 | McLae´s guide to Lithuania |  |
|
Lithuania Internet country code: .lt International telephone prefix: +370  Lithuania is situated in the Northern Europe and is the largest and most populous of the Baltic states, it has around 99 kilometres (61.5 mi) of sandy coastline, of which only about 38 kilometres (24 mi) faces the open Baltic Sea. Lithuania's major warm-water port of Klaipe.da lies at the narrow mouth of Kuršiu; marios (Curonian Lagoon), a shallow lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad. The main river, the Nemunas, and some of its tributaries carry international shipping vessels. Lithuanian landscape is glacially flat, except for morainic hills in the western uplands and eastern highlands that are no higher than 300 metres (1,000 ft), with the highest point being found at Juozapine.s at 292 metres (958 ft). The terrain features numerous lakes, Lake Vištytis) for example, swamps, and a mixed forest zone covers 30% of the country. The climate lies between maritime and continental, with wet, moderate winters and summers. According to some geographers, Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, lies a few kilometres south of the geographical centre of Europe. Lithuania consists of the following historical and cultural regions: Language: The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian, making up one of only two languages [along with Latvian] on the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family. Despite the kinship of Lithuanian to many other European languages, the complicated nature of even its most basic grammar makes it hard for foreigners unfamiliar with the language even to form basic sentences (as can be done with relative ease in Italian or Spanish, for example). Russian is spoken almost universally by the older generation, whilst the younger generation is becoming more and more proficient in English. Polish and, to a lesser extent, German are also spoken in some places for historical reasons. Lithuanians are always eager for an opportunity to practise their English, but those who learn a few basic phrases of the local language are always amply awarded with good will and appreciation for their efforts. History: First mentioned in a medieval German manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle, on February 14, 1009, Lithuania became a significant state in the Middle Ages. The official crowning of Mindaugas as King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253 marked Lithuania's birth, as warring dukes united to support his reign. Later during the early years of the Gediminid dynasty (1316 - 1430), the nation grew into a multi-ethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also incorporated the lands of modern Belarus and Ukraine. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy stretched across Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea. When Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on February 2, 1386, Lithuania and Poland joined in a personal union, as both countries were ruled by the same Jagiellon dynasty. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally merged into a single state called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1795, the Commonwealth was dissolved by the third Partition of Poland, which ceded its lands to Russia, Prussia and Austria. 90% of Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire and 10% into Prussia On February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence. From the outset, territorial disputes with Poland (over the Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region) and Germany (over the Klaipe.da region, German: Memelland) preoccupied the foreign policy of the new nation. During the interwar period, the constitutional capital was Vilnius, although the city itself was annexed by Poland (see History of Vilnius for more details). The Lithuanian government at the time was seated in Kaunas, which officially held the status of temporary capital. In 1940, at the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It later came under German occupation, during which time 90% of Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the worst death rates of the Holocaust. With the retreat of the Germans, Lithuania was reoccupied by the Soviet Union in 1945. Fifty years of communist rule ended with the advent of glasnost, and Lithuania, led by Sa;ju-dis, an anti-communist and anti-Soviet independence movement, proclaimed its renewed independence on March 11, 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to do so, though Soviet forces unsuccessfully tried until August 1991 to suppress this secession, including an incident at Vilnius' TV Tower in January 13 night, 1991 that resulted in the death of 13 Lithuanian civilians. The last Russian troops left Lithuania on August 31, 1993 — even earlier than those in East Germany. On February 4, 1991, Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence, and Sweden the first to open an embassy in the country. The United States of America never recognized the Soviet claim to Lithuania or to the other two Baltic republics. Lithuania joined the United Nations on September 17, 1991. On May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, and so on January 4, 1994, it became the first of the Baltic States to apply for NATO membership. On November 21, 2002, NATO invited Lithuania to start membership negotiations, and on March 29, 2004, it became a full and equal NATO member. On February 1, 1998, it became an Associate Member of the European Union, and on April 16, 2003, it signed the EU Accession Treaty. 91% of Lithuanians backed EU membership in a referendum held on May 11, 2003 and on May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the EU. |
|
More information:WikipediaWikitravel
|