Pre-1800's spelling: Lituania from Lithuanian: Lietuva, a name shared by a small river near Kernavė, the medieval capitol. First recorded is in a 1009 German Chronicle with Latinized Litua + the Greek suffix ia = land of 🔍. But the river may not be the source of the name, as it's an insignificant waterway.
It may be that both river & country are derived from an early Lithuanian people group, the leičiai, (singular leitis); from Proto Baltic lei- / ley-, lī- = to pour, flow, drip perhaps as a reference to peoples from a land of the rain or land of the rivers. By the 13c leičiai were a distinct warrior class, similar to knights, that enforced order in the region before and during the kingdom's unification.
* Ten villages were named for them (as Leičiai, Lietuva/ Leituva) and the term was used in 14–16c as an ethnonym for Lithuanians. It is still used for them in Latvian (leiši.)
Once the largest country in Europe, Lithuania charms with historic towns & castles, stunning beaches and a unique blend of pagan & Christian traditions make it a culturally rich affordable destination.
@ a glance essentials:
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Language:
Lithuanian
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Many Locals can speak English, particularly the younger generations in the large cities.
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Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink
Currency:
€ Euro
Local Transport
There is a bus network in large cities but it's a but slow. Smaller towns will require a car.
................................................... Lithuanians are particulaly creative wishing ill to enemies hoping "Kad tau kelnėse ežys išdygtų" (May a hedgehog 🦔 grow in your pants) or "...skėtis tavo subinėj išsiskleistų" (...an umbrella ☂️ open in your butt)
Creative Local Curses -
The first peoples living in future Lithuania after the Ice Age were the Kunda, followed much later, in the 1st mill. BC, by Indo-Europeans who migrated to the Baltics🔍 from the south🔍. These people would became known as Balts after the Baltic Sea🔍 (from the Latin balteus = belt, as it stretches around the land.)
The area was remote and fairly isolated from the rest of Europe (accounting for its unique linguistic, and enduring pagan customs/ mythology,) but it was subject to Viking raids, peaking in the 9- 10c including from their northern, non-ethnically Baltic neighbor, Estonia.
a bit of background...
CHECK OUT THE:
..................... Lithuanian's 🧡 to revolt, living up to their warrior namesakes. They rebbelled less than 2 years after voluntarily joining the Swedish Empire🔍 for their own protection. They then revolted against the Soviets 4x times with the November, January & June Uprising + Freedom Fighter attempts of the 1950's!
FUN FACT:
Facing threats from both the Nordic Vikings, and Germanic crusaders of the Northern Crusades, Lithuania united for the first time in 1251 into the 🔎Kingdom of Lithuania. With the king's assassination in 1263 land annexations created a broader Grand Duchy of Lithuania, covering today's Belarus, Ukraine, parts of Latvia, Poland, and Russia, making it the largest European state🔍 of the day.
In 1386 the Duchy joined with the Kingdom of Poland, extending it's rule to Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia🔍 - and even as far south as Moldova. The two realms🔍 then formally united, creating the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth🔍† in 1569 which lasted through the 17c until it was partitioned in the 18c between the Habsburg Monarchy, Kingdom of Prussia, and Russian Empire🔍, (which got almost all of the Lithuanian portion,) as such, the states of Poland & Lithuania ceased to exist for over 120 years.
During WWI the region was annexed by the Germans as part of the Ober Ost, and in 1918 Lithuania declared independence again, as the Kingdom of Lithuania which soon transitioned to the democratic 🔎Republic of Lithuania. In WWII, it was occupied by both the Russians & Nazi Germany, eventually becoming the Lithuanian SSR under the USSR, up until 1990 when Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away from the union.
† At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the great powers of Europe, adopting Europe's first modern constitution in 1791.
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Cepelinai - pork dumplings in creamy bacon, mushroom sauce ∞ Šaltibarščiai - cold beetroot soup w/
Kefir (sour milk†)
Kebapche - grilled beef/ pork mince ∞ Skilandis - a salami-like smoked sausage ∞ Spirgučiais - pork rind
Bulviniai Blynai - fried potato pancakes sometimes served w/ sour cream, jam or apple sauce
Kepta Duona - fried black rye w/ cheese ∞ Kugelis (or Bulvių Plokštainis) - baked potato pudding
Balandeliai - cabbage leaves stuffed w/minced meat, rice, onion & veg, stewed in pureed tomato sauce
Kibinai - traditional crescent-shaped pastries filled w/ minced mutton: primarily associated w/ Trakai
Varškės apkepas - fried cakes filled w/ traditional Lithuanian Cottage Cheese served w/ wild berry jam
Tinginys ( i.e. "lazy man")- no-bake bar of crumbled cookies & condensed milk ∞ Spurgos - Lithuanian donuts
Šakotis - Lithuanian tree cake w/ a thick batter poured over a rotating horizontal spit, creating a pine tree shape
Seinų, (aka Lazdijų krašto medus,) - honey from a polyfloral nectar in the Lazdijai District
➿➰➿
† Traditionally made by shepherds storing dairy in leather travel bags
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Surprising Finds:
📍 Republic of Užupis (meaning "beyond the river" or "other side of the river") - When the Soviets left, artists formed a
bohemian neighborhood, ‘Republic of Angels,’ in Vilnius, dotted with eccentric public art. With only 7K residents,
its own president, bishop, 4 flags, constitution (declaring “A dog 🐕 has the right to be a dog” + "A cat 🐈 is not
obliged to love its owner, but must help in time of need" e.g.) currency, and army (of 11 people), it considers
itself an independent country, officially declaring “independence” every April 1st
📍 Europos Parkas | Joneikiškės - curious art park with 3,000 TV 📺 sets + other “wonders” near to a monument marker
in Paberžės seniūnija for the (claimed†) geographic Center of Europe
📍 Orvidas Garden | Salantai - a self-trained sculptor's garden with religious statues of wood & stone, carved tree-trunks
resembling Lithuanian folk characters & replica Soviet tanks and Sederevičiaus Sculpture Ensemble | Kudirkos
Naumiestis - 21 large-scale concrete & metal sculptures, many of horses, deer, or mystical animals plus massive busts
of prominent figures / politicians, like John F. Kennedy
📍 The Pan House | Žagarė, Lithuania - started essentially out of spite, the eccentric house is covered in found objects,
using mostly pots & pans as siding
📍 Kulgrindas, (hidden underwater roads) - used as escape routes from invaders like the 13c/ 14c Teutonic Knights. Stones,
wood, gravel etc. were layed on frozen swamps in winter, which then sunk when the ice melted. 25+ kulgrindas
have been found in Lithuania (most in Samogitia | Varniai Regional Park)
📍 Paulava Republic Ruins | Merkinė - tiny former micro-nation (mere 6.3 sqr miles, at the time the 2nd smallest country
in the world, the country only lasted 30 years before being taken by the Russian Empire)
While surrounding countries were in the age of serfdom, a Polish-Lithuanian noble
purchased it in 1769, announcing the birth of a new Republic where serfdom was
abolished. Peasants owned property & paid taxes as land tenants and had compulsory
schools (where women also studied)
During World War II, the former republic was a home for nuns, and today it's home
to the Pyramid of Merkinė, a New Age dome that works as a huge echo chamber, deep
in the Dzūkija National Park forest, believed to channel divine energy (after a young
boy of the region supposedly heard miraculous voices there.)
† Kremnické Bane | Slovakia & Rakhiv | Ukraine, also claim the title based on differing methods of calculation /
definitions of Europe's boundaries
My Favorite Spots:
📍 Lukiškės | Vilnius - one of the most beautiful sites in the city is actually a prison;
Lukisliu Prison constructed ~1900 by the Russian Empire with Russian-Orthodox,
Catholic, and Jewish places of worship, now transformed into an art hub, home
to artists, film sets, and guided tours of its storied past
📍 Hill of 𓂃+✝︎+𓂃 Crosses at an old hill fort by Šiauliai (near Šeduva) with 100,000+
crosses & religious statues, believed to have originally been placed as early as 1831,
becoming a popular pilgrimage site and a symbol of national defiance during the Soviet occupation
(bulldozed 3x, the Lithuanian people continued to re-erect the crosses) plus
Seduvos Malunas - a windmill c.1905 transformed into an adorable lake-side hotel
📍 Kaunas Churches🔍 like Church of St. Gertrude - tiny brick Gothic c.15c hidden in a square off Laisves aleja & the
Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter & St. Paul / Kaunas Cathedral - Gothic, c.1413
📍 Palanga near the “Amber Coast;” with over 80% of the world’s amber sourced from the Baltic, even beaches often yield
amber pieces, and at nearby Palanga Amber Museum in Tiskeviciai Palace visitors can hunt for amber.
Most Known For:
♦️ Vilnius 📸 - with it's historic old town, Neoclassical Cathedral & Gothic St Anne’s
🔸 Kaunas 📸 - university town known for Žmuidzinavičius, world’s only Devil’s 👹 Museum
Interwar Modernist "Architecture of Optimism," plus a monastery overlooking the sea
♦️ Klaipeda & nearby Curonian Spit National Park; Europe's tallest shifting sand dunes @
196 ft (60 m) & moving ~9 miles (15 km) a year, plus Hill of Witches, trail of wooden hand-
carved folktale sculptures, spa town Neringa, & some of Lithuania's oldest graves with 16c “krikštaia” sticks
placed in the foot of graves to help the dead stand at the resurrection† in Nida's Ethnographic Cemetery
♦️ Trakai Historical National Park with Trakai Island Castle & medieval history museum
🔸 Kernavė - the old medieval capital with forts and burial sites dating to the late Paleolithic
♦️ Aukštaitija National & Anyksciai Regional Park, both with 9c 12c archeological sites; the National park also has a
300-m treetop walking path, 35m (115ft) above the forest
👀 NOTABLE LITHUANIANS:
🏀 Arvydas Sabonis | NBA Hall of Famer† "👑" Boris Mikhailovich Skossyreff | "King of Andorra"††
( Portland Trail Blazers)
† -Widely regarded as one of the best European players of all time. (His son Domantas Sabonis is also an NBA All-Star.)
†† Belarusian international swindler who attempted to seize the Principality of Andorra (1930s,) styling himself "King Boris I"
👣
🌀 Saint John's Day/ Midsummer/ Joninės, Rasos, or Kupolė (June 24) - a once pagan country with nature
worship, the Feast absorbed ancient solstice traditions (like wishing luck on others by letting flower wreaths
float in the Neris River, bonfires at night plus singing & dancing)
🌀 Klaipeda Sea Festival (July)- celebrating the Baltic Sea with boat races, carnivals, art, and outdoor concerts
🌀 Lithuanian Baltic Song & Dance Celebration (Summer every 4 years) - Celebrating traditional Baltic heritage
🌀 Palanga Smelt Festival (Feb) - dedicated to smoked, fried & pickled fish with competitions and exhibitions
🌀 Trakai Middle Age Festival (Summer)- with medieval tournaments of competitors from all over the world
fighting for the honor of the International Armed Forces Commander title all in medieval costume @ Trakai
Peninsula Castle
Site Key:
Five Star Recommend
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