (villages and single-family farmsteads)

Biggest population (2001):

• Zarasai – 8365
• Dusetos – 2054
• Salakas – 604
• Dimitriškės – 470
• Antazavė – 461
• Turmantas – 397
• Aviliai – 373
• Antalieptė – 359
• Degučiai – 324

Geography and attractions

30% of the territory is covered by forests (about 65% of those are pine forests), about 10% by lakes. The district has about 300 lakes. The most famous lake is

was built and 27 different lakes joined to form one lagoon. It has about 50 islands. There are 8 rivers, the longest is Šventoji River (almost 45 km in the district). The district has two regional parks, Sartai and Gražutė.

The district is rich in beautiful nature and could become a tourist destination. However, the geographic location is very inconvenient. Zarasai district municipality is away from major highways. Also, it is quite far away from the capital,

for recreation.

The district has many

.

Stelmužė Oak, the oldest tree in Lithuania, grows in the district.

Nature and geography

• 
  Smalvas
• 
  Stelmužė Oak
• 
  Landscape near Turmantas

References

55°43′52″N 26°11′17″E / 55.73111°N 26.18806°E / 55.73111; 26.18806