Portal:Lithuania

Welcome to the Lithuania Portal — Sveiki atvykę į Lietuvos Portalą

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km² (25,200 sq mi), and has a population of 2.9 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities include Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians are the titular nation, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of Balts, and speak Lithuanian.

For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1386, the grand duchy entered into a de facto personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The two realms were united into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, forming one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries gradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.

Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared independence in 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, before being reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence. (Full article...)

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Burning synagogue in Lithuania.

The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian (Litvaks) and Polish Jews^[a] in Generalbezirk Litauen of the Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Nazi-controlled Lithuania. Of approximately 208,000–210,000 Jews at the time of the Nazi invasion, an estimated 190,000 to 195,000 were killed before the end of World War II, most of them between June and December 1941. This genocide would also mark the beginning of Hitler's Final Solution. More than 95% of Lithuania's Jewish population was murdered over the three-year German occupation, a more complete destruction than befell any other country in the Holocaust. Historians attribute this to the massive collaboration in the genocide by the non-Jewish local paramilitaries, though the reasons for this collaboration are still debated. The Holocaust resulted in the largest loss of life in so short a period of time in the history of Lithuania.

The events in the western regions of the USSR occupied by Nazi Germany in the first weeks after the German invasion, including Lithuania, marked a sharp intensification of the Holocaust.^[b] (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Lithuania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Lithuanian state in 13–15th centuries (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 2An Anti-Soviet rally in Vingis Park of about 250,000 people. Sąjūdis was a movement which led to the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 3Jogaila's treaty with the Teutonic Knights precipitated the fall of Kęstutis. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 4Cepelinai served with sour cream (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 5Traditional Lithuanian house from late 19th century (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 6Gediminas' Tower and other remnants of the Upper Castle in Vilnius (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 7Act of Kreva signed on 14 August 1385 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 8The plan of deportations of the civilian population in Lithuania during the Operation Priboi (1949) created by the Soviet MGB. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 9Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the restoration of statehood of Lithuania with foreign leaders (Vilnius, 2018) (from History of Lithuania)
Image 10Flag of Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 11Kernavė Mounds (from History of Lithuania)
Image 12Counties of Lithuania 1920–1939 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 13A ceremony of Lithuanian modern pagans. (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 14Poland and Lithuania after the Union of Lublin (1569) (from History of Lithuania)
Image 15A flyer with a proposed agenda for the Great Seimas of Vilnius; it was rejected by the delegates and a more politically activist schedule was adopted (from History of Lithuania)
Image 16German soldiers and locals watch a Lithuanian synagogue burn in 1941. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 17Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 18Gediminas' Tower in Vilnius, built under Vytautas (from History of Lithuania)
Image 19Expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13–15th centuries (from History of Lithuania)
Image 20Traditional ethnographic regions of Lithuania proper (from History of Lithuania)
Image 21Lithuanian basketball clubs Žalgiris and Šiauliai playing a match (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 22Adam Mickiewicz was a Polish–Lithuanian poet when the Polish–Lithuanian state no longer existed (from History of Lithuania)
Image 23Lithuania's name in the Lithuanian language on a 1653 book cover (dides Kunigiſtes Lietuwos) (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 24Church of St. Johns in Vilnius. Example of Vilnian Baroque style (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 25The Battle of Grunwald, 1410, with Ulrich von Jungingen and Vytautas at center (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 26Battle of Grunwald was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe and is regarded as one of the most important victories in the history of Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 27Third Grand Duchy's Statute (1588 legal code) was still written in the Ruthenian language. Lithuanian coat of arms, "the Chase", is shown on the title page (from History of Lithuania)
Image 28Modern Lithuania with the former Russian Empire's administrative divisions (governorates) shown (1867–1914). (from History of Lithuania)
Image 29Lithuanian rebels during the Klaipėda Revolt (from History of Lithuania)
Image 30The first page of a manuscript copy of the First Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 31 TKPZK (which argued for Polish annexation of Lithuania) propaganda map in 1921, claiming to show the ethnic makeup of the western lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Red is supposed to mean Poles in Lithuania, and yellow – Lithuanians. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 32Baltic tribes around 1200, in the neighbourhood about to face the Teutonic Knights' conversion and conquests; note that Baltic territory extended far inland. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 33Martynas Mažvydas' Catechism was published in Lithuanian in Königsberg (1547) (from History of Lithuania)
Image 34King Władysław IV's universal of March 22, 1639 forbidding his subjects to hunt on the territory of Ducal Prussia. The universal was translated into Old Lithuanian at the Prussian chancellery. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 35Lithuanian–Polish territorial disputes in the early 1920s, including the Republic of Central Lithuania. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 36Lithuania and its administrative divisions in 1385. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 37Royal insignias of the rulers of Lithuania in the Vilnius Cathedral, 1931 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 3816th-century image of Algirdas, one of the great rulers of 14th-century Europe (from History of Lithuania)
Image 391864 Lithuanian prayer book, printed in the Latin characters and therefore prohibited. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 40Trakai Island Castle, built by Grand Duke Vytautas, which served as a residence of Lithuanian Grand Dukes (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 41Seal of Mindaugas (from History of Lithuania)
Image 42Distribution of ethnic Lithuanian population during the 19th century
  over 50% Lithuanian

  30% – 50% Lithuanian

  20% – 30% Lithuanian

  10% – 20% Lithuanian

  5% – 10% Lithuanian

  3% – 5% Lithuanian

  1% – 3% Lithuanian
(from History of Lithuania)
Image 43Jonas Basanavičius, a preeminent figure in the Lithuanian National Revival movement (from History of Lithuania)
Image 44A Lithuanian folklore band Kūlgrinda performing in Vilnius (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 45Radziwiłł map of Lithuania from 1613, featuring around 1020 settlements. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 46Coin of the Principality of Kiev, around the time of Vladimir Olgerdovich (1362–1394), imitating a Gulistan mint dang of Golden Horde ruler Jani Beg (Jambek). Uncertain Kiev region mint. Pseudo-Arabic legend. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 47Lithuania's name in writing, 1009 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 48Violeta Urmanavičiūtė, a Lithuanian soprano singer. (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 49Restored Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, which was reconstructed in a Renaissance style by Sigismund I the Old and his son Sigismund II Augustus (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 50Grand Duke Vytautas, a Lithuanian hero, was Jogaila's first cousin and rival (from History of Lithuania)
Image 51Lithuanian deportee house in Kolyma (1958). (from History of Lithuania)
Image 52Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the rule of Vytautas the Great (1392–1430) (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 53Seal of Kęstutis (from History of Lithuania)
Image 54Administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th century (from History of Lithuania)
Image 55Peace agreement between Gediminas and the Teutonic Order (from History of Lithuania)
Image 56Old Lithuanians and their lands in the 11th–12th centuries (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 57Simple Words of Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas was the first Lithuanian book and was published in 1547. (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 58Demarcation lines between Poland and Lithuania 1919–1939 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 59Unarmed Lithuanian citizen standing against a Soviet tank during the January Events. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 60Joseph Stalin, Joachim von Ribbentrop and others at the signing of the German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty (from History of Lithuania)
Image 61The Picture Gallery in Vilnius' Chodkiewicz Palace (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 62Lithuanian territorial issues 1939–1940 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 63The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 64Konstanty Kalinowski (from History of Lithuania)
Image 65Aušra, originally spelled Auszra, formulated the ideas of Lithuanian nationalism (from History of Lithuania)
Image 66Balts in the 12th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 67St. Nicholas in Vilnius, the oldest church in Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 68The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon, specified that the Roman Catholic priests in these 28 churches must know the Lithuanian language, according to his letter of 18 September 1501, which was addressed to the Bishop of Vilnius Albertas. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 69Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas, regarded as godfather of American avant-garde cinema (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 70Propaganda map of a Polish government's institute from 1929, claiming to show the number of Poles in Lithuania, extrapolated from the elections to the Lithuanian Seimas in 1923, the Polish Sejm in 1922 and censuses in 1921. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 71Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 72Grodno Military Command, loyal to Lithuania, decorated with three flags of Lithuania, Belarus, and with the Coat of arms of Lithuania, January 1919 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 73State of the Teutonic Order in 1260 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 74Leaders of the Supreme Council of Lithuania on 11 March 1990, after promulgation of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania in Vilnius (from History of Lithuania)
Image 75Leitis — the elite warrior of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, early 15th century, reconstruction. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 76Ruthenian depiction of Christian Jogaila (from History of Lithuania)
Image 77Simonas Daukantas (from History of Lithuania)
Image 78Lithuanian armed resistance against Soviet occupation lasted until 1953. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 79Lithuania and its administrative divisions in the 17th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 80Administrative divisions of Lithuania in the 16th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 81Lubart's Castle in Ukraine, built by the son of Gediminas' Liubartas in the mid-14th century, is famous for the Congress of Lutsk which took place in 1429 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 82Description of Kernavė as "Kiernow primum M. Duci Lith. domicilium" (English: Kernavė, the first residence-capital of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania) in the Radziwiłł map (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 83Map of the ancient Baltic homelands at the time of the Hunnish invasions (c. 3rd – c. 4th AD). Baltic cultural areas (identified archaeologically) are in purple. The Baltic sphere originally covered Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to modern Moscow. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 84East of the Baltic tribes: Kievan Rus' (from History of Lithuania)
Image 85Poland and Lithuania in 1526, before the Union of Lublin (from History of Lithuania)
Image 86Daumantas of Pskov killed Mindaugas in revenge for the king's taking of Daumantas' wife (from History of Lithuania)
Image 87Title of the Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania written in the Ruthenian language, 1588 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 88Le Château — Conte de fées (Lithuanian: Pilis — Pasaka) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1909) (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 89Lithuania in the Mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte, 1321. The inscription reads: Letvini pagani – pagan Lithuanians. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 90A facsimile of a page from Sebastian Münster atlas Cosmographia universalis (first edition 1544), describing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1544 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 91The original twenty members of the Council of Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 92Lithuania and its administrative divisions in 1430 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 93Lithuanian resistance fighters, commanded by the Provisional Government, lead the disarmed soldiers of the Red Army in Kaunas during the June Uprising in 1941 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 94Presidium and secretariat of the Vilnius Conference (from History of Lithuania)
Image 95Sigismund II Augustus took decisive steps to ensure preservation of the union after his death (from History of Lithuania)
Image 96Hetman Kristupas II Radvila (Krzysztof Radziwiłł, 1585–1640), a Lithuanian Calvinist and an accomplished military commander (from History of Lithuania)
Image 97Area where according to Zigmas Zinkevičius the Lithuanian language was predominantly spoken in the 16th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 98Augustinas Voldemaras, Lithuania's first prime minister (from History of Lithuania)
Image 99Antanas Smetona, the first and last president of independent Lithuania during the interbellum years. The 1918–1939 period is often known as "Smetona's time". (from History of Lithuania)
Image 100Constitution of 3 May, one of the first official state documents issued in both Polish and Lithuanian, Lithuanian edition (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 101The Grand Duchy of Lithuania within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth c. 1635 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 102Columns of Gediminas (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 103The Third Statute of Lithuania (confirmed in 1588), which stated that Poland and Lithuania have equal rights within the Commonwealth (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 104St. Anne's Church and the church of the Bernardine Monastery in Vilnius. Two examples of Gothic architecture. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 105Parade of the Lithuanian Army in Vilnius (1939) (from History of Lithuania)
Image 106The preservation of the Great Seal of Lithuania (pictured, dating to 1623) when concluding the Union of Lublin meant that the elected monarchs acts without being confirmed with the Lithuanian seals were void in Lithuania. These Lithuanian seals were in possession of the Lithuanian Grand Chancellor (Great Seal) and Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor [lt] (Lesser Seal). (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 107Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania (from History of Lithuania)
Image 108Lithuanian cemetery at All Souls night (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 109Biržai Castle (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 110Medieval-like Lithuanian soldiers during the historical reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald in 2009 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 111Vincas Kudirka (from History of Lithuania)
Image 112The first printed book in Lithuanian Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas by Martynas Mažvydas (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 113Poland and Lithuania in 1386–1434 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
Image 114Oldest surviving manuscript in the Lithuanian language (beginning of the 16th century), rewritten from a 15th-century original text (from History of Lithuania)
Image 115Opera performance Sun & Sea (Marina) at 2019 Venice Biennale (from Culture of Lithuania)
Image 116First Lithuanian legal statute, implemented in 1522–1529 (from History of Lithuania)
Image 117Former KGB headquarters in Vilnius, containing the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. (from History of Lithuania)
Image 118Pope Innocent IV's bull regarding Lithuania's placement under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, Mindaugas' baptism and coronation (from History of Lithuania)
Image 119Lithuania's name first written in 1009, in the annals of the Quedlinburg Abbey, Germany. (from History of Lithuania)

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...national food Cepelinai is named after the Zeppelins?
...The Lithuanian language is believed to be the linguistically most conservative living Indo-European tongue, retaining many features of Proto Indo-European?
...the name of Lithuania was mentioned for the first time in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009?

... that Veto, inspired by the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, is considered to be the first Polish collectible card game?
... that the first bank of the Republic of Lithuania was bankrupt after nine years of operation?
... that the deaths of five teenagers in Poland in the ToNiePokój escape room fire led to inspections of escape rooms in Lithuania and Czechia?

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Selected images

Image 1Kaunas Castle in 2016
Image 2Lithuanian design ANBO III aircraft from 1930s
Image 3Gediminas' Tower is the remaining part of the Upper Castle in Vilnius
Image 4Lithuanian resistance fighters. Anti-Soviet resistance lasted until 1950s.
Image 5"Fairy Tale - III" (1907) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Image 6Trakai Island Castle was built in the 14th century
Image 7One of the old hillfort mounds at Kernavė
Image 8Bird's-eye view of town Nida
Image 9Vytautas the Great was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Image 10Old Town of Kaunas
Image 11Bridge in Lyduvėnai is the longest railway bridge in Lithuania
Image 12The modern skyline of Vilnius
Image 13Lithuanian 2 Euro coin
Image 14Orlen Lietuva is the only oil refinery in the Baltic States
Image 15FSRU Independence in the port of Klaipėda
Image 16Sand dunes in the Curonian Spit
Image 17Skyscrapers in Vilnius
Image 18Vilnius Old Town
Image 19Summer in the port city of Klaipėda
Image 20Žaltys and the Holy Fire are depicted in Olaus Magnus' Carta Marina, above the inscription LITVANIE PARS
Image 21The victory of the Polish-Lithuanian forces over the Grand Duchy of Moscow at the Battle of Orsha in 1514
Image 22The Seal of Mindaugas is a medieval seal affixed to the October 1255 act by Mindaugas, King of Lithuania, granting Selonia to the Teutonic Knights.
Image 23Winter in the countryside of Lithuania
Image 24Kretinga Museum
Image 25Commemorative 2016 post stamp with George Maciunas

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Public holidays in Lithuania
Date	English name	Local name	Remarks
1 January	New Year's Day	Naujųjų metų diena
16 February	Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania (1918)	Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena
11 March	Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania (1990)	Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo diena
Moveable Sunday	Easter Sunday	Velykos	Commemorates resurrection of Jesus. The first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March.
The day after Easter Sunday	Easter Monday	Antroji Velykų diena
1 May	International Workers' Day	Tarptautinė darbo diena
First Sunday in May	Mother's Day	Motinos diena
First Sunday in June	Father's Day	Tėvo diena
24 June	St. John's Day / Day of Dew	Joninės / Rasos	Celebrated according to mostly pagan traditions (Midsummer Day, Saint Jonas Day).
6 July	Statehood Day	Valstybės (Lietuvos karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo) ir Tautiškos giesmės diena	Celebrates the 1253 coronation of Mindaugas, the first King of Lithuania, and the national anthem of Lithuania.
15 August	Assumption Day	Žolinė (Švenčiausios Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų diena)	Also marked according to pagan traditions, celebrating the goddess Žemyna and noting the mid-August as the middle between summer and autumn.
1 November	All Saints' Day	Visų šventųjų diena	Halloween is increasingly popular and is also informally celebrated on the eve (31 October).
2 November	All Souls' Day	Mirusiųjų atminimo (Vėlinių) diena
24 December	Christmas Eve	Kūčios
25 and 26 December	Christmas	Kalėdos	Commemorates birth of Jesus.

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