Template:Transclude list item excerpts as random slideshow/testcases/Portal:Lithuania
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Introduction
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/220px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/220px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png)
Lithuania (/ˌlɪθjuˈeɪniə/ ⓘ LIH-thew-AYN-ee-ə; 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 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), 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 cemetery at All Souls night (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 5Cepelinai served with sour cream (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 9Lithuania's GDP per capita compared to rest of the world (2022) (from Lithuania)
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Image 10Major highways in Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 11Baltic 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 12Simple 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 18Lithuania was a member of the United Nations Security Council. Its representatives are on the right side. (from Lithuania)
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Image 20Lithuanian Army soldiers marching with their dress uniforms in Vilnius. An officer stands out with a sword. (from Lithuania)
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Image 23Population density of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 25Lithuanian basketball clubs Žalgiris and Šiauliai playing a match (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 28The first Lithuanian printed book, Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas (1547, Königsberg) (from Lithuania)
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Image 34Lithuania men's national basketball team is ranked eighth worldwide in FIBA Rankings. (from Lithuania)
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Image 35Commemoration 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 37Cepelinai, a potato-based dumpling dish characteristic of Lithuanian cuisine with meat, curd or mushrooms (from Lithuania)
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Image 38The white stork is the national bird of Lithuania, which has the highest-density stork population in Europe. (from Lithuania)
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Image 40The 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 42Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas, regarded as godfather of American avant-garde cinema (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 46Gryčia (traditional dwelling house, built in the 19th century) (from Lithuania)
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Image 47A ceremony of Lithuanian modern pagans. (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 49Lithuanian counties by GDP per capita, 2022 (from Lithuania)
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Image 55Lithuania's name in writing (Litua, on line 7), 1009 (from Lithuania)
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Image 57Statutes of Lithuania were the central piece of Lithuanian law in 1529–1795. (from Lithuania)
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Image 61Rock 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 64The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 65Real GDP per capita development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 68Stamp dedicated to Lithuania's presidency of the European Union. Post of Lithuania, 2013. (from Lithuania)
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Image 70Vilnius 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 731960 postage stamp depicting Lithuanians in traditional clothing (from Culture of Lithuania)
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Image 74Guests of the 2023 Vilnius (NATO) summit in the Courtyard of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius (from Lithuania)
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Image 77Physical map and geomorphological subdivision of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
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Image 78The 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)
Selected county
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Image 1
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...) -
Image 2Vilnius skyline
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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Marijampolė County (Lithuanian: Marijampolės apskritis) is one of the ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the southwest of the country and roughly corresponds to the historical region of Sudovia. Its capital and the largest town is 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 west. (Full article...) -
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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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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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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...) -
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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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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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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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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...)
Selected municipality
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Image 1
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Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. The population as of July 2024 was 50,996. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The major roads linking Vilnius, Kaunas, Lazdijai (border with Poland), and Hrodna in Belarus pass through Alytus.
Divided onto two separate entities for centuries, it consists of two parts still frequently referred to as Alytus I and Alytus II, the earlier being a smaller town and the latter forming the city centre with parks, microdistricts and industrial areas. (Full article...) -
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Vilnius (/ˈvɪlniəs/ VIL-nee-əs, Lithuanian: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs] ⓘ), previously known in English as Vilna, is the capital of and largest city in Lithuania and the second-most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated July 2024 population was 524,700, and the Vilnius urban area (which extends beyond the city limits) has an estimated population of 708,627.
Vilnius is notable for the architecture of its Old Town, considered one of Europe's largest and best-preserved old towns. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The architectural style known as Vilnian Baroque is named after the city, which is the easternmost Baroque city and the largest such city north of the Alps. (Full article...) -
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Joniškis District Municipality (Joniškio rajono savivaldybė) is a territorial unit of Lithuania with a population of about 30,000. The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Joniškis. (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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Jurbarkas District Municipality (Lithuanian: Jurbarko rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Tauragė County, Lithuania (Full article...) -
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Zarasai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It borders with Latvia and Belarus.
It has significant Russian minority population in Lithuania, with sixth of the population claiming Russian ethnicity. (Full article...) -
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Širvintos District Municipality (Lithuanian: Širvintų rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Lithuania, it is in territory of Vilnius County and its capital is Širvintos. (Full article...) -
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The Visaginas Municipality (Lithuanian: Visagino savivaldybė) is one of the 60 municipalities of Lithuania, situated in the north-east of the country. It consists of the city of Visaginas (administrative centre of the municipality), 16 villages (kaimai) and one farmstead (viensėdis).
It has significant Russian minority population in Lithuania, with half of the population claiming Russian ethnicity. (Full article...) -
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Trakai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.
It has significant Polish minority population in Lithuania, with more than quarter of the population claiming Polish ethnicity. (Full article...) -
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Lazdijai District Municipality (Lithuanian: Lazdijų rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Alytus County, Lithuania. (Full article...) -
Image 15Landscape near Mikytai
Plungė District Municipality (Lithuanian: Plungės rajono savivaldybė, Samogitian: Plongės rajuona savivaldībė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. (Full article...)
Selected World Heritage Site
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Image 1
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...) -
Image 2The Valley of Death looking from the Parnidis Dune in Neringa Municipality, Lithuania in October 2022.
The Curonian (Courish) Spit (Lithuanian: Kuršių nerija; Russian: Ку́ршская коса́) 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...) -
Image 3The northernmost station of the Struve Geodetic Arc is located in Fuglenes, Norway.
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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The Vilna Governorate was a province (guberniya) of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of 41,907.9 square kilometres (16,180.7 sq mi) and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governorate to the south, the Grodno Governorate to the southwest, the Suwałki Governorate to the west, the Kovno and Courland Governorates to the north, and the Vitebsk Governorate to the east. The capital was located in Vilna (Vilnius). The city also served as the capital of Vilna Governorate-General, which existed until 1912. The area roughly corresponded to the Vilnius Region, which was later occupied by Germany, Bolsheviks, and Poland. (Full article...) -
Image 2The history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648) covers a period in the history of Poland and Lithuania, before their joint state was subjected to devastating wars in the mid-17th century. The Union of Lublin of 1569 established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a more closely unified federal state, replacing the previously existing personal union of the two countries. The Union was largely run by the Polish and increasingly Polonized Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility, through the system of the central parliament and local assemblies, but from 1573 led by elected kings. The formal rule of the nobility, which was a much greater proportion of the population than in other European countries, constituted a sophisticated early democratic system, in contrast to the absolute monarchies prevalent at that time in the rest of Europe.[a]
The Polish–Lithuanian Union had become an influential player in Europe and a significant cultural entity. In the second half of the 16th and the first half of the 17th century, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a huge state in central-eastern Europe, with an area approaching one million square kilometers. (Full article...) -
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The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet–Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941.
In September and October 1939 the Soviet government compelled the much smaller Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance pacts which gave the Soviets the right to establish military bases there. Following invasion by the Red Army in the summer of 1940, Soviet authorities compelled the Baltic governments to resign. The presidents of Estonia and Latvia were imprisoned and later died in Siberia. Under Soviet supervision, new puppet communist governments and fellow travelers arranged rigged elections with falsified results. Shortly thereafter, the newly elected "people's assemblies" passed resolutions requesting admission into the Soviet Union. In June 1941 the new Soviet governments carried out mass deportations of "enemies of the people". Consequently, at first many Balts greeted the Germans as liberators when they occupied the area a week later. (Full article...) -
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Lithuania proper (in green) and Samogitia (in red) within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in a map from 1712
Lithuania proper (Latin: Lithuania propria; Lithuanian: Tikroji Lietuva, Didžioji Lietuva)[a] refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. The territory can be traced by Catholic Christian parishes established in pagan Baltic lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania subsequent to the Christianization of Lithuania in 1387. Lithuania proper (Lithuania Propria) was always distinguished from the Ruthenian lands since the Lithuanians differed from the Ruthenians in their language and faith (Paganism in the beginning and Catholicism since 1387). The term in Latin was widely used during the Middle Ages and can be found in numerous historical maps until World War I.
Lithuania proper is sometimes also called Lithuania Major, particularly in contrast with Lithuania Minor. (Full article...) -
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King Stanisław August Poniatowski unwillingly presided over the dissolution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–1795) is concerned with the final decades of existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The period, during which the declining state pursued wide-ranging reforms and was subjected to three partitions by the neighboring powers, coincides with the election and reign of the federation's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski.
During the later part of the 18th century, the Commonwealth attempted fundamental internal reforms. The reform activity provoked hostile reaction and eventually military response on the part of the surrounding states. The second half of the century brought improved economy and significant growth of the population. The most populous capital city of Warsaw replaced Danzig (Gdańsk) as the leading trade center, and the role of the more prosperous urban strata was increasing. The last decades of the independent Commonwealth existence were characterized by intense reform movements and far-reaching progress in the areas of education, intellectual life, arts and sciences, and especially toward the end of the period, evolution of the social and political system. (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...) -
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The Act of Independence of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16th, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty representatives of the Council, which was chaired by Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.
The immediate effects of the announcement of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence were limited. Publication of the Act was prohibited by the German authorities, and the text was distributed and printed illegally. The work of the Council was hindered, and Germans remained in control over Lithuania. The situation changed only when Germany lost World War I in the fall of 1918. In November 1918 the first Cabinet of Lithuania was formed, and the Council of Lithuania gained control over the territory of Lithuania. Independent Lithuania, although it would soon be battling the Wars of Independence, became a reality. (Full article...) -
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Lithuania's name in writing, 1009
The first known record of the name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) recorded in the Quedlinburg Chronicle (Latin: Annales Quedlinburgenses, written between 1008 and 1030) in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno . The Chronicle recorded in the form Litua (in the phrase "in confinio Rusciæ et Lituæ a paganis capite plexus"). Although it is clear the name originated from a Baltic language, scholars still debate the meaning of the word. (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 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 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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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...) -
Image 13The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.
The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772, after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation of 1792 when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year. With this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist. (Full article...) -
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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, which by 1440, became the largest European state controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Belarus, Lithuania, most of Ukraine as well as parts of Latvia, Moldova, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. (Full article...) -
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Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania with signatures of the delegates
The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of 11 March (Lithuanian: Aktas dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės atstatymo) was an independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on 11 March 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania led by Sąjūdis. The act emphasized restoration and legal continuity of the interwar-period Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union and annexed in June 1940. In March 1990, it was the first of the 15 Soviet republics to declare independence, with the rest following to continue for 21 months, concluding with Kazakhstan's independence in 1991. These events (part of the broader process dubbed the "parade of sovereignties") led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. (Full article...)
Selected politics article
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Image 1In Lithuania, a public election committee (Lithuanian: visuomeninis rinkimų komitetas) is an organized group of voters outside of political parties which participates in local or European Parliament elections. (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 and 2024 presidential election, but lost in the second round runoff to Gitanas Nausėda both times. She has been a member of Homeland Union since 2022, having previously been an independent politician. (Full article...) -
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Location of Lithuania in the European Union
Lithuania is divided into three levels 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...) -
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The prime minister of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Ministras Pirmininkas; lit. "Minister-Chairman") 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...) -
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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...) -
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Gitanas Nausėda [ɡɪˈtɐ.nɐs nɐˈu.sʲeː.dɐ] (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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Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 11 May 2014, with a second round held on 25 May between the top two candidates from the first round. In the second round, incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaitė was re-elected with 58% of the vote. Second round took place alongside the 2014 European elections. (Full article...) -
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Seniūnijos of Lithuania
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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The Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Aukščiausiasis Teismas) is the only court of cassation in the Lithuania for reviewing effective judgements and rulings passed by the courts hearing criminal cases at the first and appeal instances as well as decisions and rulings in civil cases passed by the courts of appeals. It is the highest court of cassation, but it cannot interpret the constitution, since that is under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania. (Full article...) -
Image 10The 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 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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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...) -
Image 13There 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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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...)
Selected biography
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Image 1William Zorach circa 1917, photographed by Man Ray
William Zorach (February 28, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the Arts in 1927. He was at the forefront of American artists embracing cubism.
He is the husband of Marguerite Thompson Zorach and father of Dahlov Ipcar, both artists in their own right. (Full article...) -
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Daina Gudzinevičiūtė (born 23 December 1965, in Vilnius) is an Olympic shooting champion from Lithuania and president of National Olympic Committee, member of the International Olympic Committee. (Full article...) -
Image 3Gerulaitis in 1978
Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles title at the latter of the two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977 (December; Roscoe Tanner won earlier in January). He won two Italian Opens (1977, 1979), and the WCT Finals in Dallas in 1978. (Full article...) -
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Žydrūnas Savickas (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ʑiːˈdrûːnɐs sɐˈvʲɪtskɐs]; born July 15, 1975) is a Lithuanian powerlifter and professional strongman. Due to his 84 international wins in major international strongman competitions including four World's Strongest Man championships, eight Arnold Strongman Classic championships, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as the greatest strength athlete of all time. (Full article...) -
Image 5Šarūnas Bartas at the Odesa International Film Festival 2015
Šarūnas Bartas (born 16 August 1964) is a Lithuanian film director. He is one of the most prominent Lithuanian film directors internationally from the late 20th century. His 2015 film Peace to Us in Our Dreams was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. His film In the Dusk was part of the official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival. (Full article...) -
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Vytautas Kasiulis
Vytautas Kasiulis (Simnas, Alytus County, 23 April 1918 – Paris, 12 March 1995) was a Lithuanian painter of the School of Paris. He was one of the most famous Lithuanian artists who became exiled in Paris after the annexation of their country by the Soviet Union. (Full article...) -
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Alexander Shtromas (Lithuanian: Aleksandras Štromas; 4 April 1931 in Kaunas, Lithuania – 12 June 1999 in Chicago) was a prominent Lithuanian political scientist, dissident, professor and author.
Alexander Štromas was a cousin of Irena Veisaitė, Holocaust survivor and later Lithuanian scholar of German literature. Irena's mother and Alexander's father were siblings. (Full article...) -
Image 8Jonas Zdanys (born July 30, 1950) is a bilingual poet, a leading translator of modern Lithuanian fiction and poetry into the English language., and a literary theorist whose writings on translation theory reinforce a conservative humanistic literary agenda. He was born in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1950, a few months after his parents arrived in the United States from a United Nations camp for Lithuanian refugees. He is a graduate of Yale University and earned a Ph.D. in English literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he studied with Robert Creeley among other writers. (Full article...)
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Image 91681"The First Exile"February 2, 2006 (2006-02-02)19.207.0/18
1692"Breakdown"February 9, 2006 (2006-02-09)18.756.6/17
1703"Crazy Fights, Snake Dinners"February 16, 2006 (2006-02-16)16.986.3/16
1714"Starvation and Lunacy"February 23, 2006 (2006-02-23)14.855.5/14
1725"For Cod's Sake"March 2, 2006 (2006-03-02)16.085.5/14
1736"Salvation and Desertion"March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09)15.335.4/14
1747"A Closer Look"March 15, 2006 (2006-03-15)N/ATBA
1758"An Emerging Plan"March 30, 2006 (2006-03-30)16.255.8/17
1769"The Power of the Idol"April 6, 2006 (2006-04-06)16.365.6/17
17710"Fight for Your Life or Eat"April 13, 2006 (2006-04-13)15.075.2/17
17811"Medical Emergency"April 20, 2006 (2006-04-20)16.265.5/18
17912"Perilous Scramble"April 27, 2006 (2006-04-27)17.095.9/18
18013"Bamboozled"May 4, 2006 (2006-05-04)17.045.9/18
18114"Call the Whambulence!"May 11, 2006 (2006-05-11)17.205.8/18
18215"The Final Showdown"May 14, 2006 (2006-05-14)17.076.2/15
18316"Reunion"May 14, 2006 (2006-05-14)N/ATBA (Full article...) -
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Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman), also known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון Der Vilner Goen; Polish: Gaon z Wilna, Gaon Wileński; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gra ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Lithuanian Jewish Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha-Gaon mi-Vilna, "the genius from Vilnius".
Through his annotations and emendations of Talmudic and other texts, he became one of the most familiar and influential figures in rabbinic study since the Middle Ages. Although he is chronologically one of the Acharonim, some considered him one of the Rishonim (Full article...) -
Image 11Algirdas Julien Greimas (French: [alɡiʁdas ʒyljɛ̃ gʁɛmas]; born Algirdas Julius Greimas; 9 March 1917 – 27 February 1992) was a Lithuanian literary scientist who wrote most of his body of work in French while living in France. Greimas is known among other things for the Greimas Square (le carré sémiotique). He is, along with Roland Barthes, considered the most prominent of the French semioticians. With his training in structural linguistics, he added to the theory of signification, plastic semiotics, and laid the foundations for the Parisian school of semiotics. Among Greimas's major contributions to semiotics are the concepts of isotopy, the actantial model, the narrative program, and the semiotics of the natural world. He also researched Lithuanian mythology and Proto-Indo-European religion, and was influential in semiotic literary criticism. (Full article...)
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