Valkininkai (Polish: Olkieniki) is a historic town in Valkininkų [lt] (Valkininkai) eldership, Varėna District Municipality, Alytus County, Lithuania, located about 22 km (14 mi) northeast from Varėna and about 55 km (34 mi) southwest from Vilnius.

It is believed that Valkininkai was first mentioned in a letter from Grand Duke Jogaila to his brother Skirgaila in 1387.

During the Volok 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 (potters), Kaniūkai (hostlers), Juodieji Kalviai (blacksmiths), Strielčiai (bowmen).

In 1701, during the Lithuanian Civil War between Sapieha family and other magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a major battle was fought near the town.

[7] In 1944, the town was re-occupied by the Soviet Union, which eventually annexed it from Poland into the Lithuanian SSR.

In 1581, Queen Bona Sforza built a new Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and established a parish with the seat in Valkininkai.

The central nave has a cylindrical vault; the original construction plan envisioned a small dome, but it was never built.

[8] From 1910 to 1916, Vladas Mironas, future Prime Minister of Lithuania, was the pastor at Valkininkai church.

The church displays sacred relics of Boniface of Tarsus, a 4th-century martyr, whose body was excavated from Roman catacombs and transported to Lithuania in 1765.

Impressed with the hospitality Napoleon gifted his red velvet saddle pad, richly decorated and bearing his initials.

[6] Valkininkai together with 73 other towns was granted city rights and coat of arms in 1792 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski during the Four-Year Sejm.

The coat of arms were modernized by artist Taida Balčiūnaitė and reinstated by a presidential decree in February 1993.