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1868 painting of Druskininkai by Napoleon Orda
According to some sources the site of present-day Druskininkai was inhabited by local Yotvingian tribes in the early Middle Ages. In the 13th century the area became a part of the expanding Duchy of Lithuania. A small castle was built in the area as a part of the defence system against the Teutonic Order. In 1308 the castle was conquered by the Teutonic Knights and destroyed, causing a depopulation of the area. In 1569, the area of Druskininkai came under Polish influence.
The first written mention of Druskininkai dates back to 1636. The name of the city suggests that the local population collected minerals such as salt. In the late 18th century it was believed that minerals found in the waters of Druskininkai area produced health benefits and their usage in the medical treatment of asthma and other ailments began. In the early 19th century Ignacy Fonberger, a professor at the University of Vilnius, analyzed the chemical composition of Druskininkai's waters and showed that they contain large amounts of Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Iodine, Bromine, Iron and Magnesium. He also promoted the city as a holiday resort for the population of Vilnius. In the eighteenth century, the city was eagerly visited by Polish kings who treated their health ailments.
After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Druskininkai became part of the Russian Empire (Russian partition of Poland). In 1837 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia bestowed upon Druskininkai the status of a spa, and construction of pensions and hostels started. To ease communication to the spa, a ferry service on the Nemunas was started. The spa became popular in many parts of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1862 the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway was opened and Druskininkai's railway station was placed only 19 kilometres (12 miles) from the city.
In June 1887, a Jewish national conference was held in Druskininkai led by Leon Pinsker and Moses Lilienblum which discussed ideas that played an important role in the development of the Zionist movement.
By the beginning of the 20th century the Druskininkai spa was one of the most popular resorts in the area and a place of summer residence for the middle class of Vilnius, Warsaw and Moscow.[citation needed]
After World War I the city became part of Poland. Its popularity was increased by the patronage of Józef Piłsudski, who spent most of his summer holidays there and promoted the development of the area. Soon most of the resort was bought up by the state-owned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and the construction of luxurious villas and pensions started. According to the first Polish census of 1921, Druskininkai was inhabited by 989 people, among whom 646 were Roman Catholic, 46 Orthodox, 3 Evangelical and 294 Jewish. At the same time, 700 inhabitants declared Polish nationality, 8 Belarusian, 242 Jewish, 20 Russian and only 19 Lithuanian. There were 308 residential buildings here. In 1934 a railway link with the Parečča [ru] train station was opened and the city became more accessible to the general public. It was a gmina (municipal) center in Grodno powiat (county) of Białystok Voivodeship.
After Poland was invaded in September 1939, the city was briefly incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR as raion center in Belastok Region. However, on 7 September 1940, Stalin transferred Druskininkai to Lithuania which in turn was annexed in August of that year and incorporated into the Soviet Union. It was occupied by Nazi Germany on 23 June 1941 and was part of Bezirk Bialystok. At this period, and as part of the "Final Solution" plan of the Nazis, the Jewish community of the city was wiped out. Some of the Jews were sent to ghettos in near-by Kaunas, and the remainder murdered by the Nazis. It was taken again by Red Army on 14 July 1944 and remained part of Lithuania under the Soviet occupation. In 1951, Druskininkai began to grow rapidly again and several huge sanatoriums and spa hospitals were opened. Over the time, the city became a major resort, attracting around 400,000 visitors.[citation needed]
