Ašašninkai

Ašašninkai is a village in Varėna district municipality, in Alytus County, in southeastern Lithuania. According to the 2021 census, the village has a population of 27 people.^[2] In the years 1921-1945 the village was within the borders of Poland. Ašašninkai is the southernmost inhabited place is Lithuania.

Barrier between Lithuania and Belarus near Ašašninkai village

Ašašninkai
Village
Ašašninkai, Žirmūnų street
Ašašninkai
Ašašninkai Location in Lithuania
Coordinates: 53°56′10″N 24°18′10″E
Country	Lithuania
Ethnographic region	Dzūkija
County	Alytus County
Municipality	Varėna district municipality
Elderships	Marcinkonys eldership
Population  (2021[1])
• Total	27
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Ašašninkai village is located c. 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Druskininkai, 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Marcinkonys, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from Kabeliai (the nearest settlement) and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the Belarusian border.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1959 289 —     1979 185 −36.0% 1989 108 −41.6%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 75 −30.6% 2011 43 −42.7% 2021 27 −37.2%
Source: 1959, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2011

Etymology

The name Ašašninkai (in Dzūkian Ašašnykai) comes from Lithuanian: ašašnykas < Belarusian: асочнік, Russian: осочник which mean 'a hunter beater, a forest ranger, a forest keeper, a tracker'. Before 1990 the village was officially called Kabeliai II.^[3]