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
- Image 2Cepelinai, a potato-based dumpling dish characteristic of Lithuanian cuisine with meat, curd or mushrooms (from Lithuania)
- Image 3Lyduvėnai Bridge, the highest (42 m.) and the longest (599 m.) railway bridge in the Baltics (from Lithuania)
- Image 6Lituanica 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)
- Image 7Trakai Island Castle, the former residence of the Grand Dukes and capital city of the medieval state (from Lithuania)
- Image 12Monument in Naujoji Vilnia in memory of the Soviet deportations from Lithuania (from Lithuania)
- Image 16A proportional representation of Lithuania's exports, 2019 (from Lithuania)
- Image 17The Baltic Way was a mass anti-Soviet demonstration where approx. 25% of the population of the Baltic states participated. (from Lithuania)
- Image 18Site 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)
- Image 21Population density of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
- Image 22Commemoration 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)
- Image 23Lithuanian cemetery at All Souls night (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 24Lithuanian resistance fighters. The armed resistance was 50,000 strong at its peak. (from Lithuania)
- Image 25Gryčia (traditional dwelling house, built in the 19th century) (from Lithuania)
- Image 26Soldiers of the Red Army enter the territory of Lithuania during the first Soviet occupation in 1940. (from Lithuania)
- Image 28Lithuanian counties by GDP per capita, 2022 (from Lithuania)
- Image 30On 13 January 1991, Soviet forces fired live rounds at unarmed independence supporters and crushed two of them with tanks, killing 13 in total. To this day, Russia refuses to extradite the perpetrators, who were convicted of war crimes. (from Lithuania)
- Image 31Stamp dedicated to Lithuania's presidency of the European Union. Post of Lithuania, 2013. (from Lithuania)
- Image 32The 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)
- Image 33Real GDP per capita development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (from Lithuania)
- Image 36The original 20 members of the Council of Lithuania after signing the Act of Independence of Lithuania, 16 February 1918 (from Lithuania)
- Image 38Vilnius 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)
- Image 39Major highways in Lithuania (from Lithuania)
- Image 41Antanas Smetona was the first and last president of interbellum Lithuania (1919–1920, 1926–1940). (from Lithuania)
- Image 43Lithuanian Army soldiers marching with their dress uniforms in Vilnius. An officer stands out with a sword. (from Lithuania)
- Image 44Emilia Plater, often nicknamed as a Lithuanian Joan of Arc, leading peasant scythemen during the 1831 uprising (from Lithuania)
- Image 46Changes in the territory of Lithuania 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)
- Image 49Nasdaq Vilnius Stock Exchange, located in K29 business centre in Konstitucijos Avenue, Vilnius (from Lithuania)
- Image 52Bishop Motiejus Valančius resisted Russification. He urged protest against the closing of Catholic churches and organised book printing in Lithuanian in Lithuania Minor. (from Lithuania)
- Image 53The white stork is the national bird of Lithuania, which has the highest-density stork population in Europe. (from Lithuania)
- Image 57Lithuania's GDP per capita compared to rest of the world (2022) (from Lithuania)
- Image 58The victory of the Polish-Lithuanian forces over the Muscovites at the Battle of Orsha in 1514 (from Lithuania)
- Image 63A ceremony of Lithuanian modern pagans. (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 65Lithuania was recently a member of the United Nations Security Council. Its representatives are on the right side. (from Lithuania)
- Image 66Physical map and geomorphological subdivision of Lithuania (from Lithuania)
- Image 67The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 68An Anti-Soviet rally in Vingis Park of about 250,000 people. Sąjūdis was a movement which led to the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania. (from Lithuania)
- Image 72Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas, regarded as godfather of American avant-garde cinema (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 74Lithuanian armoured train Gediminas 3, used in Lithuanian Wars of Independence and Lithuanian soldiers (from Lithuania)
- Image 76Baltic 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)
- Image 78Simple Words of Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas was the first Lithuanian book and was published in 1547. (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 79Rock 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)
- Image 81Population of Lithuania 1915–2014 (from Lithuania)
- Image 86Lithuania's name in writing (Litua, on line 7), 1009 (from Lithuania)
- Image 87The first Lithuanian printed book, Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas (1547, Königsberg) (from Lithuania)
- Image 90The 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)
- Image 92Cepelinai served with sour cream (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 96Lithuanian basketball clubs Žalgiris and Šiauliai playing a match (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 97Lithuania men's national basketball team is ranked eighth worldwide in FIBA Rankings. (from Lithuania)
- Image 981960 postage stamp depicting Lithuanians in traditional clothing (from Culture of Lithuania)
- Image 99Statutes of Lithuania were the central piece of Lithuanian law in 1529–1795. (from Lithuania)
Selected county
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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...) - Image 2
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. (Full article...) - Image 3
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...) - Image 4
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...) - Image 5
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 6
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...) - Image 7
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. (Full article...) - Image 8
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...) - Image 9
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...) - Image 10
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...)
Selected municipality
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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...) - Image 3
Kaunas District Municipality (Kauno rajono savivaldybė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kaunas, which does not belong to the municipality but is a separate administrative unit. It surrounds the Kaunas City Municipality from the north, west and south, while in the east Kaunas district municipality borders Kaišiadorys District Municipality. Kaunas District Municipality has the second largest international airport in Lithuania (Kaunas International Airport), and is well connected by major roads (A1 highway and Via Baltica), as well as railways with other cities of Lithuania. (Full article...) - Image 4
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...) - Image 5
Panevėžys (Lithuanian pronunciation: [pɐnʲɛvʲeːˈʑiːs] ⓘ) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania and the eight most populous city in the Baltic States. As of 2021,[update] it occupies 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) with 89,000 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population of the Panevėžys functional urban area, that stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 127,471 (as of 2017).
The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys, Kalnapilio Arena, formerly known as Cido Arena, hosted the Eurobasket 2011 group matches. (Full article...) - Image 6
Plungė District Municipality (Lithuanian: Plungės rajono savivaldybė, Samogitian: Plongės rajuona savivaldībė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. (Full article...) - Image 7
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Lazdijai District Municipality (Lithuanian: Lazdijų rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Alytus County, Lithuania. (Full article...) - Image 11
The Alytus District Municipality (Lithuanian: Alytaus rajono savivaldybė) is a municipality in Alytus County, Lithuania, located in the Dzūkija ethnographic region.
This municipality was founded in 1950, and until 1953 was a part of the Kaunas Province. In 1959, another reorganization of parts of the former Simnas and Daugai municipalities occurred, which included the towns of Simnas and Daugai. In 1962 it was expanded more, attaching part of the former Jieznas municipality. In 1968 parts of the municipality were attached to the Prienai District Municipality and Trakai District Municipality, and 1969 another part of Varėna District Municipality. (Full article...) - Image 12
Šilalė District Municipality (Lithuanian: Šilalės rajono savivaldybė, Samogitian: Šėlalės rajuona savivaldībė) is a municipality in Tauragė County, Lithuania. (Full article...) - Image 13
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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...) - Image 15
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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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...) - Image 2
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...) - Image 3
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...) - Image 4
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...)
Selected history 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...) - Image 2
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...) - Image 3
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...) - Image 4
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. (Full article...) - Image 5
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...) - Image 6
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...) - Image 7
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...) - Image 8
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...) - Image 9
Swedish Lithuania, officially known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Swedish: Storfurstendömet Litauen, Latin: Magnus Ducatus Lituaniæ), was a dominium directum protectorate of the Swedish Empire under the rule of King Charles X Gustav in accordance with the Union of Kėdainiai. It de jure existed from 1655 until 1657 when it was terminated and fully reincorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. (Full article...) - Image 10
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...) - Image 11
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...) - Image 12
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, or simply Poland–Lithuania, 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 Roman 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 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 Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade.
As an important commodity, sometimes dubbed "the gold of the north", amber was transported from the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts overland by way of the Vistula and Dnieper rivers to Italy, Greece, the Black Sea, Syria and Egypt over a period of thousands of years. (Full article...) - Image 15
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...)
Selected politics 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 2This 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...) - Image 3Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 14 October 2012, with a second round on 28 October in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-seat constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Together with the elections, a referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power plant was held. (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 5
The prime minister of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Ministras Pirmininkas; lit. "Minister-president") is the head of the government of Lithuania. The prime minister is Lithuania's head of government and 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 6
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 7
Gitanas Nausėda (born 19 May 1964) is a Lithuanian politician, economist and banker who is serving as the ninth and current president of Lithuania since 2019. He was previously 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...) - 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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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...) - Image 10There have been twelve referendums in Lithuania since it declared independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 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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Ingrida Šimonytė (pronounced [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...) - Image 12
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...) - Image 13
The president of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The president directs and appoints the executive branch of the Government of the Republic 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...) - Image 14Taxes 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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Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 17 May 2009. A run-off would have been held on 7 June 2009, but was not necessary as Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected with 69 percent of the vote, with voter turnout just over the 50% threshold for the result to be validated. This is the largest margin of victory in a direct presidential election in Lithuania. Grybauskaitė took office on 12 July as the country's first female president. (Full article...)
Selected biography
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Jurga Ivanauskaitė (14 November 1961 – 17 February 2007) was a Lithuanian writer.
She was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. While studying at the Vilnius Art Academy, she wrote her first book, The Year of the Lilies of the Valley, published in 1985. She subsequently published six novels, a children's book and a book of essays. Her works have been translated into several languages, including English, Latvian, Polish, Russian, German, French and Swedish. (Full article...) - Image 2
Grytė Pintukaitė (born 16 February 1977) is a Lithuanian portrait painter, member of the Lithuanian Artists' Association, and member of the Association LATGA - Lithuanian Copyright Society. (Full article...) - Image 3Kazimieras "Kazim" Vasiliauskas (born 2 August 1990) is a Lithuanian former racing driver. (Full article...)
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Justas Paleckis (22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1899 – 26 January 1980) was a Lithuanian Soviet author, journalist and politician. He was nominal acting president of Lithuania after the Soviet invasion while Lithuania was still ostensibly independent, in office from 17 June to 3 August 1940. He then remained the head of state of the Lithuanian SSR until 1967. (Full article...) - Image 5
Ramūnas Navardauskas (born 30 January 1988) is a Lithuanian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2022 for Cannondale–Drapac, Bahrain–Merida, Nippo–Delko–One Provence and the Voltas Cycling Team. Following his retirement as a rider, Navardauskas now works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team EF Education–Nippo Development Team. (Full article...) - Image 6
Ieronim Petrovich Uborevich (Lithuanian: Jeronimas Uborevičius; Russian: Иерони́м Петро́вич Уборе́вич; 14 January [O.S. 2 January] 1896 – 12 June 1937) was a Soviet military commander of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, reaching the rank of komandarm in 1935. He was executed during the Great Purge in June 1937 and was posthumously rehabilitated in 1957. (Full article...) - Image 7Gintaras Einikis (born September 30, 1969) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player and current coach. He stands at 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and is a former center for the senior Lithuanian national team. Einikis is the only player from the Lithuanian national team to have won all three consecutive bronze medals at the Summer Olympics, in Barcelona, Atlanta, and Sydney. (Full article...)
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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...) - Image 9
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...) - Image 10
Petras Kalpokas (31 March 1880 in Miškinė – 5 December 1945) was a Lithuanian artist and professor. (Full article...) - Image 11
Arvydas Novikovas (born 18 December 1990) is a Lithuanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish TFF First League club Tuzlaspor. (Full article...) - Image 12
Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on three occasions. Taking the helm of the government at a difficult time in 1918 and again in 1919, Sleževičius has been credited with preparing Lithuania for the fights to come and for laying the foundations of the fledgling state.
Sleževičius was elected to the Lithuanian parliament, initially the Constituent Assembly, later the Seimas, on four occasions. In 1926, as a representative of the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union, Sleževičius became the prime minister for a third time. His government introduced important changes aimed at normalizing the situation in Lithuania, but the reforms faced resistance from the Catholic clergy, military officers and the parliamentary opposition. The resistance culminated in a military coup d'état in December 1926, which brought to power the authoritarian rule of Antanas Smetona. Sleževičius continued participating in the activities of his party but never again regained his previous influence. (Full article...) - Image 13
Simonas Daukantas (Polish: Szymon Dowkont; 28 October 1793 – 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book on the history of Lithuania written in the Lithuanian language. Only a few of his works were published during his lifetime and he died in obscurity. However, his works were rediscovered during the later stages of the National Revival. His views reflected the three major trends of the 19th century: romanticism, nationalism, and liberalism.
Daukantas was born in Samogitia to a Lithuanian family. Likely a son of free peasants, he later produced proof of his noble birth to get university degree and a promotion in his government job. He attended schools in Kretinga and Žemaičių Kalvarija and was noted as an excellent student. Daukantas studied law at the University of Vilnius, though his interest lay in philology and history. After the graduation, he worked as a civil servant of the Russian Empire from 1825 to 1850. He first worked at the office of the Governor-General of Livonia, Estonia and Courland in Riga then moved to Saint Petersburg to work at the Governing Senate. At the Senate, he had the opportunity to study the Lithuanian Metrica, the state archive of the 14–18th century legal documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1850, Daukantas retired from his job due to poor health and moved back to Samogitia where he lived in Varniai under the care of bishop Motiejus Valančius for a few years. He hoped to publish some of his works with bishop's help, but the bishop prioritized religious work and they began to quarrel. In 1855, Daukantas moved to Jaunsvirlauka [lv] in present-day Latvia and later to Papilė where he died in obscurity in 1864. (Full article...)