Parish of Pagėgiai
The area of Pagėgiai sub-district covers Pagėgiai town, Panemunė town and 24 smaller settlements. The population of the sub-district is approximately 5000 people. The sub-district used to belong to Šilutė district earlier. After Pagėgiai Municipality was established in 1999, Pagėgiai sub-district has been becoming a centre of the municipality. A new Natkiškiai sub-district was separated from the northern part of the sub-district in 2001. The total territory of the sub-district is 14 048 ha at the moment.
There are three rivers - Nemunas, Gėgė and Vikla – flowing across the lands of the sub-district. It can also boast of Velnežeris, Kurmežeris and Užlekniai lakes, as well as of a railway line running across its lands. There are border and customs offices functioning in Panemunė town situated in the territory of the sub-district. An example agricultural cooperative “Piktupėnų Javas” is situated in Piktupėnai.
The territory of Vilkyškiai sub-district covers 15 722 ha land plot. There are 24 villages in this sub-district. The total population is approximately 2000 inhabitants. The centre of the sub-district – Vilkyškiai town - is situated by the highway Kaunas – Klaipėda No. 141 that is of national importance. There are a lot of mounds, burial grounds, objects of nature and bodies of water in the localities of Vilkyškiai. The Jūra River and the Nemunas River are flowing across the territory of the sub-district. The most famous objects to be visited in the territory of the sub-district are Vilkyškiai urban reservation, Evangelical Lutheran Church and exposition dedicated to a writer Johannes Borowski in Vilkyškiai, Witches’ fir, Opstainiai I, Opstainiai II and Šereiklaukis mounds. Tourists like trips by boat on the Jūra and the Nemunas Rivers. AB Vilkyškių pieninė, one of the largest dairy product processing companies in the territory of the municipality, is situated in Vilkyškiai. Public Institution Pagėgiai Region Tourism Information Centre was established in 2011 with its registered office situated in Vilkyškiai.
The total area of Stoniškiai sub-district is 13 400 ha. Meadows that are flooded by the waters of the Nemunas river make about 1/3 of the total area of the sub-district. There are 24 villages in the sub-district. The total population is approximately 2800 people. The centre of the sub-district – Stoniškiai town - is situated by the highway Kaunas – Klaipėda No. 141 that is of national importance. The oldest villages are Rukai, Plaškiai and Berštininkai. The Gėgė, Kamona and Vilkė Rivers are flowing across the territory of the sub-district. There are Kucai Lake and the Nemunas oxbow lake – the Old Rusnė in the territory of the sub-district. The territory of the sub-district borders with the Nemunas River in the southwest and southeast. UAB Vilkė, one of the largest meat processing companies both in the sub-district and Lithuania is operating in Šilgaliai.
Lumpėnai sub-district was established in 2001. The territory of the sub-district covers 6248 ha land plot, out of which ~600 ha is forests. There are 13 villages with a total population of approximately 1300 in the sub-district.
A part of the territory of Lumpėnai sub-district is a part of the territory of Rambynas Regional Park. The sub-district is rich in natural and tourism resources: Holy Rambynas Hill, Bitėnai white stork colony, the pantheon of Lithuania Minor – Bitėnai cemetery, the meadows flooded by the Nemunas River, observation sites, towers, educational natural tracks. There are Pagėgiai Municipal Martynas Jankus Museum, Rambynas Regional Park Authority and Centre of Visitors operating here. The Lumpė Creek flows through the centre of the sub-district - Lumpėnai, and the Bitė Stream – through Bitėnai. The territory of the sub-district is separated from Kaliningrad Oblast by the Nemunas River. The territory is rich in the Nemunas oxbow lakes, i.e. Mergava Lake, Bitežeris. An example agricultural cooperative “Lumpėnų Rambynas” is situated in Lumpėnai.
Natkiškiai sub-district was established in 2001. It is the smallest sub-district in Pagėgiai municipality. The territory of the sub-district covers 5209 ha land plot. There are 17 villages with a total population of approx. 1100 people in the sub-district. Naikiškiai town is the centre of the sub-district, and old architecture buildings decorate the centre of the town. There is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in the town. An old wooden Catholic church located in Ropkojai is visited by many visitors.
