In 1639 the town was renamed Vladislavovas (Polish: Władysławów[1]) by Cecilia Renata of Austria after her husband Władysław IV Vasa.

Following World War I, it formed part of the reborn independent Lithuania.

The Shubert family, which later became prominent in building the American Broadway theatre district, also has its origins here.

During World War II, the town was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940, then by Nazi Germany from 1941.

In 1941, an Einsatzgruppen of Germans and Lithuanian collaborators murdered the local Jewish population in mass executions.