Lithuania Guide
Introduction to Lithuania
Boasting the best rye-based black bread in the world, a unique range of herb-infused alcoholic spirits and a distinctive cuisine in which the humble potato is elevated to sacred status, Lithuania possesses plenty in the way of individual identity.The capital Vilnius, with its cobbled alleys and Baroque churches, is arguably the most architecturally beautiful of the Baltic capitals, with an easy-going charm all of its own. Its single most important attraction is the Old Town, an ensemble of winding, narrow streets and stately churches. An engaging clutch of museums (including some gripping displays recounting both the Nazi and Soviet occupations) ensure that sightseeing here can easily fill several days.
Lithuania's distinctive character owes a lot to the fact that, unlike its Baltic neighbours, it once enjoyed a period of sustained international greatness, building a medieval empire which stretched south and east across modern Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine. Such strength allowed Lithuania to remain a nature-worshipping pagan state until well into the fourteenth century, and a mystical relationship with the landscape's lakes and forests marks out the Lithuanian character to this day. Christianity came to Lithuania after dynastic union with the Kingdom of Poland in 1386, and Polish Catholic culture went on to exert an increasing influence over the country, especially after the creation of the so-called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. After 1795, Tsarist Russia became the dominant power. Despite successive waves of Polonization and Russification, however, Lithuanian culture was preserved in villages and farmsteads, and the country remains extraordinarily rich in folk art, rural festivals and traditional song.
Lithuania can also claim to be the first Baltic State to declare its independence from Moscow, breaking free in 1990 and forcing the pace of change which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the spread of civil society and free-market economics – and, ultimately, the accession of all three Baltic States to the European Union in 2004.