Šiauliai County is situated in Northern Lithuania and includes Šiauliai city and municipalities of Akmenė, Joniškis, Kelmė, Pakruojis, Radviliškis and Šiauliai districts’. In Šiauliai County live circa 370 thousand inhabitants. General area of County is 8540 km. By the territory it is secondary county of Lithuania. Around the Šiauliai County is beautiful various nature: valleys of Dubysa, Mūša, Venta and other smaller rivers, clear lakes, scarce plants and animals in the forests, there is aplenty of important cultural memorials.
Akmenė district municipality is located in the south-western part of Šiauliai County, at the border with Latvia. There is the eastern border of Žemaitija region; the region of Aukštaitija starts there. The district is situated in the lowland of the middle reaches of the largest river in the region – the Venta River. The territory is also crossed by its tributaries – the Virvytė, Vadakstis and Dabikinė. There is the Venta Regional Park, Kamanos, Purviai reserves, Papilė geological, Venta landscape reserves; there are hydrographical reserves extending along the Avižlys, Dabikinė and Virvytė rivers, the old parks of Dabikinė, Kruopiai, Papilė. There are 5 ponds, the largest whereof – Sablauskiai. To the north from Akmenė, there is one of the oldest oligotrophic bogs in Europe – Kamanos marshland. The largest forests – Pragalvojai, Kamanos, Latveliškiai, Girkančiai, Lydmiškis.
There are two Papilė castle mounds, Luokava Hill, many tumuli and sacred places.
Joniškis district municipality is a situated in Northern Lithuania, at the border with Latvia. The largest part of the region is located on the Žiemgala Lowland. The territory is crossed by the rivers of Mūša, Platonis, Vilkija, Audruvis, Sidabra, Švėtė. Important objects of environmental protection – Pabaliai botanical, Vilkija hydrographical, Mūša tyrelis telmological reserves, Žagarė Regional and Skaistgirys parks. There are 28 ponds (the largest thereof – those of Žvelgaičiai, Ramoškiai, Beržėnai). The largest forests – those of Tyrelis, Žagarė, Reibiniai, Satkūnai, Didmiškis.
The municipality is crossed by an important international highway Riga–Kryžkalnis–Kaliningrad, a railway line Tallinn–Warsaw. It is one of the most important agricultural regions of Lithuania. It also stands out among other regions with its peat bogs and resources of dolomites. It is an important centre of processing of agricultural products.
There are castle mounds (those of Žvelgaitis, Raktuvė, Kalnelis), monuments to the memory of dead partisans (in the forests of Tyrelis, Montoriškiai and others), artistic monuments. Important architectural and cultural monuments of the 18th–19th centuries – the churches of St George in Skaistgirys, Sts Peter and Paul in Žagarė, St John the Baptist in Juodeikiai, a church of the Assumption in Joniškis; a mansion and a stud farm in Žagarė, Jakiškiai mansion.
Kelmė district municipality is located in the south-western part of Šiauliai County, on the Vidurio (Central) Žemaičiai Lowland and Rytų (Eastern) Žemaičiai Plateau. There are as many as 7 reserves (Šilkainiai geomorphologic, Šatrija landscape, etc.), part of the territory of Tytuvėnai, Kurtuvėnai, Dubysa, Varniai regional parks. The region is crossed by the Dubysa and the Venta rivers with tributaries. There are as many as 53 lakes (the largest whereof – Gauštvinis, Gludas, Bridvaišis, Karklėnai), 10 ponds (Aunuvėnai, Kentriai, Pašiaušė). The largest forests are Vainagiai, Patumšiai, Padubysis, and Tytuvėnai. There are about 10 parks, the better known whereof – that of Pagryžuvys.
There are more than 70 folk artists in the district, who exhibit their works at various folk art exhibitions.Annual traditional events – folk art festival, Tytuvėnai summer festival, national festival Linas, a week of Gregorian chant and church tradition studies Ad Fontes, an internationaltheatre festival , district choirs festival (biennial), a festival of country choirs and folklore groups ,art song festival and others.
Pakruojis district municipality is located in the north-eastern part of Šiauliai County, at the border with Latvia. The largest part of the area is covered by the lowlands of Žiemgala and Mūša-Nemunėlis. There are two state-protected parks. The municipality is crossed by the Mūša River with its tributaries the Kruoja, Daugyvenė, Šiladis. There are 9 ponds. There are a few forests, the largest whereof – Rozalimas, Gedžiūnai, Pakruojis, Klusiškiai. There is spruce, birch, aspen woods.
Important cultural monuments are a church of Our Lady of the Rosary and an ensemble of buildings of a former monastery in Linkuva, Triškoniai chapel, a complex of two pubs in Žeimelis. There is the Pakruojis mansion, where a Frenchman Dubois de Montpereux, who was teaching there sometime, prepared and published the first geological map of Lithuania.
Many spectators are annually attracted by motocross competitions in the Petrašiūnai motocross track and a bike show in Paežeriai.
Radviliškis district municipality is located in the south-eastern part of Šiauliai County, at the watershed of the basins of the Mūša and Nevėžis rivers. The largest part of the district is covered by the Rytų (Eastern) Žemaičiai Lowland. The district is crossed by the Šušvė River. There are 9 lakes (the largest whereof – Arimaičiai), ponds, Praviršulis (botanical zoological reserve) and Sulinkiai marshes. The largest forests – those of Baisogala, Varnioniai, Radviloniai, and Bargailiai; mixed and spruce forests predominate.
Important cultural monuments are the Alksnupiai cemetery chapel, Raudondvaris, Baisogala, Burbiškis estate buildings and parks, a church of All Saints and a chapel in Pašušvys, a church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross and a windmill in Šeduva, Kleboniškiai village folk life museum. The district may be proud of its Daugyvenė museum-reserve of cultural history.
Šiauliai district municipality occupies the central part of Šiauliai county. It is situated at the crossing of three geographical regions – the borders of the slope of the Žemaičiai Upland of the Rytų (Eastern) Žemaitija Plateau, the lowland of the middle reaches of the Venta and the lowland of Mūša-Nemunėlis. The area of the district covers part of the Kurtuvėnai Regional Park. The municipality is crossed by the Venta with tributaries the Ringuva, Žižma, the tributaries of the Mūša – the Einautas, Kulpė; there are the headwaters of the Švėtė and the Dubysa. There are 27 natural lakes, as well as artificial lakes (those of Talsa, Gelsva, Ginkūnai), artificial ponds. There are the large forests of Gruzdžiai, Gubernija, Gulbinai, Rėkyva.
Important architectural monuments – the church of St Michael the Archangel and sepulchral chapel in Šakyna, windmills in Meškuičiai and Žaliūkės, castle mounds of Bubiai, Šilėnai. Twelve kilometres from Šiauliai, near the Šiauliai–Riga highway and railway, there is the Jurgaičiai (Domantai) castle mound (known as the Hill of Crosses), from times immemorial called by the locals the hill of prayer, the hill of a castle, the holy hill.
Šiauliai is a town of Northern Lithuania, located on eastern slopes of Žemaičiai Upland, at the watershed of the basins of the Mūša, Dubysa, Venta and Nevėžis rivers. The urban scenery is enlivened by low hills, lakes, ponds and parks. In the southern part of Šiauliai, there is the tenth largest lake in Lithuania – Rėkyva Lake, surrounded by marshes and peat bogs. The hilliest, picturesque eastern part of Šiauliai is adorned with Salduvė pond. Talša Lake with its environs is a historically, culturally, economically and recreationally important location of Šiauliai. There are as many as 16 larger and smaller parks. Didždvaris, Gubernija and Rėkyva parks are included on the list of cultural values.
There are about 40 cultural monuments – the church of Sts Peter and Paul, former palace of Ch. Frenkel (1908, today –Aušra museum), central building of a post office (1939) and others. The main celebration – the Day of the Battle of Saule and the data of birth of Šiauliai town, celebrated on the 22nd of September.
