Mažeikiai

This was a small market town until 1869 when the Vilnius - Liepaja railway came through; in 1919 Mažeikiai became the provincial capital. It's close to the border with Latvia, which tried to claim it in 1921, but an international commission rejected the claim. It was occupied by Germany from June 1941, and its Jewish population of 4000 was wiped out; the Soviets recaptured the town in Oct 1944.

Today the principal business is Orlen oil refinery, a large complex 10 km northeast of town. Its design capacity is 15 million tons of crude oil per annum.

Asteroid 248839 Mazeikiai, discovered in 2006, is named in honour of the town. Its dimensions are similar, with a diameter of 2.6 km.

Mažeikiai is on Highway 170, which parallels the border with Latvia; Highway 163 branches north and crosses it to Ezere. From Vilnius or Kaunas drive via Šiauliai then take A11 west onto Highway 155.

Five buses a day run direct from Vilnius, taking five hours via Ukmergė, Panevėžys, Radviliškis, Šiauliai and Kuršėnai. A couple of other services involve a change but take no longer.

Five buses run direct from Kaunas, taking 4 hr 30 min via Kėdainiai and Šiauliai, and with other connecting services.

Four buses run from Klaipėda taking 3-4 hours either via Kretinga and Plungė or via Palanga and Skuodas; one continues to Akmenė.

There are no direct buses from Latvia: change in Panevėžys for the daily bus from Riga towards Vilnius.

The bus station is next to the railway station. For times and online tickets see Autobus Bilietai.

Four trains a day trundle from Panevėžys via Seduva, Radviliskis, Šiauliai, Kursene, Akmene, and a dozen little unheard-of places. Getting here from Vilnius means changing at Šiauliai and takes four hours, with three connecting services daily. From Kaunas is likewise four hours with three connecting services. For times and online tickets see LTG Link.

1 Mažeikiai railway station is north side of town. It's a fine old building but there are no ticket offices or other facilities here.