It is believed that Lithuania got its name from the River Lietava (Lietauka), a tributary of the Neris. It flows about 25 km from the little town of Kernavė, an important political centre in ancient Lithuania.
Lithuania's name was first mentioned in records in 1009 A.D. During the period 1236-1263, Duke Mindaugas united the Lithuanian ethnic lands and established the state of Lithuania, which was able to offer resistance against the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Knights. In 1253 Mindaugas embraced Christianity for political reasons, and accepted the crown from the Pope of Rome. This way, he became the first and only king in Lithuanian history.
Grand Duke Vytautas ruled from 1392 to 1430 and brought the greatest military and political prosperity to the country. Lithuania extended from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea . During his reign, the push eastward by the German Order was broken. In 1410 Vytautas, along with his cousin Jogaila, won the Battle of Grünwald, against the might of the Order.
Lithuania signed the Union of Lublin with Poland in 1569 strengthening ties between the two nations. The agreement created a Commonwealth Republic of two nations, which shared one king (also holding the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania) and a joint legislature, the Seimas. Nevertheless, Lithuania 's state sovereignty was preserved: the treasury, the currency, the laws and the army remained independent.
From 1654 to 1667, Lithuania became enmeshed in wars with Russia , whose might had been increasing. During the second half of the 18th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost nearly all its sovereign rights. Following its successful wars with Sweden, Russia, together with Austria and Prussia engaged in the partition of the Republic of Lithuania-Poland, in three instances, in 1772, 1793 and 1795. Following the third partition, the major part of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania was handed over to Russia. The name of Lithuania had disappeared from the political map of Europe for 123 years.
Lithuania began to recover only towards the end of the 19th century, the period known as the "spring of nations". A struggle for national culture and reinstitution of writing spread over the greater part of the country. A unique movement, the "book-bearers" came about through self-education and a concern for survival.
Lithuanian Council proclaimed the Independent Republic of Lithuania on 16 February 1918. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Russia and remained incorporated in the Soviet Union until 1990, when Lithuania declared the re-establishment of its independence. The year 2004 was very important for every Lithuanian, as on March 29, 2004 Lithuania became a member of NATO and on 1 May 2004 - a member of European Union.
The area of Lithuania is 65.300 sq. km. It borders Latvia , Byelorussia , Poland , the Kaliningrad region of Russia and the Baltic Sea . The population of the country is almost 3.484 million people. Ethnic composition: Lithuanian 83.5%, Polish 6.7, Russian 6.3%, Byelorussian 1.2.%, others 2.3%. The main religion in the country is Roman Catholic, other religions - Russian Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran, Judaic, etc. Coming back to history, it is interesting to know that Lithuanians were the last pagans in Europe. They became Christians only in the beginning of the 15 th century while much of Europe already has been Christianised. The official language of the Republic of Lithuania is Lithuanian, which is the oldest of the living Baltic tongues and belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. The 32-letter Lithuanian alphabet is Latin based.
The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, one of the largest cultural, scientific and industrial centres of the Baltic States.
Last update: 02/29/2008
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