Guide Note

The Republic of Lithuania is a country in northern Europe. The Baltic Sea borders the country to the west and shares its borders with Belarus, Latvia, Poland and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad Oblast.

Fast Facts

Capital: Vilnius
Government: Parliamentary republic
Population: 3,575,439 (July 2007 est.)
Currency: Lithuanian litas (Lt)
Exchange Rate: 1 Lithuanian Litas (LTL) = 0.42269 US Dollar (USD)
Official Language: Lithuanian

History

Lithuania was first mentioned in a German manuscript dated in the year 1009. In 1236 the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas who was officially coronated as King of Lithuania, on July 6, 1253. Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine and by the end of the 14th century was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 continued as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which was formed in 1569 and lasted until 1795 when the joint state was dissolved and its lands partitioned to Russia, Prussia and Austria.

Modern History

After gaining its independence following World War I the country was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. Lithuania was the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence in March 1990 a move not recognize by the USSR until September 1991. After soviet troops left Lithuania in 1993 it restructured its economy and joined both NATO and the European Union in the Spring of 2004.

Categories

Geography | Travel | Countries

View Note History

Lithuania

Also try: Lithuania Vacation
Also try: Lithuania Hotels

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia Lithuania
European Union Portal Page Lithuania
CIA World Factbook Lithuania
BBC Country Profile Lithuania
U.S. Department of State: Lithuania Overview
Portals to the World: Lithuania
Library of Congress: Lithuania : Country Studies

Lithuania Recent News

Google News Search: Lithuania
Elta: Lietuvos naujienų agentūra (Lithuanian News Agency)
The Baltic Times: News from Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania
lrytas.lt: Naujienos (National daily news)
EKSTRA -: XXI amžiaus savaitinis žurnalas Daily News

Lithuania Travel Information

U.S.Department of State: Lithuania Country Specific Information
Lonely Planet Guide Lithuania
Observations from Lithuania Traveler's Comments
Virtual Tourist Lithuania Travel Guide
Nations Online: Lithuania -Tourism

Lithuania Politics

Official Government Site: Lithuania
Wikipedia: Politics of Lithuania
Country Studies: Politics
Library of Congress: Government and Politics
Law Library of Congress: Lithuania
Portals to the World: Government, Politics, Law: Lithuania
E.U. Politics Today: E.U. Lithuania Political News

Lithuania Facts and History

Wikipedia: Lithuania History Page | Lithuania Wars of Independence
BBC: Lithuania Timeline
City Paper: Lithuania Timeline
iExplore.com: Lithuania History
World 66: Lithuania History

Lithuania Maps and Geography

Wikipedia: Geography of Lithuania
UNESCO.org: Trakai Historical National Park
Merriam-Webster: Map of Lithuania
Geographic.org: Lithuania Geography
Maps of World.com: Lithuania Geography
MongaBay.com: Lithuania - Geography

Lithuania Capital

Mahalo's page on Vilnius
Wikipedia: Vilnius
World 66: Vilnius travel guide
Weather Underground: Vilnius Weather

Lithuania Major Cities

Mahalo's page on Klaipėda | Kaunas | Šiauliai
Wikipedia: Klaipėda | Kaunas | Šiauliai
World 66: Klaipeda travel guide | Kaunas travel guide | Siauliai travel guide

Lithuania Photos and Videos

YouTube & Google Video Search: Lithuania
Google Image Search: Lithuania
Live Search Images: Lithuania
Yahoo! Image Search: Lithuania
Flickr: Lithuania Images

Related Searches

Baltic Sea | Belarus | Poland | Latvia | Russia | Siberia | Germany | Estonia | Sweden | Norway | Iceland

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