Template:Transclude list item excerpts as random slideshow/testcases/Portal:Lithuania
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Introduction
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...)
Selected pictures
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Image 1Lithuanian soldiers with armoured train Gediminas 3, used in the Lithuanian Wars of Independence (from Lithuania)
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Image 2Lithuanian counties by GDP per capita, 2022 (from Lithuania)
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Image 4Lithuanian cemetery at All Souls night (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 7Lithuania's GDP per capita compared to rest of the world (2022) (from Lithuania)
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Image 9Monument in Naujoji Vilnia in memory of the Soviet deportations from Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 10Lithuanian basketball clubs Žalgiris and Šiauliai playing a match (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 11Vilnius University, one of the oldest universities in the region. It was established by Stephen Báthory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1579. (from Lithuania)
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Image 131960 postage stamp depicting Lithuanians in traditional clothing (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 16A proportional representation of Lithuania's exports, 2019 (from Lithuania)
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Image 23The earliest known Lithuanian glosses (between 1520 and 1530) written in the margins of Johann Herolt book Liber Discipuli de eruditione Christifidelium. Words: teprÿdav[ſ]ʒÿ (let it strike), vbagÿſte (indigence). (from Lithuania)
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Image 26Gryčia (traditional dwelling house, built in the 19th century) (from Lithuania)
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Image 27Physical map and geomorphological subdivision of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 28Site of the Paneriai massacre, where the German Nazis and their collaborators executed up to 100,000 people of various nationalities. About 70,000 of them were Jews. (from Lithuania)
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Image 29Statutes of Lithuania were the central piece of Lithuanian law in 1529–1795. (from Lithuania)
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Image 31Cepelinai served with sour cream (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 32Lithuanian resistance fighters. The armed resistance was 50,000 strong at its peak. (from Lithuania)
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Image 37Rock band Antis, which under firm censorship actively mocked the Soviet Union regime by using metaphors in their lyrics, during an Anti-Sovietism, Anti-communism concert in 1987 (from Lithuania)
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Image 38Lithuanian Army soldiers marching with their dress uniforms in Vilnius. An officer stands out with a sword. (from Lithuania)
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Image 39Nasdaq Vilnius Stock Exchange, located in K29 business centre in Konstitucijos Avenue, Vilnius (from Lithuania)
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Image 42Changes in the territory from the 13th to 15th century. At its peak, Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. Lithuania's strength was its toleration of various cultures and religions. (from Lithuania)
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Image 43Trakai Island Castle, the former residence of the Grand Dukes and capital city of the medieval state (from Lithuania)
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Image 46The title page of Radivilias (1592, Vilnius). The poem celebrating commander Mikalojus Radvila Rudasis (1512–1584) and recounts the famous victory of Lithuanian Armed Forces over Moscow troops (1564). (from Lithuania)
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Image 50The Baltic Way was a mass anti-Soviet demonstration where approx. 25% of the population of the Baltic states participated. (from Lithuania)
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Image 51Cepelinai, a potato-based dumpling dish characteristic of Lithuanian cuisine with meat, curd or mushrooms (from Lithuania)
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Image 53Real GDP per capita development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 54The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 55Stamp dedicated to Lithuania's presidency of the European Union. Post of Lithuania, 2013. (from Lithuania)
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Image 56Lituanica above New York in 1933. The transatlantic flight was one of the most precise in aviation history. It equaled, and in some aspects surpassed, Charles Lindbergh's classic flight. (from Lithuania)
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Image 66Population density of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 67Lithuania's name in writing (Litua, on line 7), 1009 (from Lithuania)
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Image 70Lithuania was recently a member of the United Nations Security Council. Its representatives are on the right side. (from Lithuania)
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Image 74Lyduvėnai Bridge, the highest (42 m.) and the longest (599 m.) railway bridge in the Baltics (from Lithuania)
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Image 75Commemoration of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania in the historical Seimas hall where it was originally signed in 1990. The ceremony is attended by the Lithuanian President, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Seimas and other high-ranking officials. (from Lithuania)
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Image 77The white stork is the national bird of Lithuania, which has the highest-density stork population in Europe. (from Lithuania)
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Image 78A ceremony of Lithuanian modern pagans. (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 79Baltic amber was once a valuable trade resource. It was transported from the region of modern-day Lithuania to the Roman Empire and Egypt through the Amber Road. (from Lithuania)
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Image 80Lithuania men's national basketball team is ranked eighth worldwide in FIBA Rankings. (from Lithuania)
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Image 82Major highways in Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 87The first Lithuanian printed book, Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas (1547, Königsberg) (from Lithuania)
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Image 89Population of Lithuania 1915–2014 (from Lithuania)
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Image 90Simple Words of Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas was the first Lithuanian book and was published in 1547. (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 91Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas, regarded as godfather of American avant-garde cinema (from Culture of Lithuania)
Selected county
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Tauragė County (Lithuanian: Tauragės apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Tauragė County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. (Full article...) -
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Alytus County (Lithuanian: Alytaus apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the ethnographic region of Dzūkija. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Alytus County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.
It borders the Vilnius County in the east, Marijampolė County and Kaunas County in the north, Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland in the west, and Grodno Region of Belarus in the south. (Full article...) -
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Telšiai County (Lithuanian: Telšių apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Telšiai. There are Lithuanians (98.7%), Latvians (0.1%), Russians (0.9%), and others (0.3%). On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Telšiai County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. It borders Latvia. (Full article...) -
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Vilnius County (Lithuanian: Vilniaus apskritis) is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius and is also known as Capital Region or Sostinės regionas by the Lithuanian statistics department and Eurostat. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Vilnius County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. (Full article...) -
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Šiauliai County (Lithuanian: Šiaulių apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Šiauliai. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Šiauliai County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. It borders Latvia. (Full article...) -
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Kaunas County (Lithuanian: Kauno apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania. It is in the centre of the country, and its capital is Kaunas. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished. (Full article...) -
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Marijampolė County (Lithuanian: Marijampolės apskritis) is one of the ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the south of the country in the historical Suvalkija region, and its capital is the town Marijampolė. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Marijampolė County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.
It borders the Tauragė County in the north, Kaunas County and Alytus County in the east, Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland in the south and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia in the east. (Full article...) -
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Utena County (Lithuanian: Utenos Apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the country's most sparsely populated county. The capital and the largest city in the county is Utena, which is 95 km (59 mi) from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished. Since that date, Utena County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. It borders Latvia. (Full article...) -
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Panevėžys County (Lithuanian: Panevėžio apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north-east of the country, and its capital is Panevėžys. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Panevėžys County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. (Full article...) -
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Klaipėda County (Lithuanian: Klaipėdos apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania, bordering Tauragė County to the southeast, Telšiai County to the northeast, Kurzeme in Latvia to the north, and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia to the south. To the west is the Baltic Sea. It lies in the west of the country and is the only county to have a coastline and not be landlocked. Its capital is Klaipėda. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Klaipėda County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. (Full article...)
Selected municipality
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Image 1
Marijampolė Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.
Marijampolė has a City Council with 27 members. The members of the City Council represent different Lithuanian political parties. (Full article...) -
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Mažeikiai District Municipality (Lithuanian: Mažeikių rajono savivaldybė, Samogitian: Mažėikiu rajuona savivaldībė) is located in the north-west of Lithuania, on the River Venta in Telšiai County. The administrative center of Mažeikiai District is the city of Mažeikiai. Its territory of 1,220.2 km2 (471.1 sq mi) is composed of 32 km2 (12 sq mi) of towns and settlements, 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi) of industrial enterprises and roads, 614 km2 (237 sq mi) of agricultural lands, 273 km2 (105 sq mi) of forests, and 68 km2 (26 sq mi) of tracts of other designation. There is one urban and 8 rural elderates. In 2003, the population was 67,393. Of this number, 46,223 live in towns and 21,170 in villages.
It is situated in northern Samogitia. Mažeikiai District borders with the Republic of Latvia in the north, with Akmenė District Municipality in the east, with Telšiai District Municipality in the southeast, with Plungė District Municipality in the southwest and with Skuodas District Municipality in the west. Mažeikiai District stretches for 43.5 km (27.0 mi) east-to-west and 38 km (24 mi) north-to-south. Petraičiai village is the westernmost settlement, with Kalniškiai and Pakliaupė villages being the easternmost settlements. The northernmost is Giniočiai, while the southernmost is Pasruojė. (Full article...) -
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Pakruojis District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It is an agricultural district, situated in the north of Lithuania and bordering with Latvia. The rivers Kruoja, Mūša and others flow through the district. Forests occupy 16.7% of the territory of the Pakruojis district. It is close to two major cities: Šiauliai is 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the west, and Panevėžys - about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the southeast.
Pakruojis is known as one of the main centres of traditional Lithuanian brewing, along with Pasvalys and Biržai. The founder of the Lithuanian beer website alutis.lt reports that there are 19 breweries in the Pakruojis district. Most bars in town feature local types of beer. The main park in Pakruojis features a collection of local folk-art wood carvings. (Full article...) -
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Kėdainiai District Municipality (Lithuanian: Kėdainių rajono savivaldybė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania, located in the central part of the country. (Full article...) -
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Kaunas (/ˈkaʊnəs/; Lithuanian: [ˈkɐʊˑnɐs] ⓘ; previously known in English as Kovno, also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county [pl] in the Duchy of Trakai of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Trakai Palatinate since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.
During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius was seized and controlled by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Revival architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. It contributed to Kaunas being designated as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe as a UNESCO City of Design, and also to becoming a World Heritage Site in 2023 as the only European city representing large scale urbanization during the interwar period and versatile modernism architecture. (Full article...) -
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Rietavas Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.
According to the 2021 Lithuanian census, Rietavas Municipality had the highest fertility rate in Lithuania - with an average of 2.019 children per woman, compared to the national average of just 1.506 children per woman. (Full article...) -
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Prienai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It was a member of the European Union-wide town twinning association Douzelage from 2008 to 2018. (Full article...) -
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Skuodas District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.
It is the only territory whose Council is using the Samogitian language. (Full article...) -
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Šiauliai (/ʃaʊˈleɪ/; Lithuanian: [ɕɛʊ̯ˈlʲɛɪ̯ˑ] ⓘ; Samogitian: Šiaulē) is a city in northern Lithuania, the country's fourth largest city and the sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 108,000 in 2023. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. (Full article...) -
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Šalčininkai District Municipality (Lithuanian: Šalčininkų rajono savivaldybė) is one of 60 district municipalities in Lithuania. The municipality is part of the Vilnius County and is located in southeastern Lithuania, next to the Belarus–Lithuania border. The south-eastern border of the municipality with Belarus includes a distinctive salient of Lithuanian territory, known as the Dieveniškės appendix, almost completely surrounded by Belarus.
Šalčininkai is the largest town and the administrative center of the district with its newly built quarters, while the second largest town is Eišiškės, a more historical town, which was the center of the district and the largest town before 1972. (Full article...) -
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Kelmė District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania, located in western part of Lithuania. (Full article...)
Selected World Heritage Site
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Image 1
The Curonian (Courish) Spit (Lithuanian: Kuršių nerija; Russian: Ку́ршская коса́; German: Kurische Nehrung; Latvian: Kuršu kāpas) is a 98-kilometre (61 mi) long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, and its northern within southwestern Klaipėda County of Lithuania. (Full article...) -
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The Old Town of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Vilniaus senamiestis), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, has an area of 3.59 square kilometres (887 acres). It encompasses 74 quarters, with 70 streets and lanes numbering 1487 buildings with a total floor area of 1,497,000 square meters. It was founded by the Lithuanian Grand Duke and King of Poland Jogaila in 1387 on the Magdeburg rights the oldest part of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, it had been developed over the course of many centuries, and has been shaped by the city's history and a constantly changing cultural influence. It is a place where some of Europe's greatest architectural styles—gothic, renaissance, baroque and neoclassical—stand side by side and complement each other. There are many Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox churches, residential houses, cultural and architectural monuments, museums in the Old Town.
Pilies Street is the Old Town's main artery and the hub of cafe and street market life. The main street of Vilnius, Gediminas Avenue, is partially located in the Old Town. The central squares in the Old Town are the Cathedral Square and the Town Hall Square. (Full article...) -
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The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 kilometres (1,750 mi), which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian arc.
The chain was established and used by the German-born Russian scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve in the years 1816 to 1855 to establish the exact size and shape of the earth. At that time, the chain passed merely through three countries: Norway, Sweden and the Russian Empire. The Arc's first point is located in Tartu Observatory in Estonia, where Struve conducted much of his research. Measurement of the triangulation chain comprises 258 main triangles and 265 geodetic vertices. The northernmost point is located near Hammerfest in Norway and the southernmost point near the Black Sea in Ukraine. (Full article...) -
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Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 238, 2021). It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuanian state cultural reserve was established in Kernavė in 1989. In 2004 Kernavė Archaeological Site was included into UNESCO world heritage list. (Full article...)
Selected history article
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Yotvingia or Sudovia (Yotvingian: Sūdava, Lithuanian: Dainava, Polish: Jaćwież, German: Sudauen, Eastern Slavic: Яцьвезь (Ятвязь, Етвязь), Ятвягия) was a region where the Baltic tribe known as Yotvingians lived. It was located in the area of Sudovia and Dainava; south west from the upper Nemunas, between Marijampolė, Merkinė (Lithuania), Slonim, Kobryn (Belarus), Białystok, and Ełk (Poland).
Today this area corresponds mostly to the Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland, part of Lithuania and a part of Hrodna Province and Brest Province of Belarus. (Full article...) -
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The rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland between 1386 and 1572 spans the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period in European history. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) founded the dynasty; his marriage to Queen Jadwiga of Poland in 1386 strengthened an ongoing Polish–Lithuanian union. The partnership brought vast territories controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for both the Polish and Lithuanian people, who coexisted and cooperated in one of the largest political entities in Europe for the next four centuries.
In the Baltic Sea region, Poland engaged in ongoing conflict with the Teutonic Knights. The struggles led to a major battle, the Battle of Grunwald of 1410, but there was also the milestone Peace of Thorn of 1466 under King Casimir IV Jagiellon; the treaty defined the basis of the future Duchy of Prussia. In the south, Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars, and in the east Poles helped Lithuania fight the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Poland's and Lithuania's territorial expansion included the far north region of Livonia. (Full article...) -
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The Kingdom of Lithuania was a sovereign state that existed from the 17 July 1251 until the death of the first crowned king of Lithuania, Mindaugas, on 12 September 1263. Mindaugas was the only Lithuanian monarch crowned king with the assent of the Pope and the head of the first catholic Lithuanian state. The formation of the kingdom is widely regarded as a partially successful attempt at unifying all surrounding Baltic tribes, including the Old Prussians, into a single unified state under a common king.
Other monarchs of Lithuania were referred to as grand dukes, kings or emperors in extant foreign written sources as the size of the realm and their power expanded or contracted. This practice can be compared to that of British, Japanese and many other monarchs who are known as kings or emperors in spite of not being crowned with the assent of the Pope. Because Lithuania was pagan in the 13th century, Lithuanian monarchs were not granted the title of a Catholic monarch even though extant Christian sources referred to Lithuanian rulers as kings or emperors regardless of their religious affiliation. For instance, Gediminas titled himself King of Lithuania and Rus, and Duke of Semigalia. The Pope also addressed him as King. (Full article...) -
Image 4The Narva culture or eastern Baltic was a European Neolithic archaeological culture in present-day Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast (former East Prussia), and adjacent portions of Poland, Belarus and Russia. A successor of the Mesolithic Kunda culture, the Narva culture continued up to the start of the Bronze Age. The culture spanned from c. 5300 to 1750 BC. The technology was that of hunter-gatherers. The culture was named after the Narva River in Estonia. (Full article...)
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The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; Lithuanian: Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; Russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, romanized: Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its territory and borders mirrored those of today's Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of minor adjustments to its border with Belarus.
During World War II, the previously independent Republic of Lithuania was occupied by the Red Army on 16 June 1940, in conformity with the terms of the 23 August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and established as a puppet state on 21 July. Between 1941 and 1944, the German invasion of the Soviet Union caused its de facto dissolution. However, with the retreat of the Germans in 1944–1945, Soviet hegemony was re-established and continued for forty-five years. As a result, many Western countries continued to recognize Lithuania as an independent, sovereign de jure state subject to international law, represented by the legations appointed by the pre-1940 Baltic states, which functioned in various places through the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service. (Full article...) -
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The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties—the House of Mindaugas, the House of Gediminas, and the House of Jagiellon. Despite this, the one and only crowned king of Lithuania was King Mindaugas I. In two more instances, royal nobles were not crowned due to political circumstances, but held de jure recognition abroad —Vytautas the Great by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and Mindaugas II by Pope Benedict XV.
Others were seen as kings of Lithuania even though they had only considered it and never took further action to claim the throne, as in the case of Gediminas who was recognised as king of Lithuania by Pope John XXII. The hereditary monarchy in Lithuania was first established in the 13th century during the reign of Mindaugas I and officially re-established as a constitutional monarchy on 11 July 1918, only to be abandoned soon afterwards on 2 November 1918. (Full article...) -
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The archaeological Neman culture (German: Memel-Kultur) existed from about 5100 to the 3rd millennium BC, starting in the Mesolithic and continued into the middle Neolithic. It was located in the upper basin of the Neman River (present-day northern Poland, southern Lithuania, western Belarus and Kaliningrad Oblast). In the north, the Neman culture bordered the Kunda culture during the Mesolithic and the Narva culture during the Neolithic. (Full article...) -
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The Balts or Baltic peoples (Lithuanian: baltai, Latvian: balti) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians) — all East Balts — as well as the Old Prussians, Curonians, Sudovians, Skalvians, Yotvingians and Galindians — the West Balts — whose languages and cultures are now extinct.
The Balts are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the lower Vistula and southeast shore of the Baltic Sea and upper Daugava and Dnieper rivers, and which over time became differentiated into West and East Balts. In the fifth century CE parts of the eastern Baltic coast began to be settled by the ancestors of the Western Balts, whereas the East Balts lived in modern-day Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. In the first millennium CE, large migrations of the Balts occurred. By the 13th and 14th centuries, the East Balts shrank to the general area that the present-day Balts and Belarusians inhabit. (Full article...) -
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The Kingdom of Lithuania was an attempt to establish an independent constitutional Lithuanian monarchy in February 1918. It was created towards the end of World War I when Lithuanian-speaking lands were under military occupation by the German Empire. The state was officially dissolved in November 1918.
The Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania's independence on 16 February 1918, but the council was unable to form a government, police, or other state institutions due to the continued presence of German troops. The Germans presented various proposals to incorporate Lithuania into the German Empire, particularly Prussia. The Lithuanians resisted this idea and hoped to preserve their independence by creating a separate constitutional monarchy. (Full article...) -
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The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles (Lithuanian: Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Bermontians (June 1919 – December 1919), and Poland (August 1920 – November 1920). The wars delayed international recognition of independent Lithuania and the formation of civil institutions. (Full article...) -
Image 11The Kunda culture, which originated from the Swiderian culture, comprised Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities of the Baltic forest zone extending eastwards through Latvia into northern Russia, dating to the period 8500–5000 BC according to calibrated radiocarbon dating. It is named after the Estonian town of Kunda, about 110 kilometres (70 mi) east of Tallinn along the Gulf of Finland, near where the first extensively studied settlement was discovered on Lammasmäe Hill and in the surrounding peat bog. The oldest known settlement of the Kunda culture in Estonia is Pulli. The Kunda culture was succeeded by the Narva culture, who used pottery and showed some traces of food production. (Full article...)
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Poland–Lithuania, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and also referred to as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the First Polish Republic, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union, who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe. At its largest territorial extent, in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth covered almost 1,000,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi) and as of 1618 sustained a multi-ethnic population of almost 12 million. Polish and Latin were the two co-official languages, and Catholicism served as the state religion.
The Commonwealth was established as a single entity by the Union of Lublin on 1 July 1569. The two nations had previously been in a personal union since the Krewo Agreement of 1385 and the subsequent marriage of Queen Jadwiga of Poland to Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania, who was crowned jure uxoris King of Poland. Their descendant, Sigismund II Augustus, enforced the merger to strengthen frontiers of his dominion and maintain unity as he remained childless. His death in 1572 marked the end of the Jagiellonian dynasty and introduced an elective monarchy, whereupon members of domestic noble families or external dynasties were elected to the throne for life. (Full article...) -
Image 13The history of Lithuania between 1219 and 1295 concerns the establishment and early history of the first Lithuanian state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The beginning of the 13th century marks the end of the prehistory of Lithuania. From this point on the history of Lithuania is recorded in chronicles, treaties, and other written documents. In 1219, 21 Lithuanian dukes signed a peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. This event is widely accepted as the first proof that the Baltic tribes were uniting and consolidating. Despite continuous warfare with two Christian orders, the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established and gained some control over the lands of Black Ruthenia, Polatsk, Minsk, and other territories east of modern-day Lithuania that had become weak and vulnerable after the collapse of Kievan Rus'.
The first ruler to hold the title of Grand Duke was Mindaugas. Traditionally he is considered the founder of the state, the one who united the Baltic tribes and established the Duchy. Some scholars, however, challenge this perception, arguing that an organized state existed before Mindaugas, possibly as early as 1183. After quelling an internal war with his nephews, Mindaugas was baptized in 1251, and was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253. In 1261, he broke the peace with the Livonian Order, perhaps even renouncing Christianity. His assassination in 1263 by Treniota ended the early Christian kingdom in Lithuania. For another 120 years Lithuania would remain a pagan empire, fighting against the Teutonic and Livonian Orders during the Northern Crusades during their attempts to Christianize the land. (Full article...) -
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The Corded Ware culture comprises a broad archaeological horizon of Europe between c. 3000 BC – 2350 BC, thus from the late Neolithic, through the Copper Age, and ending in the early Bronze Age. Corded Ware culture encompassed a vast area, from the contact zone between the Yamnaya culture and the Corded Ware culture in south Central Europe, to the Rhine in the west and the Volga in the east, occupying parts of Northern Europe, Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Early autosomal genetic studies suggested that the Corded Ware culture originated from the westward migration of Yamnaya-related people from the steppe-forest zone into the territory of late Neolithic European cultures; however, paternal DNA evidence fails to support this hypothesis, and it is now proposed that the Corded Ware culture evolved in parallel with (although under significant influence from) the Yamnaya, with no evidence of direct male-line descent between them.
The Corded Ware culture is considered to be a likely vector for the spread of many of the Indo-European languages in Europe and Asia. (Full article...) -
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The Lithuanian–Soviet War or Lithuanian–Bolshevik War (Lithuanian: karas su bolševikais) was fought between newly independent Lithuania and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the aftermath of World War I. It was part of the larger Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919. The offensive followed the retreat of German troops and sought to establish Soviet republics in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and link up with the German Revolution. By the end of December 1918 Soviet forces reached Lithuanian borders. Largely unopposed, they occupied one town after another and by the end of January 1919 controlled about two thirds of the Lithuanian territory. In February, the Soviet advance was stopped by Lithuanian and German volunteers, who prevented the Soviets from capturing Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. From April 1919, the Lithuanian war went parallel with the Polish–Soviet War. Poland had territorial claims over Lithuania, especially the Vilnius Region; these tensions spilt over into the Polish–Lithuanian War.
British-Polish historian Norman Davies summarized the situation: "the German army was supporting the Lithuanian nationalists, the Soviets were supporting the Lithuanian communists and the Polish Army was fighting them all." In mid-May, the Lithuanian army, now commanded by General Silvestras Žukauskas, began an offensive against the Soviets in Northeastern Lithuania. By mid-June, the Lithuanians reached the Latvian border and cornered the Soviets among lakes and hills near Zarasai, where the Soviets held out until the end of August 1919. The Soviets and Lithuanians, separated by the Daugava River, maintained their fronts until the Battle of Daugavpils in January 1920. As early as September 1919, the Soviets offered to negotiate a peace treaty, but talks began only in May 1920. The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed on July 12, 1920. Soviet Russia fully recognized independent Lithuania. (Full article...)
Selected politics article
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Gitanas Nausėda (born 19 May 1964) is a Lithuanian politician, economist, and banker who is serving as the ninth and incumbent president of Lithuania since 2019. Born in Klaipėda, Nausėda graduated from Vilnius University with an economics degree in 1987. He was director of monetary policy at the Bank of Lithuania from 1996 to 2000 and chief economist to the chairman of SEB bankas from 2008 to 2018. (Full article...) -
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Ingrida Šimonytė (Lithuanian: [ɪŋʲɡʲrʲɪˈdɐ ɕɪmoːˈnʲîːtʲeː]; born 15 November 1974) is a Lithuanian politician, public servant and economist who is serving as the 17th and current prime minister of Lithuania since 2020. She has been a Member of the Seimas for the Antakalnis constituency since 2016 and was Minister of Finance in the second Kubilius cabinet from 2009 until 2012. Šimonytė was a candidate in the 2019 presidential election, but lost in the second round runoff to Gitanas Nausėda. She has been a member of Homeland Union since 2022, having previously been an independent politician. (Full article...) -
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The Speaker of the Seimas (Lithuanian: Seimo pirmininkas, literally translated as Chairman of the Seimas) is the presiding officer of the Seimas, the parliament of Lithuania. The speaker and deputy speakers are elected by the members of the Seimas during the session. (Full article...) -
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Lithuania is divided into three layers of administrative divisions. The first-level division consists of 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys). These are sub-divided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: plural – savivaldybės, singular – savivaldybė), which in turn are further sub-divided into over 500 smaller groups, known as elderships (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija). (Full article...) -
Image 5This article lists political parties in Lithuania.
Lithuania has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. As of March 2024[update], there are 22 active political parties, one inactive political party, and three political parties that are in the process of disestablishment registered with the Ministry of Justice. (Full article...) -
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A seniūnija (in English: eldership, elderate, ward, parish, or subdistrict) is the smallest administrative division of Lithuania. An eldership may comprise a very small region consisting of few villages, one single town, or a part of a big city. Elderships vary in size and population depending on their location and nature. A few elderships make up a municipality. Šilainiai, Dainava, Verkiai, Žirmūnai and Pašilaičiai are the most populous elderates, with population counts over 40,000, around twice the population of some entire municipalities. (Full article...) -
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Seimas Palace (Lithuanian: Seimo rūmai) is the seat of the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament. It is located in Lithuania's capital Vilnius. (Full article...) -
Image 8The territory of Lithuania is divided into 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular apskritis, plural apskritys), all named after their capitals. The counties are divided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular savivaldybė, plural savivaldybės): 9 city municipalities, 43 district municipalities and 8 municipalities. Each municipality is then divided into elderates (Lithuanian: singular seniūnija, plural seniūnijos). This division was created in 1994 and slightly modified in 2000. (Full article...)
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The prime minister of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Ministras Pirmininkas; lit. "Minister-president") is the head of government of Lithuania. The prime minister is appointed by the president with the assent of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of prime minister was established in 1990, when Lithuania declared its independence, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25 November 1992. (Full article...) -
Image 10Taxes in Lithuania are levied by the central and the local governments. Most important revenue sources include the value added tax, personal income tax, excise tax and corporate income tax, which are all applied on the central level. In addition, social security contributions are collected in a social security fund, outside the national budget. Taxes in Lithuania are administered by the State Tax Inspectorate, the Customs Department and the State Social Insurance Fund Board. In 2019, the total government revenue in Lithuania was 30.3% of GDP. (Full article...)
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Image 11There have been twelve referendums in Lithuania since it declared independence from the Soviet Union on 11 March 1990. Because of strict requirements, only four referendums have been successful. Older Lithuanian laws required that more than half of all registered voters (not half of voters who participate) would vote in support of a proposal for it to become a binding obligation to the government. In 2002, this requirement was lowered to one third of all registered voters. (Full article...)
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The president of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of the Republic of Lithuania. The president directs and appoints the executive branch of the Government of Lithuania, represents the nation internationally and is the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the citizens of Lithuania for a five-year term, with the office holder limited to serving two terms consecutively. The current president is Gitanas Nausėda who assumed office on July 12, 2019. (Full article...) -
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The 2014 European Parliament election in Lithuania was an election of the delegation from Lithuania to the European Parliament in 2014. It was part of the wider 2014 European election. (Full article...) -
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Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on 3 February 1993. Since its inception, the court has been located in Vilnius. (Full article...) -
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The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (Lithuanian: [sɛɪˑmɐs]), is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to the Constitution, passing the budget, confirming the Prime Minister and the Government and controlling their activities. (Full article...)
Selected biography
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Romualdas Marcinkus (22 July 1907 – 29 March 1944) was a Lithuanian pilot. Marcinkus participated in an early trans-European flight on 25 June 1934, and was the only Lithuanian pilot to serve in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. In his youth Marcinkus was a Lithuanian multifold football champion and a playing coach for the Lithuania national football team.
While serving in the Lithuanian Air Force, Marcinkus was a parachute instructor, and headed the aviation sport and physical education department, and during his later years coached a junior football team. A few months before the Soviet occupation of Lithuania early in the Second World War, Marcinkus left Lithuania and enlisted in the French Air Force. After the Battle of France and the French capitulation, Marcinkus escaped to Britain, where he flew for the RAF. As a pilot for No. 1 Squadron RAF, he took part in various missions, including escorting bombers and night combat. On 12 February 1942, during Operation Cerberus, he was shot down, became a prisoner of war, and was sent to Stalag Luft III. (Full article...) -
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Sydney Brenner CH FRS FMedSci MAE (13 January 1927 – 5 April 2019) was a South African biologist. In 2002, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and Sir John E. Sulston. Brenner made significant contributions to work on the genetic code, and other areas of molecular biology while working in the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. He established the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for the investigation of developmental biology, and founded the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, California, United States. (Full article...) -
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Marius Žaromskis (born July 30, 1980) is a Lithuanian retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. A professional competitor for over 24 years, Zaromskis formerly competed for Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Bellator, DREAM, and also fought at Dynamite!! 2010. Žaromskis won the DREAM 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix and became their inaugural Welterweight Champion. (Full article...) -
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Margarita Aleksandrovna Drobiazko (Russian: Маргарита Александровна Дробязко; born 21 December 1971) is a Russian retired ice dancer. She began competing for Lithuania in 1992 when she teamed up with Povilas Vanagas. With Vanagas, she is the 2000 World bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a two-time European bronze medalist (2000, 2006), the 1999 Skate Canada champion, and competed in five Winter Olympics, finishing as high as 5th. (Full article...) -
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Andrius Skerla (born 29 April 1977) is a Lithuanian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the manager of A Lyga club Hegelmann. He began his career in Lithuania with Žalgiris Vilnius, where his performances drew the attention of Dutch club PSV. After making only 25 appearances for PSV, Skerla was signed by Dunfermline Athletic in 2000. He spent five seasons with the club playing in almost 200 matches for the Pars, including the 2004 Scottish Cup Final where he scored in the 3–1 defeat against Celtic.
After leaving Dunfermline in 2005, his later career saw him return east, playing for Russian side Tom Tomsk, Vėtra in Lithuania, Polish clubs Korona Kielce and Jagiellonia Białystok, before finishing his career with his home-town team, Žalgiris Vilnius. (Full article...) -
Image 6Jonas Švedas (9 October [O.S. 26 September] 1908 in Liepāja – 15 October 1971 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian and Soviet composer. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1954. He was the co-composer of the Anthem of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic along with Balys Dvarionas. (Full article...)
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Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd (born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis, 19 May 1954) is an Australian drummer, best known as the drummer of AC/DC across three stints (1975–1983, 1994–2015, 2018–present). On the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans from AC/DC, Rudd became the only Australian-born member of the band. In 2003, he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other members of AC/DC. In 2014, Rudd released his first solo album, Head Job. Due to ongoing legal problems in New Zealand, where he is a resident, Rudd was unable to join the band for the 2015 Rock or Bust World Tour and was replaced by Chris Slade. On 30 September 2020, AC/DC confirmed that Rudd would be rejoining the band for their comeback album Power Up. (Full article...) -
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Darius Mockus (born 29 March 1965 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian entrepreneur owner and President of business group MG grupė, UAB which is one of the largest groups in Lithuania, involved in production, sales, real estate, construction, IT and mass media industries. (Full article...) -
Image 9Rūta Paškauskienė (born 29 March 1977) is a Lithuanian table tennis player. Since 1994, she won several medals in singles, and doubles events in the Table Tennis European Championships.
She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the second round of the singles competition. (Full article...) -
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Antanas Guoga (born 17 December 1973), more commonly known as Tony G, is a Lithuanian-Australian businessman, poker player, politician and philanthropist. In November 2020, Antanas was elected to the 2020–2024 legislative period of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the Labour Party group.
During 2014–2019 he was a Member of the European Parliament for the Liberal Movement, and from 2016 the European Peoples Party. In May 2016, Guoga was the temporary leader of the Liberal Movement following the bribery scandal that prompted Eligijus Masiulis to step down after potentially corrupt activities. (Full article...) -
Image 11Remigijus Morkevičius (10 August 1982 – 21 December 2016) was a Lithuanian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He has fought for the Lithuanian branch of RINGS, ZST, and K-1 World MAX. (Full article...)
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Judita Vaičiūnaitė (July 12, 1937 – February 11, 2001) was a Lithuanian writer. Best known for her poetic exploration of urban settings and mythological women, she is one of Lithuania's most famous 20th-century poets. (Full article...) -
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Valdemaras Chomičius (also known as Valdemaras Homicius; born 4 May 1959) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player for the Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball team, and an assistant coach for the Lithuanian national team.
As a 192 cm (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in) tall point guard he is best remembered as the captain from the "golden years" of Žalgiris Kaunas by winning three consecutive USSR League championships against the rival CSKA Moscow in 1985–1987. His former teams include Žalgiris Kaunas, Forum Valladolid, CAI Zaragoza. He also has played in Italy for Aprimatic Bologna (Serie A2) in the 1990–1991 season. He last played for Olimpas Žemaitija during the 1996–1997 season. He served as player-coach for Kraitenė Marijampolė, was the assistant coach with PBC Ural Great Perm from 1999 to 2004, also serving as head coach for the team in the 2004-2005 season. He briefly coached PBC Dynamo Moscow in 2003, and was the assistant coach for BC UNICS, serving as the team's head coach in the 2009-2010 season. He was also the head coach for Triumph Lyubertsy from 2010 to 2012, BC Dnipro from 2012 to 2015, and worked as a coach for BC Parma in the 2016–17 season. In 2018–2020 he was head coach for BC Dzūkija. (Full article...) -
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Povilas Vanagas (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈpôːvʲɪɫɐs ˈvaːnɐɡɐs]; born 23 July 1970) is a Lithuanian ice dancer. With his wife Margarita Drobiazko, he is the 2000 World bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a two-time European bronze medalist (2000, 2006), the 1999 Skate Canada champion, and competed in five Winter Olympics, finishing as high as 5th. (Full article...) -
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Saulius Mikoliūnas (born 2 May 1984) is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a right winger for the Lithuania national team. He has previously played for Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian and Ukrainian Premier League club Arsenal Kyiv. With 101 caps, Mikoliūnas is also the Lithuania national team's most-capped player.
Mikoliūnas was a right-sided winger who sometimes played in the right-back position. (Full article...)
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