LITHUANIA | Travel | Cultural information
History of Lithuania
The first written mentioning of Lithuania is in 1009. Thus, in 2009 Lithuania celebrated 1000 years anniversary. Therefore Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania was called European capital of culture in 2009.
Lithuania renewed its independence on March 11, 1990. In 2004 Lithuania became a NATO member and joined the European Union.
Facts and Figures
Territory: 65,300 sq. km. Nearly one third of the territory is covered by forests, 4.5% – by inland waters. There are over 2,800 lakes larger than 0.5 hectares in size, and 18 rivers longer than 100 km in Lithuania.
Population: 3,39 mln. (2007 06 21). The majority of the population (83,5 percent) are Lithuanians. Roman Catholic Church dominates in Lithuania (about 80 percent of Lithuanians belong to this Church).
Capital: Vilnius. Other big cities: Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai, Panevezys. The most popular seaside resorts: Palanga, Nida.
Currency is the Euro.
Local Time: Lithuania lies in the Central European Time zone: GMT + 2 hours (same as Helsinki, Riga, and Tallinn).
Official holidays
- January 1 - New Year’s Day;
- February 16 - Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (Independence Day);
- March 11 - Day of Restitution of Independence of Lithuania;
- Sunday-Monday (March-April) - Easter (in the Western Christian tradition);
- May 1 - International Labour Day;
- First Sunday of May - Mother's Day;
- June 24 - St. John’s Day, Midsummer Day;
- July 6 - Day of the Statehood (the Crowning Day of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas);
- August 15 - Assumption Day;
- November 1 - All Saints’ Day;
- December 25-26 - Christmas
Food & Drinks
When you come to Lithuania, taste Lithuanian beer, and don’t forget to praise it, because every Lithuanian thinks that their beer is the most tasty. And to tell the truth, the beer making traditions are very old in Lithuania. The beer has its own exclusive taste. When you lift a glass of beer, don’t forget to say “Į sveikatą!” ("Cheers" in English).
Lithuanian cuisine
There are many different restaurants offering food of different nations in Lithuania. Although Lithuanians prefer eating meat, especially pork, you will find fish dishes in every restaurant.
Lithuanian traditional, but not a national, dish is zeppelins (they are made of grated potatoes and forcemeat). It’s a very filling, rich and not for every foreigner’s stomach acceptable dish.
When you are visiting Lithuania, you have to try “saltibarsciai”. It’s a very special cold soup the receipt of which foreigners often try at home.
You have to try real Lithuanian black bread, which has a very good aroma and is unknown for foreigner's taste.
Real heritage of Lithuanian cuisine includes various dishes from game and you can find them in some restaurants.