Portal:Lithuania
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Lithuania (/ˌlɪθjuˈeɪnijə/ ⓘ LITH-yoo-AYN-ee-yə; Lithuanian: Lietuva [lʲiətʊˈvɐ]), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika [lʲiətʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ]), 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. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.86 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, which is also the most widely spoken language of the branch.
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 bi-confederal 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.
Lithuania is a developed country with a high income, advanced economy, ranking 37th in the Human Development Index (HDI) and 19th in the World Happiness Report. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the eurozone, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Schengen Agreement, NATO, and OECD. It also participates in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) regional co-operation format. (Full article...)
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Romuva is a neo-pagan movement derived from the traditional mythology of the Lithuanians, attempting to reconstruct the religious rituals of the Lithuanians before their Christianization in 1387. Practitioners of Romuva claim to continue Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore, customs and superstition. Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature and ancestor worship. Practicing the Romuva faith is seen by many adherents as a form of cultural pride, along with celebrating traditional forms of art, retelling Baltic folklore, practicing traditional holidays, playing traditional Baltic music, singing traditional dainos (songs), as well as ecological activism and stewarding sacred places.
Romuva primarily exists in Lithuania but there are also congregations of adherents in Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States, and England. There are believers of Baltic pagan faiths in other nations, including Dievturība in Latvia. According to the 2001 census, there were approximately 1,200 people in Lithuania identifying with Romuva. That number jumped to around 5,100 in the 2011 census. (Full article...)General images
- Image 1Lithuanian state in 13–15th centuries (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 4Counties of Lithuania 1920–1939 (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 5Modern Lithuania with the former Russian Empire's administrative divisions (governorates) shown (1867–1914). (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 6Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas, regarded as godfather of American avant-garde cinema (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 8Cepelinai served with sour cream (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 9Jonas Basanavičius, a preeminent figure in the Lithuanian National Revival movement (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 10Trakai Island Castle, built by Grand Duke Vytautas, which served as a residence of Lithuanian Grand Dukes (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 11Antanas 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 14Restored 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 15Leaders 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 17Oldest surviving manuscript in the Lithuanian language (beginning of the 16th century), rewritten from a 15th-century original text (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 18Lithuanian–Polish territorial disputes in the early 1920s, including the Republic of Central Lithuania. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 19A ceremony of Lithuanian modern pagans. (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 201960 postage stamp depicting Lithuanians in traditional clothing (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 21A 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 22An 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 23Pope 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 25Map of the ancient Baltic homelands at the time of the Hunnish invasions (3rd-4th c. 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 26The 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 27Lithuanian territorial issues 1939–1940 (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 28Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the restoration of statehood of Lithuania with foreign leaders (Vilnius, 2018) (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 29The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 311864 Lithuanian prayer book, printed in the Latin characters and therefore prohibited. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 32Church of St. Johns in Vilnius. Example of Vilnian Baroque style (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 35Adam Mickiewicz was a Polish–Lithuanian poet when the Polish–Lithuanian state no longer existed (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 36Lithuanian basketball clubs Žalgiris and Šiauliai playing a match (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 39Lithuania's name first written in 1009, in the annals of the Quedlinburg Abbey, Germany. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 40Joseph Stalin, Joachim von Ribbentrop and others at the signing of the German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 41St. Anne's Church and the church of the Bernardine Monastery in Vilnius. Two examples of Gothic architecture. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 42The Battle of Grunwald, 1410, with Ulrich von Jungingen and Vytautas at center (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 45Jogaila's treaty with the Teutonic Knights precipitated the fall of Kęstutis. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 46Third 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 47Daumantas of Pskov killed Mindaugas in revenge for the king's taking of Daumantas' wife (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 49Aušra, originally spelled Auszra, formulated the ideas of Lithuanian nationalism (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 52Sigismund II Augustus took decisive steps to ensure preservation of the union after his death (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 53Martynas Mažvydas' Catechism was published in Lithuanian in Königsberg (1547) (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 54Description 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 55The 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 56The Grand Duchy of Lithuania within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth c. 1635 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 57German soldiers and locals watch a Lithuanian synagogue burn in 1941. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 59A 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 60Grand Duke Vytautas, a Lithuanian hero, was Jogaila's first cousin and rival (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 61Lithuania and its administrative divisions in 1385. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 62Lithuania in the Mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte, 1321. The inscription reads: Letvini pagani – pagan Lithuanians. (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 63Lithuanian armed resistance against Soviet occupation lasted until 1953. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 67Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the rule of Vytautas the Great (1392 – 1430) (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 69Constitution of 3 May, one of the first official state documents issued in both Polish and Lithuanian, Lithuanian edition (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 70Expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13–15th centuries (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 72Royal insignias of the rulers of Lithuania in the Vilnius Cathedral, 1931 (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 73Poland and Lithuania after the Union of Lublin (1569) (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 75Title of the Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania written in the Ruthenian language, 1588 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 79Gediminas' Tower and other remnants of the Upper Castle in Vilnius (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 80Simple Words of Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas was the first Lithuanian book and was published in 1547. (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 82Area where according to Zigmas Zinkevičius the Lithuanian language was predominantly spoken in the 16th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 83Coin 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 84Lithuanian 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 85Lubart'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 86Hetman Kristupas Radvila or Krzysztof Radziwiłł (1585–1640), a Lithuanian Calvinist and an accomplished military commander (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 87Baltic 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 91The first printed book in Lithuanian Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas by Martynas Mažvydas (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 92Traditional ethnographic regions of Lithuania proper (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 93Medieval-like Lithuanian soldiers during the historical reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald in 2009 (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 94The 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 9516th-century image of Algirdas, one of the great rulers of 14th-century Europe (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 97The plan of deportations of the civilian population in Lithuania during the Operation Priboi (1949) created by the Soviet MGB. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 98King 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 99Administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th century (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 100Unarmed Lithuanian citizen standing against a Soviet tank during the January Events. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 102Demarcation lines between Poland and Lithuania 1919–1939 (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 103Grodno 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 104Former KGB headquarters in Vilnius, containing the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. (from History of Lithuania)
- Image 105Lithuania and its administrative divisions in the 17th century (from Grand Duchy of Lithuania)
- Image 107Lithuanian cemetery at All Souls night (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 108Battle 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)
Did you know - load new batch
- ...that Lithuanian book smugglers transported Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ban on such materials in force from 1864 to 1904?
- ...AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd is of Lithuanian descent?
- ...the name of Lithuania was mentioned for the first time in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009?
- ... that in 2020 Robert Tvorogal became Lithuania's first European champion in gymnastics?
- ... that Daniel Klein's Grammatica Litvanica, the first printed grammar of the Lithuanian language, introduced the distinctive Lithuanian letter Ė?
- ... that the Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Republic exchanged 13 detained German diplomats for 24 jailed leaders of the Kaunas Soviet of Workers Deputies?
Selected images
- Image 1Žaltys and the Holy Fire are depicted in Olaus Magnus' Carta Marina, above the inscription LITVANIE PARS
- Image 2Bridge in Lyduvėnai is the longest railway bridge in Lithuania
- Image 3The victory of the Polish-Lithuanian forces over the Grand Duchy of Moscow at the Battle of Orsha in 1514
- Image 5Orlen Lietuva is the only oil refinery in the Baltic States
- Image 6Summer in the port city of Klaipėda
- Image 7Old Town of Kaunas
- Image 8Kretinga Museum
- Image 9"Fairy Tale - III" (1907) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
- Image 10Trakai Island Castle was built in the 14th century
- Image 11Skyscrapers in Vilnius
- Image 12The modern skyline of Vilnius
- Image 13Commemorative 2016 post stamp with George Maciunas
- Image 14One of the old hillfort mounds at Kernavė
- Image 17Lithuanian design ANBO III aircraft from 1930s
- Image 18Winter in the countryside of Lithuania
- Image 19The 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 20Lithuanian 2 Euro coin
- Image 21Vilnius Old Town
- Image 22Bird's-eye view of town Nida
- Image 23Sand dunes in the Curonian Spit
- Image 24Kaunas Castle in 2016
- Image 25Lithuanian resistance fighters. Anti-Soviet resistance lasted until 1950s.