Interesting facts about Lithuania

• By the end of the fourteenth century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe.
• 190,000 or 91% of the Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the highest total mortality rates of the holocaust.
• On February 4, 1991, Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence.
• Lithuania joined the United Nations on September 17, 1991.
• On May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union.
• Lithuania is divided into 10 counties, 60 municipalities, and 500 administrative areas.
• Lithuania has 99 kilometers (61.5 mi) of sandy coastline.
• 83.6% of the Lithuanian population is ethnic Lithuanians who speak the Lithuanian language.
• The historically predominant religion is Roman Catholicism.
• The 2007 estimated population was 3,575,439.
• The official name of Lithuania is “The Republic of Lithuania”.
• Lithuania is situated in Eastern Europe, between Latvia and Russia, and stands bordered by the Baltic Sea, Belarus and Poland.
• Lithuania is one of the countries that make up the ‘Baltic States’. However, contrary to what the name suggests, the states do not share political unity.
• The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian. However, you will find majority of the people speaking Russian and English also.
• Lithuania is spread over an area of approximately 65,300 sq km (25,212 sq miles) and is about the same size as West Virginia.
• The state of Lithuania is an independent, democratic republic and follows Parliamentary democracy.
• The currency of Lithuania is Litas and 1 Litas is equal to 100 centas.
• Lithuania was the last country in Europe to be converted to Christianity. Before Christianity, the country’s religion was ‘Romuva’.
• The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius.
• Juozapines Hill (294 m) forms the highest point in Lithuania, while the largest and longest river in the country is Nemunas.
• Lithuania had only one king during the royal times, King Mindaugas.
• The first publishing house in Lithuania was founded in Vilnius, in 1522, and the first Lithuanian Book was published in 1547.
• The mother of Pope John Paul II was of Lithuanian descent.
• Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the USSR.

Main events in Lithuanian history

• Formation of Lithuania’s nationhood is considered to have been in the 13th century A.D.

  Lithuania’s Day of Nationhood, July 6, commemorates Lithuania’s ruler Mindaugas’ coronation in 1253.

• In the Middle Ages, Lithuania was one of the biggest countries in Europe but from 1569 joined in union with Poland.
• Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1795, regained its independence in 1918 but was reoccupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and by Germany from 1941-1944.
• Lithuania was later the first Soviet republic to declare its independence again as an independent nation on March 11, 1990.

National bird – stork

We could call Lithuania a land of storks. Every year there are around 15,000 pairs of white storks raising their young, in an area of 65,000 square kilometers. If we were to count all of them, the number would come to about 50,000. Since the country’s human population is three and a half million, encounters with storks are common.

Lithuanians have also kept up the quaint tradition of saying that storks bring babies. It is a long-forgotten myth in many European countries, but Lithuanians are not surprised if a child claims that his brother or sister was brought by a stork.

Distances from Vilnius to European Capitals

• Berlin: 820 km
• Brussels: 1470 km
• Helsinki: 580 km
• Copenhagen: 810 km
• London: 1750 km
• Moscow: 790 km
• Oslo: 1030 km
• Paris: 1700 km
• Prague: 910 km
• Riga: 310 km
• Stockholm: 680 km
• Tallinn: 500 km
• Warsaw: 420 km

Lithuania is a new and active member of the European Union (since May 1, 2004) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (since March 29, 2004). Lithuania is the only Baltic country with nearly eight hundred years of statehood tradition, while its name was first mentioned almost one thousand years ago, in 1009. Wedged at the dividing line of Western and Eastern civilizations, Lithuania battled dramatically for its independence and survival. Once in the Middle Ages, Lithuania was the largest state in the entire Eastern Europe, where crafts and overseas trade prospered.

In 1579, Vilnius University, an important scientific and education centre of the European scale, was opened. In 16th century, Lithuania adopted its First, Second and Third Statutes. Not only the Statutes were the backbone of the legislative system of the country, they had a major impact on legislation of other European states of the time. Despite losing its independence, Lithuania managed to retain its Third Statute in effect for as many as 250 years, which was instrumental in preservation of national and civic self-awareness of the public. The Constitution of Lithuania-Poland together with the French Constitution, both adopted in 1791, were the first constitutions in Europe.

Vilnius has always been a multinational, multilingual, and multicultural European city. Trying to position itself as an informal political leader of the Baltic countries, Lithuania shares its own experiences in democratic developments with other countries of post-soviet block and takes active participation in the EU renewal processes. In April 2005, Vilnius hosted the meeting of 26 NATO foreign ministers. For more information please visit: http://www.travel.lt/index.php/country/4332

Population of Lithuania

Ethnic composition of the Lithuanian population (2009 estimate by the Statistical Department)

• Lithuanians – 84 % (2,815,700)
• Poles – 6.1 % (205,500)
• Russians – 4.9 % (165,100)
• Byelorussians – 1.1 % (36,100)
• Ukrainians – 0.6 % (20,000)
• Germans – 0.1 % (3,100)
• Jews – 0.1 % (3,000.)
• Tatars – 0.1 % (2,500)
• Latvians – 0.1 % (2,200)
• Romani – 0.1 % (2,300)
• Other ethnic groups – 0.2 % (7,600)