The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was once inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities (Sudovians, Lithuanians, Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Samogitians, Skalvians, Old Prussians (Nadruvians)), as attested by ancient sources and dating from prehistoric times. Over the centuries, and especially under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of these tribes consolidated into the Lithuanian nation, mainly as a defence against the marauding Teutonic Order and Eastern Slavs. The Lithuanian state was formed in the High Middle Ages, with different historians dating this variously between the 11th and mid-13th centuries.[17]Mindaugas, Lithuania's only crowned king and its first baptised ruler, is generally considered Lithuania's founder.[18] The Lithuanians are the only branch of Baltic people that managed to create a state entity before the modern era.[19][20][21] During the Late Middle Ages, Lithuania was ravaged by the Lithuanian Crusade, which ended only by the Treaty of Melno in 1422. In fact, the crusade persisted after the definite Christianization of Lithuania in 1387, when Europe's last pagan people were baptised.[19][22] Simultaneously, the Lithuanian state reached its apogee under the rule of Vytautas the Great (r.1392–1430), when it ruled the lands between the Baltic and Black seas. Thereafter, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania continued existing until 1795, however, since the Union of Lublin in 1569, it maintained its independence in the bi-confederal Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[23] In the 16th century the Lithuanian humanists based the national consciousness of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the idea of their national singularity or uniqueness and considered the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an independent country.[24]
There is a current argument that the Lithuanian language was considered non-prestigious enough by some elements in Lithuanian society, meaning that the number of Lithuanian language-speakers decreased with Polonization in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as a Germanisation of Prussia. The subsequent imperial Russian occupation from 1795 until 1915, with some interpositions such as the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Uprisings of 1831 and 1863, accelerated this process of Slavicization. While under Russian occupation, Lithuanians endured Russification, which included the 40-year-long ban on public speaking and writing in Lithuanian (see, e.g., Knygnešiai, the actions against the Catholic Church). In such a context, the Lithuanian National Revival began in the 19th century. Some believed at the time that the Lithuanian nation as such, along with its language, would become extinct within a few generations.
Some of the Polish- and Belarusian-speaking persons from the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania expressed their affiliation with the modern Lithuanian nation in the early 20th century, including Michał Pius Römer, Stanisław Narutowicz, Oscar Milosz and Tadas Ivanauskas
"We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced a decision about the land of Samogitia, which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of the ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there is one language and the same inhabitants. But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than the land of Lithuania, it is called as Samogitia, because in Lithuanian it is called lower land [ Žemaitija ]. And the Samogitians call Lithuania as Aukštaitija, that is, from the Samogitian point of view, a higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves Lithuanians and never – Samogitians, and because of such identity (sic) we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants."
The territory inhabited by the ethnic Lithuanians has shrunk over centuries; once Lithuanians made up a majority of the population not only in what is now Lithuania, but also in northwestern Belarus, in large areas of the territory of the modern Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, and in some parts of modern Latvia and Poland.[28]
In 1940, Lithuania was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union, and forced to join it as the Lithuanian SSR. The Germans and their allies attacked the USSR in June 1941, and from 1941 to 1944, Lithuania was occupied by Germany. The Germans retreated in 1944, and Lithuania fell under Soviet rule once again. The long-standing communities of Lithuanians in the Kaliningrad Oblast (Lithuania Minor) were almost destroyed as a result.
The Lithuanian nation as such remained primarily in Lithuania, a few villages in northeastern Poland, southern Latvia and also in the diaspora of emigrants. Some indigenous Lithuanians still remain in Belarus and the Kaliningrad Oblast, but their numbers are small compared to what they used to be. Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, and was recognized by most countries in 1991. It became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004.[citation needed]
Despite being the capital, Vilnius was not the largest city by number of Lithuanians until mid-2000s. According to the 2011 census Vilnius had 337,000 Lithuanians while Kaunas had 316,000.[29]
Russians, even though they are almost as numerous as Poles, are much more evenly scattered. The most prominent community lives in the Visaginas Municipality (52%). Most of them are workers who moved from Russia to work at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. A number of ethnic Russians left Lithuania after the declaration of independence in 1990.
In the past, the ethnic composition of Lithuania has varied dramatically. The most prominent change was the extermination of the Jewish population during the Holocaust. Before World War II, about 7.5% of the population was Jewish[citation needed]; they were concentrated in cities and towns and had a significant influence on crafts and business. They were called Litvaks and had a strong culture. The population of Vilnius, which was sometimes nicknamed the northern Jerusalem, was about 30% Jewish.[citation needed] Almost all its Jews were killed during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania, some 75,000 alone between the years 1941 – 1942,[30] while others later immigrated to the United States and Israel. Now there are about 3,200 Jews living in Lithuania.[31]
Apart from the various religious and ethnic groups currently residing in Lithuania, Lithuanians themselves retain and differentiate between their regional identities; there are 5 historic regional groups: Žemaičiai, Suvalkiečiai, Aukštaičiai, Dzūkai and Lietuvininkai,[32] the last of which is virtually extinct. City dwellers are usually considered just Lithuanians, especially ones from large cities such as Vilnius or Kaunas. The four groups are delineated according to certain region-specific traditions, dialects, and historical divisions. There are some stereotypes used in jokes about these subgroups, for example, Sudovians are supposedly frugal while Samogitians are stubborn.
Aukštaitians of Kupiškis in traditional clothes, 1930.
Aukštaitians (Aukštaičiai) – are the largest Lithuanian ethnographic group. In an ethnographic sense they are distinct from Lithuanians who speak the Aukštaitian dialect in general — Dzūkians and Suvalkians are also separate ethnic groups. They live east of the Dubysa River and north of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers. A part of the traditional Aukštaitian lands is now located in Belarus, specifically in the Apsas[lt] and Braslaŭ (Breslauja) regions, which are considered Lithuanian-speaking "islands" („salos“)—small, isolated communities where Lithuanian traditions and language have historically been preserved despite being surrounded by non-Lithuanian-speaking populations. Based on material culture and customs from the late 19th to early 20th century, Aukštaičiai are divided into Eastern and Western subgroups.
The Eastern Aukštaitians live in the basin of the Šventoji River and to the east of it. They roughly correspond to the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect group in the classification of Lithuanian dialects (Eastern Aukštaitian sub-dialect).
From the 16th century to the mid-20th century, they lived in linear villages (some still remain around Ignalina and Švenčionys). Farmsteads were usually small because, according to custom, all sons would inherit and divide the parents’ farm. Residential houses (called pirkios; until the mid-19th century they were smokehouses without chimneys, later with chimneys) typically had three rooms: the pirkia (main room), a vestibule (priemenė), and a smaller room (pirkaitė, also called kamara or seklyčia). Granaries (svirnai)—sometimes with double roofs—were usually one-room structures with entrances from the back or the side. Barns (klojimai or kluonai) were short and wide; in the center was a clay-pounded threshing floor (grendymas) for threshing grain, and on the sides were storage areas (šalinės) for storing grain and fodder. The entrance was from the rear. Until the early 20th century, rye was harvested using sickles.
Traditional women’s clothing was characterized by light-colored combinations (white aprons, white headdresses) and horizontally striped skirts (part of the Aukštaitian national dress). Until the mid-20th century, decorative textiles (bedspreads, tablecloths, towels) were woven.
The typical breakfast consisted of large sklindžiai (pancakes) with a topping (dažinys), grain porridge soup, while lunch usually featured barščiai (beet soup) or cabbage soup with bread, as well as meat served with bread and sauerkraut. For dinner, a milk-based grain porridge soup was commonly eaten.
In the linear villages (gatviniai kaimai), certain elements of communal life survived until the early 20th century—such as shared grazing of livestock and communal saunas used by several households. The material culture of the Eastern Aukštaitians shares similarities with the rural cultures of Eastern Latvia and Western Belarus.
Western Aukštaitians
Western Aukštaitian gryčia from Spalviškiai, Biržai District
The area inhabited by the Western Aukštaitians covers the Nevėžis River basin, extending west to the Dubysa River, north to Latvia, and south to the Nemunas River. This group roughly corresponds to the Central Aukštaitians in the traditional classification of Lithuanian dialects (Aukštaitian dialect group).
From the 16th century to the end of the 19th century, they lived in linear villages (gatviniai kaimai). Their residential houses (gryčios) resembled the trobas (traditional houses) of the Samogitians (Žemaičiai) from the outside, but the interior layout was similar to that of the Eastern Aukštaitians’ pirkios. Granaries (svirnai) had multiple rooms, with side entrances. Barns (klojimai) also had side entrances.
In the northwestern part of the region, in addition to scythes (dalgiai), people also used small curved sickles (dalgelės) with small rakes (grėbliukai).
Traditional women’s clothing featured light-colored garments, checked skirts, and silver bead necklaces. Men’s clothing included pleated brownish-gray woolen coats (rudinės) tied with a wide leather belt, and they wore felt hats with wide brims.
Western Aukštaitian cuisine had regional variations. In the northern part (around Biržai, Joniškis, Pakruojis), typical breakfasts included boiled potatoes with sauce, flour pancakes (skryliai), and dumplings filled with curd, meat, cracklings (spirgai), or mashed potatoes. Lunch featured barščiai (beet soup) or cabbage soup, meat with potatoes and sauerkraut. Dinner consisted of milk-based soup with dumplings (kukulaičiai), potato soup, or flour porridge with milk. They also brewed strong barley malt beer. In the southern part (between Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Raseiniai, Kėdainiai, Jurbarkas, Kaunas), breakfast typically included sour cabbage or beet soup with meat. Lunch was often reheated leftovers from breakfast, and dinner was usually a milk-based soup.[33]
The Dzūkians (Dzūkai) are a Lithuanian ethnographic group whose cultural region, Dzūkija, is situated between the middle reaches of the Nemunas and the Neris rivers. This area includes parts of the Alytus, Lazdijai, Šalčininkai, Trakai, and Varėna districts, as well as the eastern part of the Sejny region and Lithuanian villages south of the Varėna district (now in Belarus). A large part of historically ethnic Dzūkian lands are also in present-day Belarus.
Historically, the Dzūkians lived in linear villages with a three-field agricultural system, communal livestock grazing, and evening gatherings. In the eastern part, under Polish rule, these traditions persisted longer, while in the western part, under Lithuanian rule, villages were dispersed into single homesteads.
Over the past 150 years, especially in the southern parts of the Varėna district, the Dzūkians have engaged in mushroom and berry picking, forestry, and rafting, in addition to agriculture and animal husbandry. Due to large families and limited land, many Dzūkians emigrated to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
By the mid-20th century, women harvested rye with sickles, and both men and women participated in communal feather-plucking work parties on Saturdays. Men crafted their own tools and built their homes.
Traditional Dzūkian homesteads featured two-room log houses with thatched roofs, barns, and stables arranged in a row. In the 20th century, these roofs were replaced with shingles and, later, slate tiles. In the second half of the 20th century, Dzūkian women continued to weave textiles using traditional techniques, creating bedspreads, towels, and other items with floral and animal motifs.
Their traditional diet included sour cabbage or beetroot soup, large pancakes, dairy-based grain soups, and seasonal dishes like sorrel soup in spring. Skilandis, a smoked meat product, was considered essential for heavy summer work. Community life was central to the Dzūkai. In autumn and winter, they held joint village Masses for deceased relatives, shared food with beggars, and gathered for memorial meals at the homes of the bereaved. Funeral laments were common until the mid-20th century.[34]
Samogitian girls dancing in traditional costumesTraditional Samogitian architecture in the Museum of the Samogitian Village in Telšiai
Samogitians (Žemaičiai) are an ethnic group of Lithuanians who speak the Samogitian dialect. They live in Western Lithuania, approximately west of the Dubysa River, mostly within the municipalities of Klaipėda and Telšiai counties. Their ethnic boundary largely coincides with the dialect boundary.
They are believed to have originated from a Baltic tribe that during the 5th–8th centuries inhabited what is now the center of Samogitia. In the northwest, their territory bordered the Curonians; near present-day Tauragė, the Skalvians; to the southeast and east, the Aukštaitians; and in the northeast, the Semigallians. Between the 5th and 12th centuries, the culture of the Samogitians was most closely related to that of the Semigallians, and they maintained contacts with the Curonians and Skalvians. Up until the 13th century’s 6th decade, Samogitian lands formed a confederation and later joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For a brief period in the 13th–15th centuries, they were under the control of the Teutonic Order. During the 15th–16th centuries, Samogitia developed a milder form of serfdom compared to other regions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many peasants were “free people” who did not owe compulsory labor. From the 16th century onward, some peasants resettled into linear settlements, while others lived on individual farmsteads.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Samogitians stood out through many cultural features. Their homesteads were spacious, with two yards (a farmyard and a ‘good’ or residential yard), and many buildings (a house, granary, barns, threshing barn, summer kitchen, cellar, and more rarely, a bathhouse), all enclosed by fences. The oldest type of dwelling was the numas—with an open hearth and a cauldron hanging from a hook above it. In the 16th–17th centuries, the numas was replaced by the troba (log house). Small landowning peasants’ homesteads (a small house with a little barn) were typically located on the outskirts of village lands. Homesteads, roadsides, and cemeteries were characterized by roofed poles (stogastulpiai), pillar shrines (koplytstulpiai), crosses, and small chapels (sometimes even placed in trees), all often richly adorned with wooden folk sculptures painted in various colors.
Traditional women's clothing consisted of vertically striped skirts and aprons, short vests, multiple headscarves, and shoulder shawls — either cross-striped or checkered. They adorned themselves with amber necklaces. On festive occasions, women wore leather shoes; on regular days — wooden clogs. Traditional men's clothing included brightly striped or checkered trousers and vests, quilted jackets in gray or moss green, and rudinės — outer garments that were pleated from the waist. In the mid-19th century, frock coats (surdutai) became popular. Warm outerwear was fastened with a leather belt or a woven sash (žičkinis raištis). The neck was wrapped with a white or colorful scarf. For formal occasions, men wore various styles of hats, often decorated with peacock feathers. In everyday life during the 19th and early 20th centuries, footwear included wooden clogs (klumpės), bast shoes (naginės), and later shoes with wooden soles (medpadžiai). Samogitians were also known for their long-striped bedspreads in black, green, violet, and red.
Typical dishes included porridge served with a fat-based sauce or dip (mirkalas) for breakfast, dour potato soup with meat, or a vegetable stew (šutynė) with a roux or thickened sauce (užtrinas) for lunch and milk-based flour soup or dumpling soup (kukulaičių sriuba), and grain porridge (kruopynė) for diner. During fasting periods, a traditional dish called kastinys was prepared — a spread made from sour cream and butter, often served with boiled potatoes or bread.[35]
Suvalkians (Suvalkiečiai) also known as Sūduvians (Sūduviai) or Užnemunians (Užnemuniečiai) are a Lithuanian ethnographic group. They live on the left bank of the Nemunas River in the region of Užnemunė|lt, excluding its southeastern part—specifically, in the municipalities of Kalvarija, Kazlų Rūda, Marijampolė, and in the districts of Šakiai and Vilkaviškis, as well as the southern part of Kaunas District Municipality and the western part of Prienai District Municipality.
Ethnically, Suvalkians include the subgroups known as Kapsai and Zanavykai. They are believed to have formed in the 16th–17th centuries, originating from autochthonous Jotvingians (Sūduviai) who lived in central Užnemunė, Lithuanians (Aukštaičiai) from the northern Užnemunė near the Nemunas—mainly from settlers descending from Nadruvians, Western Sudovians, Western Aukštaitians and immigrants from the 15th–16th centuries from the Kaunas surroundings and Samogitia.
The development of the Suvalkian ethnographic group was influenced by various arrivals during the late 13th–early 14th centuries—including Semigalians relocated to Užnemunė, later Tatars, Poles (Mazurans), Prussian Lithuanians, and Germans.
Due to the earlier abolition of serfdom in 1807 and the faster development of capitalism in this region, a prosperous class of Suvalkian farmers emerged in the 19th century—earlier than elsewhere in Lithuania—and produced a higher number of intellectuals. A typical Suvalkian “stuba” (peasant house) from Obelinė (Šunskai Eldership, Marijampolė District) is exhibited in the Lithuanian National Museum of Ethnography in Rumšiškės.
Based on the Suvalkian dialect (a southern variant of Western Aukštaitian dialect, within the Aukštaitian group), the standard Lithuanian literary language was developed.
In the 19th century, linear villages transitioned into scattered homesteads. Properties were surrounded by deciduous greenery. The compounds typically formed a quadrangular yard with several buildings—stuba (the main house), svirnas (barn), cowsheds, and a granary—arranged around it. In the stuba’s center were the kitchen and vestibule, with a family room at one end and a living area and bedrooms at the other. Barns had two or three rooms for storing tools, other items, and even for sleeping; granaries were built elevated above the ceiling. The klojimas (threshing barn) featured side entrances, sometimes with an attached manege for storing wagons. Less wealthy farmers had only a single-ended dwelling (known as a stubelė) and one outbuilding. By the late 19th century, larger farms began covering roofs with tiles, and many windmills were built.
Men wore felt hats with wide brims and pleated “durti sermėgos” jackets gathered below the waist; women wore skirts combining wide and narrow vertical stripes, aprons with ribboned patterns or lily motifs, and brocaded galionai headpieces. It is believed that kanklės (Lithuanian psaltery string instruments) arrived in Užnemunė between the early 15th and 18th centuries via Samogitians, who migrated from the former Curonian lands.
Breakfast typically included meat with bread and sauerkraut, scrambled eggs, sauerkraut soup, or borscht; lunch consisted of sausienė (dry-boiled or stewed potatoes) or potato pancake, sweet fruit soup (often with cherries), or reheated leftovers from breakfast; dinner featured creamy kukulaitės soup and potatoes with soured milk .
Suvalkians shared many material-cultural features with Prussian Lithuanians (e.g. women’s caps, shirts embroidered in white knitwork, black cross-stitch, and with tinsel). Up to the 20th century, women wove multicolored wool aprons and sashes, and wore head decorations made from strings of beads.[36]
Prussian Lithuanian women dressed in traditional clothes, 19th centuryPrussian Lithuanians participating in a local market of Šilutė, early 20th century
Prussian Lithuanians, Lithuanians of East Prussia, Lithuanians of Rytprūsiai, Lietuvininkai, Lithuanians of Lithuania Minor, Little Lithuanians (mažlietuviai), Lithuanians of Prussian Lithuania, Prussian Lithuanians (in German: Kleinlitauer, Preussische-Litauer) – a western Lithuanian ethnoterritorial and ethnocultural group. They are the autochthonous (indigenous) population of Lithuania Minor. Some researchers consider them a subethnic group (potautė) of the Lithuanian nation.
The name Lietuvininkai has been used since the 16th century, while the term Mažlietuviai (“Little Lithuanians”) appeared in the second half of the 19th century, intended to distinguish them from the Lithuanians of Greater Lithuania (also called Didlietuviai – “Great Lithuanians”).
The Lietuvininkai community formed in Prussia by the 15th–16th centuries, composed of local Baltic inhabitants—western Lithuanians (Skalvians and Nadruvians), western Sudovians, and partly Lithuanized southern Curonians and Prussians (Sambians, northern Bartians, northern Natangians, and possibly northern Warmians). It also included soldiers from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (prisoners of the Teutonic Order who remained to live in Prussia and Lithuania Minor) and migrants from Greater Lithuania (mostly Samogitians). Most Lietuvininkai spoke the Western Aukštaitian dialect, while those living along the Curonian Lagoon spoke the Western Samogitian dialect.
The majority of the population in the lands conquered by the Teutonic Order in the 13th century were, from the 14th–15th centuries, turned into serfs on large state-owned estates, obligated to perform labor duties (lažas) and military service obligations (šarvarkas).
Prussian Lithuanians formed a significant portion of the population of the Duchy of Prussia. For example, in the 16th century, Lithuanians (together with Prussians) made up about 20% of the inhabitants even in the capital, Königsberg, a predominantly German city. By the early 18th century, Lithuanian farms accounted for approximately 93% in the district of Insterburg/Įsrutis (now Chernyakhovsk), 97–98% in Tilsit/Tilžė (now Sovetsk) and Ragnit/Ragainė (Neman), and nearly 100% in Klaipėda — though the Great Plague and famine of 1709–1711 sharply reduced their numbers. From 1701, in the Kingdom of Prussia, a state-sponsored Prussian‑Lithuanian patriotism emerged: inhabitants—whether of old Prussian descent, Lietuvininkai, or Germans—called themselves “Prussians” or “New Prussians,” thereby distinguishing themselves from the Teutonic Order and ethnic Germans. This identity supported development of Lithuanian literature and education. By the second half of the 18th century, all inhabitants of Prussia (including Lietuvininkai) were formally recognized as citizens. In 1807, the abolition of serfdom in Prussia and East Prussia stimulated faster agricultural progress than in the Lithuanian Grand Duchy. These factors led to distinct traditions, lifestyle, and material culture compared to Great Lithuanians. Lietuvininkai crafted decorative wooden carvings—horses, birds—on their roofs. A typical farm featured a granary with steep “čiuokuriniai” roofs ornamented with carved horses and wind vanes; sometimes the rafters' undersides were elaborately adorned. Initially, buildings were arranged loosely around the courtyard, later shifting to the so‑called “Prussian homestead plan,” aligning structures around a rectangular yard with fire safety gaps. Cemetery grave markers made of carved wood (krikštas) were distinctive.
In women’s clothing, darker hues prevailed—dark, striped, pleated skirts, often combining black with green or blue. Girls wore black velvet ribbons in their hair. Men’s and women’s blouses featured high, stiffer collars. Traditional meals in the late 19th–early 20th century included: breakfast of barley porridge with bread; later, fried fish, bacon, meat with bread and coffee; mid‑morning—bread with lard and cracklings, with coffee or tea; soup of pickled crumb dumplings; lunch—potato soup, pea dishes, dry boiled potatoes with fish or meat; dinner—cooked turnip with sour milk, boiled peas or beans with potatoes and sour milk, sometimes creamy porridge. Beetroot soup, oat kissel, mashed potato with cracklings and sour milk were also common. Coastal communities consumed fish soup, salted and fried fish.
In the second half of the 19th century, with the beginning of the cultural movement, petitions signed by thousands were sent to the King of Prussia—who in 1871 also became the Emperor (Kaiser) of Germany—requesting the return of their native language to public life, especially to schools (from which it had been removed by authorities between 1872 and 1876). The Lietuvininkai were strongly influenced by conservative religiosity, particularly the activities of the surinkimininkai (informal religious gathering leaders). Many Lietuvininkai, apart from the leaders and ideologues of the cultural movement, did not understand the national liberation struggle of the Catholic Lithuanians in Greater Lithuania or the goals of the Russian Empire, and they opposed closer cooperation with the Didlietuviai (Lithuanians from Greater Lithuania).
After World War I, conditions emerged that enabled closer relations between the Lithuanians of Greater Lithuania and the Lietuvininkai. This was encouraged by Lithuanian figures such as Jonas Basanavičius, Vincas Kudirka, Jonas Šliūpas, and others, as well as by Lietuvininkai activists like Martynas Jankus, Jonas Mikšas, Jonas Smalakys, Martynas Šernius, Jonas Vanagaitis, Dovas Zaunius, and others. When Lithuania again became an independent state in early 1918, the National Council of Lithuania Minor signed the Act of Tilsit on November 30, 1918—a Declaration of Independence of Lithuania Minor—demanding unification with the main body of the Lithuanian nation (Greater Lithuania). After the Klaipėda Region Uprising and its annexation to the Republic of Lithuania in 1923, a portion of the Lietuvininkai, seeking to emphasize their distinct identity, identified themselves not as Lithuanians but as Klaipėdiškiai (Klaipėda Regioners or Klaipėdians) in 1925.
After World War II, due to Soviet genocide and ethnocide, deportations, and ethnic cleansing, as well as evacuation to the West, the Lietuvininkai essentially disappeared from the core area of Lithuania Minor and Königsberg Region (now the Kaliningrad Oblast). The former Klaipėda Region was heavily depopulated, and the remaining Lietuvininkai dispersed across Lithuania, where they integrated into the broader Lithuanian nation, although they retained some of their distinct features. This also applies to those Lietuvininkai who emigrated to the United States, Canada, and Australia. Many who settled in Germany became more integrated into German society; some of them now identify as Prussians.[37]
Genetic distance of Balto-Slavs by A (atDNA), B (Y-DNA) and C (mtDNA plot).An ethnic Lithuanian man featured on a Popular Science magazine in 1898.
Since the late Neolithic period the native inhabitants of the Lithuanian territory have not been replaced by migrations from outside, so there is a high probability that the inhabitants of present-day Lithuania have preserved the genetic composition of their forebears relatively undisturbed by the major demographic movements,[38] although without being actually isolated from them.[39] The Lithuanian population appears to be relatively homogeneous, without apparent genetic differences among ethnic subgroups.[40]
In 2022, researchers at Vilnius University have fully sequenced Lithuanian genomes using advanced supercomputing, revealing a remarkably preserved European gene pool shaped by millennia of isolation—both culturally and geographically—from forests and swamps after the last ice age. Their analysis shows Lithuanians retain significant genetic links to ancient European hunter-gatherers and even Neanderthals, including adaptations in traits like skin pigmentation, immunity, and metabolism. One highlighted Neanderthal-derived gene, BNC2, contributes to lighter skin and Caucasian features, including blue eyes, while another gene, HLA‑DRB1, enhances immune response to local pathogens. Two genes—PNLIP and PNLIPRP3—related to fat digestion appear to have been under consistent natural selection for over 250,000 years, suggesting an inherited adaptation to a diet rich in meat and oily fish. This may explain why Lithuanians thrive on traditional high-fat dishes like cepelinai.[43]
LithuanianAshkenazi Jews display a number of unique genetic characteristics; the utility of these variations has been the subject of debate.[44] One variation, which is implicated in familial hypercholesterolemia, has been dated to the 14th century, corresponding to the establishment of Ashkenazi settlements in response to the invitation extended by Vytautas the Great in 1388.[45]
At the end of the 19th century, the average height of males was 163.5cm (5ft 4in) and the average height of females was 153.3cm (5ft 0in). By the end of the 20th century, heights averaged 181.3cm (5ft 11in) for males and 167.5cm (5ft 6in) for females.[46]
Lithuanian settlement extends into adjacent countries that are now outside the modern Lithuanian state. A small Lithuanian community exists in the vicinity of Puńsk and Sejny in the Suwałki area of Poland, an area associated with the Lithuanian writer and cleric Antanas Baranauskas.[47] Although most of the Lithuanian inhabitants in the region of Lithuania Minor that formed part of East Prussia were expelled when the area was annexed by the Soviet Union as the Kaliningrad Oblast, small groups of Lithuanians subsequently settled that area as it was repopulated with new Soviet citizens. Small groups of Lithuanians are still present in Belarus within the Grodno and Vitebsk regions.[48]
Apart from the traditional communities in Lithuania and its neighboring countries, Lithuanians have emigrated to other continents during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Communities in the United States make up the largest part of this diaspora; as many as one million Americans can claim Lithuanian descent. Emigration to America began in the 19th century, with the generation calling itself the "grynoriai" (derived from "greenhorn" meaning new and inexperienced).[49] The migration flow was interrupted during the Soviet occupation, when travel and emigration were severely restricted. The largest concentrations of Lithuanian Americans are in the Great Lakes area and the Northeast; Chicago in particular is noted as the primary center of the diaspora. Nearly 33,000 Lithuanians have immigrated to the United States since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.[50]
Lithuanian communities in Canada are among the largest in the world along with the United States (See Lithuanian Canadian).
Lithuanian communities in Mexico and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela) developed before World War II, beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Currently, there is no longer a flow of emigrants to these destinations, since economic conditions in those countries are not better than those in Lithuania (see Lithuanians in Brazil).
Lithuanian communities were formed in South Africa during the late 19th and 20th century, the majority being Jewish.
Lithuanian communities in other regions of the former Soviet Union were formed during the Soviet occupation; the numbers of Lithuanians in Siberia and Central Asia increased dramatically when a large portion of Lithuanians were involuntarily deported into these areas. After de-Stalinization, however, most of them returned. Later, some Lithuanians were relocated to work in other areas of the Soviet Union; some of them did not return to Lithuania, after it became independent.
The Lithuanian communities in United Kingdom and Ireland began to appear after the restoration of independence to Lithuania in 1990; this emigration intensified after Lithuania became part of the European Union in 2004. London and Glasgow (especially the Bellshill and Coatbridge areas of Greater Glasgow) have long had large Catholic and Jewish Lithuanian populations. The Republic of Ireland probably has the highest concentration of Lithuanians relative to its total population size in Western Europe; its estimated 45,000 Lithuanians (about half of whom are registered) form over 1% of Ireland's total population.
The Lithuanian communities in other countries of Northwestern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Iceland) as well as in Spain are very new and began their growth spurts as Lithuanian was accepted into the EU. In Norway there are 45,415 Lithuanians living in the country and it has in a short time become the second largest ethnic minority in the country, making up 0.85% of Norway's total population, and 4.81% of all foreign residents in Norway.[51] There are around 3,500 Lithuanians in Iceland, making around 1% of the total population.
Lithuanian communities in Germany began to appear after World War II. In 1950 they founded the Lithuanian High School in Diepholz, which was a private school for children of Lithuanian refugees. For decades the Lithuanian High School was the only full-time high school outside the Eastern Bloc offering courses in Lithuanian history, language, and culture. In 1954, the Lithuanian Community acquired Rennhof Manor House with its twelve-acre park in the town of Lampertheim-Hüttenfeld. The school was relocated there and still exists today.
The Lithuanian national sport is usually considered to be basketball (krepšinis), which is popular among Lithuanians in Lithuania as well as in the diasporic communities. Basketball came to Lithuania through the Lithuanian-American community in the 1930s. Lithuanian basketball teams were bronze medal winners in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics.[citation needed]
Joninės (also known as Rasos) is a traditional national holiday, celebrated on the summer solstice. It has pagan origins. Užgavėnės (Shrove Tuesday) takes place on the day before Ash Wednesday, and is meant to urge the retreat of winter. There are also national traditions for Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas.[citation needed]
Lifestyle
Lithuanian traditional house architecture in Karvaičiai village, Neringa Municipality, Curonian Spit, 1890-1910Lithuanian family living in a traditional wooden house in Storiai village, Anykščiai District, 1927Lithuanian family living in a traditional homestead in Panevėžys district, 1939
From the 12th–15th centuries, Lithuanians became an agricultural people, whose main occupations were plow-based and fallow-field farming, along with animal husbandry. They plowed with horses and a single-furrow plow (with a treadle), occasionally using iron plowshares, and harvested cereals with a sickle and a similar knife. They cultivated buckwheat, hemp, flax, barley, beans, oats, rye, and peas, while raising horses, cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs.
In the first half of the 16th century, in areas populated by Lithuanians, arable land near glacial‑fed rivers and moraine plains occupied up to 30% of the area; on moraine hills and lake‑rich regions, 30–50%; and in glacial lake plains, arable plots appeared as isolated islets. About 31.4% of Lithuanian settlements were located in hilly moraine landscapes, 30.9% in clayey plains, 25% in valleys, 9.5% in sandy plains, and 3.2% on the coast.
The 16th-century Valakai Reform (land measurement reform) implemented in the late 16th century contributed to the formation and deep-rooting of distinct Lithuanian cultural identities that persisted into the 20th century. It introduced a closed manorial system tied to serfdom. Geographical factors shaping agriculture, along with growing manorial lordship and feudal relations, quickly transformed Lithuania’s landscape and lifestyle.
As trade increased—especially timber exports—between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, about 63% of all settlements were established on cleared clay plains. Around 25% were in moraine hollows or elevated areas near lakes, marshes, and rivers.
In highly fertile land measured into valakai, manors with satellite villages—known as palivarkai—were established. A typical three-field crop rotation included rye, winter wheat, and fallow fields, which were divided into straight ridges and linked by paths. Residences and barns stood along one side of the path, and on the other side were pens for livestock; storage buildings for hay and a grain threshing yard lay further back. Over time, this pattern led to long row-style villages common across much of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Houses were often semi-detached, with a central entrance hall (priemenė). Agricultural buildings and livestock pens were separated, and fodder was carried using a traditional Baltic-style carrier sling.
The three-field system persisted in many areas until the 1861 emancipation reform abolished redemption fees in 1907. Until then, peasants had no freedom to manage their land. In Eastern Lithuania—particularly the Vilnius region under Polish rule—which was excluded from Stolypin’s 1906 land reform and Lithuania’s 1919–39 land reform, these row-village layouts remained intact.
With the Valakai Reform came collective community obligations: villagers had to jointly prepare fields for winter crops, drain land around homesteads, pave field paths and village roads with stones or gravel, and maintain bridges. Neighborly cooperation (kaimynų talkos) replaced collective extended-family labor. Over time, this became the norm of daily life and social interaction. The eldest male became the official head of the household and intermediary with higher authority. These communal and familial patterns in row-villages and kupetiniai villages persisted until the mid-20th century.
Following emancipation, new land management and lease systems emerged, along with the growth of 19th-century linear village layouts, and later 20th-century radial plan villages. The single‑farmstead system had advantages: it allowed better use of land and homestead plots, and the architecture and planning of rural buildings became more complex. Multipurpose buildings with clear functional layouts became more common. Emancipation granted personal freedom to peasants, enabling many to engage in crafts and migrate.
After Stolypin’s reform was announced on November 19, 1906, efforts began to dismantle row-villages en masse. These efforts were interrupted—and redirected—by the Soviet occupation in 1940, the nationalization of land, and the forced collectivization of agriculture, along with widespread land drainage in the mid-20th century. A significant portion of traditional Lithuanian farm buildings and agrarian cultural heritage was destroyed; the landscape was altered with the development of professional farm settlements, bringing rural life closer to an urban-industrial form.[52]
Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with other European cuisines and features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's rich history.[citation needed]
Since shared similarities in history and heritage, Lithuanians, Jews and Poles have developed many similar dishes and beverages: dumplings ( koldūnai), doughnuts (spurgos), and crepes (lietiniai blynai). German traditions also influenced Lithuanian cuisine, introducing pork and potato dishes, such as potato pudding (kugelis) and potato sausages (vėdarai), as well as the baroque tree cake known as šakotis. Traditional dishes of Lithuanian Tatars and Lithuanian Karaites like Kibinai and čeburekai, that are similar to pasty, are popular in Lithuania.[citation needed]
For Lithuanian Americans both traditional Lithuanian dishes of virtinukai (cabbage and noodles) and balandėliai (rolled cabbage) are growing increasingly more popular.[citation needed]
Cepelinai, a stuffed potato creation, is the most popular national dish. It is popular among Lithuanians all over the world. Other national foods include dark rye bread, cold beet soup (šaltibarščiai), and kugelis (a baked potato pudding). Some of these foods are also common in neighboring countries. Lithuanian cuisine is generally unknown outside Lithuanian communities. Most Lithuanian restaurants outside Lithuania are located in cities with a heavy Lithuanian presence.[citation needed]
Lithuanians in the early 20th century were among the thinnest people in the developed countries of the world.[53] In Lithuanian cuisine there is some emphasis on attractive presentation of freshly prepared foods.
Lithuania has been brewing midus, a type of Lithuanian mead for thousands of years.[54]
Locally brewed beer (alus), vodka (degtinė), and kvass (gira) are popular drinks in Lithuania. Lithuanian traditional beer of Northern Lithuania, Biržai, Pasvalys regions is well appreciated in Lithuania and abroad.[55]Starka is a part of the Lithuanian heritage, still produced in Lithuania.
Dialects of Lithuanian. Map of the dialects of the Lithuanian language based on the classification by linguist and baltistZigmas Zinkevičius. Samogitian dialect: Western Samogitian
Among Indo-European languages, Lithuanian is conservative in its grammar and phonology, retaining archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as Sanskrit (particularly its early form, Vedic Sanskrit) or Ancient Greek.[57] Thus, it is an important source for the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language despite its late attestation (with the earliest texts dating only to c.1500 A.D., whereas Ancient Greek was first written down in c.1450 B.C.).[58] There was fascination with the Lithuanian people and their language among the late 19th-century researchers, and the philologist Isaac Taylor wrote the following in his The Origin of the Aryans (1892):
"Thus it would seem that the Lithuanians have the best claim to represent the primitive Aryan race, as their language exhibits fewer of those phonetic changes, and of those grammatical losses which are consequent on the acquirement of a foreign speech."[59]
The Lithuanian language is characterized by a very ancient inherited linguistic structure. It has preserved many features typical of the Baltic and, more broadly, the Indo-European languages: distinctions between short and long vowels, preserved diphthongs, vowel endings in word-final positions, which in turn helped retain the ancient system of word inflection, especially noun declension. Over time, the Lithuanian language evolved: syllabic combinations such as an, en, un, in before non-plosive consonants and at the end of words transformed into nasal vowels ą, ę, ų, į (e.g., žansis > žąsis and others). Endings with acute intonation became shorter (cf. gerį and gerieji). Postpositional locatives emerged (miškan, miškuosna, miškėpi, miškopi, miškųpi), pronominal inflections spread to other parts of speech (gerám, geramè, geriems, etc.). Forms of adjectives, pronouns, and numerals changed, especially verb conjugation (e.g., the emergence of the frequentative past tense, subjunctive and imperative moods). Analytical elements became more prevalent (e.g., prepositional constructions), vocabulary expanded, and borrowings increased.
Lithuanian dialects began forming early. Among the first isophones (sound boundaries) that split the Lithuanian language area were: the narrowing and transformation of nasal vowels ą, ę into ų, į (starting around the 9th–10th centuries), the change of an, am, en, em into un, um, in, im (11th–13th centuries), velarization of the l̥ cluster (around the 10th century), the transformation of clusters tʲ, dʲ into affricates (11th–14th centuries), and the change of t, d into c, dz before front vowels (after the 14th century), the fronting of the ja cluster and its transformation into e (starting before the 13th century).
Due to the narrowing of ą, ę around the 9th–10th centuries, the Lithuanian language area began to split into two parts: the western part (where ą, ę remained unchanged) and the eastern part (where they narrowed). Around the 11th–13th centuries, the narrowing of an-type clusters further split the eastern part into what are now the southern Aukštaitian subdialect and the eastern Aukštaitian subdialect. On the edge of the western area, toward the Baltic Sea, by the 13th century the ja cluster had already turned into e, giving rise to the Samogitian dialect, which began to distinguish itself from the Aukštaitian dialect especially through the affrication of tʲ, dʲ.
As the Samogitian dialect spread westward, it was influenced by the substrate of the Curonian language and gradually drifted further from the other Lithuanian dialects. Another part of the western Lithuanian language area, which preserved the older structure, gave rise to the present-day Western Aukštaitian subdialect. This dialect is the least diverged from the proto-Lithuanian model—particularly its southern part, which was geographically closer to the Old Prussian language that retained the ancient Baltic structure.
Among all Aukštaitian dialects, the Eastern Aukštaitian subdialect drifted the most from the proto-Lithuanian model. One major cause of its internal fragmentation into various speech varieties was the shortening of endings from the north, accent shift, and other changes largely due to the substrate influence of the Semigallian and Selonian languages. In the relatively uniform western part of the Eastern Aukštaitian area, innovations arose that gave rise to the modern Panevėžys dialect (mainly the northern part), the Kupiškis dialect, and the Anykščiai dialect. These changes may also have been influenced by the Semigallian (for the northern Panevėžian dialect) and Selonian (for Kupiškian and Anykščtian dialects) language substrates. The languages of other Eastern Aukštaitians (such as Utenians and Vilnians) changed little—they retained a healthier version of the old linguistic model.[60]
The Proto-Balto-Slavic language branched off directly from Proto-Indo-European, then sub-branched into Proto-Baltic and Proto-Slavic. Proto-Baltic branched off into Proto-West Baltic and Proto-East Baltic.[57] Baltic languages passed through a Proto-Balto-Slavic stage, from which Baltic languages retain numerous exclusive and non-exclusive lexical, morphological, phonological and accentual isoglosses in common with the Slavic languages, which represent their closest living Indo-European relatives. Moreover, with Lithuanian being so archaic in phonology, Slavic words can often be deduced from Lithuanian by regular sound laws; for example, Lith. vilkas and Polishwilk ← PBSl.*wilkás (cf. PSl.*vьlkъ) ← PIE*wĺ̥kʷos, all meaning "wolf".
When the ban against printing the Lithuanian language was lifted in 1904, various European literary movements such as Symbolism, impressionism, and expressionism each in turn influenced the work of Lithuanian writers. The first period of Lithuanian independence (1918–1940) gave them the opportunity to examine themselves and their characters more deeply, as their primary concerns were no longer political. An outstanding figure of the early 20th century was Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, a novelist and dramatist. His many works include Dainavos šalies senų žmonių padavimai (Old Folks Tales of Dainava, 1912) and the historical dramas Šarūnas (1911), Skirgaila (1925), and Mindaugo mirtis (The Death of Mindaugas, 1935). Petras Vaičiūnas was another popular playwright, producing one play each year during the 1920s and 1930s. Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas wrote lyric poetry, plays, and novels, including the novel Altorių šešėly (In the Shadows of the Altars, 3 vol., 1933), a remarkably powerful autobiographical novel.
Keturi vėjai movement started with publication of The Prophet of the Four Winds by talented poet Kazys Binkis (1893—1942). It was rebellion against traditional poetry. The theoretical basis of Keturi vėjai initially was futurism which arrived through Russia from the West and later cubism, dadaism, surrealism, unanimism, and German expressionism. The most influensive futurist for Lithuanian writers was Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.[61]
Oskaras Milašius (1877–1939) is a paradoxical and interesting phenomenon in Lithuanian culture. He never lived in Lithuania but was born and spent his childhood in Cereja (near Mogilev, Belarus) and graduated from Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris. His longing for his fatherland was more metaphysical. Having to choose between two conflicting countries— Lithuania and Poland— he preferred Lithuania which for him was an idea even more than a fatherland. In 1920 when France recognized the independence of Lithuania, he was appointed officially as Chargé d'Affaires for Lithuania. He published: 1928, a collection of 26 Lithuanian songs; 1930, Lithuanian Tales and Stories; 1933, Lithuanian Tales; 1937, The origin of the Lithuanian Nation.
Catholicism played a significant role in Lithuanian anti-communist resistance under the Soviet Union. Several Catholic priests were leaders of the anti-communist movements, and thousands of Latin crosses were placed on the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai, despite its being bulldozed in 1961.[citation needed]
Lithuanian folklore band Kulgrinda performing in Vilnius
Lithuanian folk music is based around songs (dainos), which include romantic and wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war songs. These songs used to be performed either in groups or alone, and in parallel chords or unison. Duophonic songs are common in the renowned sutartinės tradition of Aukštaitija. Another style of Lithuanian folk music is called rateliai, a kind of round dance. Instrumentation includes kanklės, a kind of zither that accompanies sutartinės, rateliai, waltzes, quadrilles and polkas, and fiddles, (including a bass fiddle called the basetle) and a kind of whistle called the Lamzdeliailumzdelis; recent importations, beginning in the late 19th century, including the concertina, accordion and bandoneon. Sutartinė can be accompanied by skudučiai, a form of panpipes played by a group of people, as well as wooden trumpets (ragai and dandytės). Kanklės is an extremely important folk instrument, which differs in the number of strings and performance techniques across the country. Other traditional instruments include švilpas whistle, drums and tabalas (a percussion instrument like a gong), sekminių ragelis (bagpipe) and the pūslinė, a musical bow made from a pig's bladder filled with dried peas.[63]
↑ Cronshaw, Andrew (2000). «Singing Revolutions», Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.) World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, 16–24, London: Rough Guides. ISBN1-85828-636-0.
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