Mažeikiai (pronunciation (help·info), Samogitian: Mažeikē) is a city in the north-western Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 45,300, making it the 8th largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of Mažeikiai district municipality in Telšiai County. It is the largest city that does not have its county.
History
Building of Mažeikiai district municipality
Mažeikiai is first mentioned in written sources in 1335. A chronicler of the Livonian Order wrote about a campaign of the Order, during which the land of Duke Mažeika was devastated. The town started growing rapidly in 1869 when a railway line connecting Vilnius and Liepaja was constructed. In 1893, the town had 13 shops and 5 alehouses. In 1894 an Orthodox church was built, in 1902 a Catholic church, and in 1906 an Evangelical-Lutheran church.
Economy
In 1980 an oil refinery plant "Mažeikių Nafta" was opened. Today it is one of the largest industrial plants in Lithuania. Its privatisation to Williams, an American energy company, caused many scandals and major disturbances in the Lithuanian government. Williams International facing financial problems sold Mažeikių Nafta to Yukos. After Yukos' bankruptcy, the Lithuanian government and Polish company PKN Orlen signed a sale agreement of Mažeikių Nafta in 2006. Also Yukos International UK B.V. signed a sale agreement with PKN Orlen, selling its Mažeikių Nafta shares to the Polish company. The buyout was finalized on 15 December 2006, with USD 1,492,000,000 being paid by PKN Orlen to Yukos International, and USD 851,828,900.31 to the Lithuanian Government.[1]
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