Valkininkai  Valkininkai () is a historic town in (Valkininkai) eldership, Varėna district municipality, Alytus County, Lithuania, located about northeast from Varėna and about southwest from Vilnius. At the 2001 census its population was 238 and at the 2011 census it was 229. The town is situated on the confluence of Merkys River with its tributaries Šalčia and Geluža. About east of Valkininkai there is Valkininkų Geležinkelio Stotis, a settlement that grew around a train station on the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway and now has more residents. It is believed that Valkininkai was first mentioned in a letter from Grand Duke Jogaila to his brother Skirgaila in 1387. The settlement developed on a large island (since then disappeared) in Merkys River. Situated near the Hrodna–Varėna–Vilnius route, the settlement had a royal estate that Grand Dukes used as a hunting lodge. The route further grew in importance after the 1385 Union of Krewo as it connected the Lithuanian capital in Vilnius with the Polish capital in Kraków. In 1418, Grand Duke Vytautas the Great gifted the estate to his wife Juliana Olshanska. In 1503, the town was mentioned as a seat of a volost. In 1516, King Sigismund I the Old accepted envoys of Charles, King of Spain and future Holy Roman Emperor in Valkininkai. A royal cannon foundry, established in 1551 and powered by a watermill, is credited for the growth of the town. Needed iron ore was collected in local swamps and imported from abroad. During the Wallach reform, craftsmen were given land and relocated from the town to nearby villages, which were often named after their craft. Such villages included Čebatoriai (shoemakers), Puodžiai (kettle makers), Kaniūkai (hostlers), Juodieji Kalviai (blacksmiths), Strielčiai (bowmen). In 1571, Valkininkai was granted city rights under Magdeburg law (the privilege was later renewed in 1723 and 1792). According to 1601 register, the town had 150 families (900–1050 people), 19 butchers, 89 pubs, and 157 craftsmen.