A thaler is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A thaler size silver coin has a diameter of about 40 mm (1½") and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams, or roughly 1 ounce. The word is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimstal, Bohemia, from 1518.
Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from 4 April 1919 to 19 June 1920. He again served as the last president of the country from 19 December 1926 to 15 June 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was also one of the most prominent ideologists of nationalism in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural litai or litų was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų. The litas was first introduced on 2 October 1922 after World War I, when Lithuania declared independence and was reintroduced on 25 June 1993, following a period of currency exchange from the ruble to the litas with the temporary talonas then in place. The name was modeled after the name of the country. From 1994 to 2002, the litas was pegged to the U.S. dollar at the rate of 4 to 1. The litas was pegged to the euro at the rate of 3.4528 to 1 since 2002. The euro was expected to replace the litas by 1 January 2007, but persistent high inflation and the economic crisis delayed the switch. On 1 January 2015 the litas was switched to the euro at the rate of 3.4528 to 1.
The coat of arms of Lithuania, consisting of an armour-clad knight on horseback holding a sword and shield, is also known as Vytis. It is recognized as the official coat of arms of Lithuania since the early 15th century and is also known in other Lithuanian language names as Waikymas, Pagaunė or as Pogonia, Pogoń, Pahonia in the Polish, Belarusian and Ruthenian languages. Vytis should be translated as Chase, Pursuer, Knight or Horseman, similar to the Slavic word Витязь. Historically – raitas senovės karžygys or in heraldry – raitas valdovas. The coat of arms of Lithuania is one of the oldest national coats of arms in Europe.
The pfennig or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, it lost its value through the years and was the minor coin of the Mark currencies in the German Reich, West and East Germany, and the reunified Germany until the introduction of the euro. Pfennig was also the name of the subunit of the Danzig mark (1922–1923) and the Danzig gulden (1923–1939) in the Free City of Danzig.
Groschen was the name for a silver coin used in various states of the Holy Roman Empire.
Barbara Radziwiłł was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, a great beauty and already widowed, became a royal mistress most likely in 1543 and they married in secret in July or August 1547. The marriage caused a scandal; it was vehemently opposed by Polish nobles, including Queen mother Bona Sforza. Sigismund Augustus, assisted by Barbara's cousin Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł and brother Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł, worked tirelessly to gain recognition of their marriage and to crown Barbara as Queen of Poland. They succeeded and Barbara's coronation was held on 7 December 1550 at Wawel Cathedral. However, her health was already failing and she died just five months later. Even though it was brief, her reign propelled the Radziwiłł family to new heights of political power and influence.
The Reichsthaler, or more specifically the Reichsthaler specie, was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the next 300 years, and containing 25-26 grams fine silver.
Ostruble is the name given to a currency denominated in kopeck and ruble, which was issued by Germany in 1916 for use in the eastern areas under German occupation. It was initially equal to the Russian ruble. The reason for the issue was a shortage of rubles. The banknotes were produced by the Darlehnskasse in Posen on 17 April 1916.
The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania is a palace in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was originally constructed in the 15th century for the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the future Kings of Poland. The palace, located in the lower castle of Vilnius, evolved over the years and prospered during the 16th and mid-17th centuries. For four centuries the palace was the political, administrative and cultural centre of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was demolished in 1801. Work on a new palace started in 2002 on the site of the original building and it took 16 years to complete it in 2018. The palace was rebuilt in Renaissance style to match the Cathedral of Vilnius and, according to the testimony of one of the couriers of Grand Duchess Bona Sforza, such initial reconstruction from 1520 to 1530 cost 100,000 gold ducats and was ordered by Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old. It is believed that the reconstruction was made for the proclamation ceremonies of Sigismund II Augustus, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, as the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Edmundas Antanas Rimša is a Lithuanian historian, specialist of heraldics, sfragistics and genealogy.
Seimas was an early parliament in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was active from 1445 to 1569, when it was officially abolished by the Union of Lublin. The Seimas was an irregular gathering of the Lithuanian nobility, called as needed by the Grand Duke or during an interregnum by the Lithuanian Council of Lords. The meetings would usually last one or two weeks. Seimas gradually evolved from a meeting of the most powerful magnates to a full legislative institution representing all of the nobility. The Seimas was not the main political player as it was overshadowed by the Council of Lords. The Union of Lublin created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and joined the Seimas of Lithuania with Sejm of Poland into one Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, the Seimas continued to convene under the name of Lithuanian Convocation. In total there were 40 Seimas and 37 Convocations.
Vladimir Olgerdovich was the son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his first wife Maria of Vitebsk. He was Grand Prince of Kiev (Kyiv) from 1362 to 1394. His sons Ivan and Alexander started the Belsky and Olelkovich families.
Felicija Bortkevičienėnée Povickaitė was a Lithuanian politician and long-term publisher of Lietuvos ūkininkas and Lietuvos žinios. She became active in social life after she moved to Vilnius in 1900 and became known as an energetic and prolific organizer, manager, and treasurer of numerous political, cultural, and charitable organizations. She joined and was one of the leaders of various political parties, including Lithuanian Democratic Party, Peasant Union, and Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union. She was a delegate to the Great Seimas of Vilnius (1905) and was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania (1920) and was considered for the position of Minister of Provision and Public Work (1918) and President of Lithuania (1926). Bortkevičienė organized and ran several charitable organizations, including those supporting gifted students, political prisoners of the Tsarist regime, and deported Prussian Lithuanians. She was also a member of women's movement in Lithuania, being an active member of the Lithuanian Women's Association and the chair of the Lithuanian Women's Union. For her various activities Bortkevičienė was arrested and imprisoned numerous times by different regimes, including Tsarist Russia, independent Lithuania, and Soviet Lithuania.
Półtorak was a small coin equal to 1½ grosz struck in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th century, during the reign of Sigismund III Vasa and John II Casimir Vasa. Initially a silver coin, with time its value deteriorated and the coin went out of use. Augustus III of Poland unsuccessfully tried to reintroduce it as a copper coin. The name stems from the Polish word "półtora" meaning one and a half.
Stanisław Piotrowicz Kiszka was a noble, diplomat and military commander from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He became the progenitor of the prominent Kiszka family. He was sent on frequent diplomatic missions to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Kingdom of Poland. He attempted to negotiate peace during the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars and supported a closer union between Poland and Lithuania. During the Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1500–03), he successfully defended Smolensk and became Great Hetman until Konstanty Ostrogski escaped Russian captivity in 1507. Kiszka helped to subdue the Glinski rebellion in 1508. Shortly before his death, Kiszka also became Grand Marshal of Lithuania.
The so-called Lithuanian long currency was a type of money used by the Baltic tribes and in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 12th–15th centuries. It was commodity money in the form of silver ingots. Most often they were semicircular rods about 13 cm (5.1 in) in length and weighted between 100 and 110 g. Other trading centers, notably Kievan Rus' and Veliky Novgorod, developed their own version of such ingots which are known as grivna or grzywna. The ingots were replaced by minted coins in the middle of the 15th century.
John of the Lithuanian Dukes was Bishop of Vilnius (1519–36) and of Bishop of Poznań (1536–38). He was the bishop when Protestantism was making the first inroads into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and took the first steps in combating it. John was an illegitimate son of Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his mistress Katarzyna Telniczanka.
The Tauragė Revolt was an anti-government revolt that took place in Tauragė, Lithuania on 9 September 1927. Members of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania and Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union wanted to remove President Antanas Smetona from power. The rebels took control of Tauragė, the revolt spread to neighboring villages and their forces grew to 200 men. However, the revolt was poorly prepared and was suppressed the same day by units of the Lithuanian Army that arrived from Klaipėda. In the aftermath, over 300 people were arrested and 11 were executed. A group of rebels escaped abroad where they became known as plečkaitininkai and, with the help from Poland, continued to plot against Smetona's regime until the mid-1930s. It was one of 13 attempts to overthrow Smetona's regime in 1926–1938.
The plečkaitininkai ("plečkaitists"), named after Jeronimas Plečkaitis, was a group of Lithuanian political opponents of the authoritarian regime of Antanas Smetona active abroad in 1927–1935. They were mainly social democrats who had escaped abroad in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Tauragė Revolt in September 1927. With support from Poland, they sought to organize a coup against the ruling Lithuanian Nationalist Union and engaged in limited terrorist activities. The group continued to maintain relations with the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania but distanced themselves from the Communist Party of Lithuania. Plečkaitininkai did not enjoy any significant support in Lithuania, but the Lithuanian government used the threat of this group as one of the arguments for suppressing free press and spying on leftist organizations.
