The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation born from several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.
Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn is the prominent Christian icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by the faithful in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania. The painting was historically displayed above the Vilnius city gate; city gates of the time often contained religious artifacts intended to ward off attacks and bless passing travelers.
The Act of Mielnik or Union of Mielnik was an attempt to unite the Kingdom of Poland with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1501. It was not ratified by the Lithuanian Seimas or by the Polish Sejm. The Act of Mielnik remained just a political project. Despite the failure to unify two countries into a single state, Poland and Lithuania were under a personal union until the Union of Lublin of 1569.
Marcin Knackfus was a Polish–Lithuanian Neoclassical architect of German descent. Born near Warsaw, he worked in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and particularly in its capital Vilnius. He was a tutor of Laurynas Gucevičius.
The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe. The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque. It was funded by Michał Kazimierz Pac, commemorating a victory over the Muscovites and their expulsion from Vilnius after six years of occupation.
The Lithuanian Chronicles are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the needs of Lithuanian patriotism. The first edition, compiled in the 1420s, glorified Vytautas the Great and supported his side in power struggles. The second redaction, prepared in the first half of the 16th century, started the myth of Lithuanian Roman origin: it gave a fanciful genealogy of Palemon, a noble from the Roman Empire who founded the Grand Duchy. This noble origin of Lithuanians was important in cultural rivalry with the Kingdom of Poland. The third redaction, known as the Bychowiec Chronicle, elaborated even further on the legend, but also provided some useful information about the second half of the 15th century. The three redactions, the first known historical accounts produced within the Grand Duchy, gave rise to the historiography of Lithuania. All medieval historians used these accounts, that survived in over 30 known manuscripts, as basis for their publications and some of the myths created in the chronicles persisted even to the beginning of the 20th century.
Žemaičių Kalvarija is a small town in Plungė district municipality, Lithuania. It is known as a major site for Catholic pilgrimage.
The Suwałki Agreement, Treaty of Suvalkai, or Suwalki Treaty was an agreement signed in the town of Suwałki between Poland and Lithuania on October 7, 1920. It was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on January 19, 1922. Both countries had re-established their independence in the aftermath of World War I and did not have well-defined borders. They waged the Polish–Lithuanian War over territorial disputes in the Suwałki and Vilnius Regions. At the end of September 1920, Polish forces defeated the Soviets at the Battle of the Niemen River, thus militarily securing the Suwałki Region and opening the possibility of an assault on the city of Vilnius (Wilno). Polish Chief of State, Józef Piłsudski, had planned to take over the city since mid-September in a false flag operation known as Żeligowski's Mutiny.
Valkininkai is a historic town in Valkininkų (Valkininkai) eldership, Varėna District Municipality, Alytus County, Lithuania, located about 22 km (14 mi) northeast from Varėna and about 55 km (34 mi) southwest from Vilnius. At the 2001 census its population was 238 and at the 2011 census it was 229.
The Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival or The Great Samogitian Calvary Festival is a Roman Catholic festival dedicated to St. Mary. The festival is held annually and takes place every July in the small town of Žemaičių Kalvarija in Samogitia, Lithuania, attracting many pilgrims and tourists.
The Romantic painter Michał Kulesza was among the first lithographers in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by Russia for almost all of his life. His frequent theme, sites linked to the Grand Duchy's history, reflected the growing Lithuanian and Polish ethnic activism in the area. He lived and worked in today's southern Lithuania, south-eastern Belarus, and north-eastern Poland, and traveled around in search of new subjects for his oil paintings and lithographs. A leading landscape painter of his period, Kulesza created images that are now among the sparse visual records of the region in the first half of the 19th century.
Merkelis Giedraitis was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of the Council of Trent in Samogitia. Born into the princely Giedraičiai family, he inherited a much neglected diocese that was reduced to only about 20 priests. He became known for his devotion and work to end clerical abuses, strengthen churches and schools, and increase the number of priests. Giedraitis invited the Jesuits to Kražiai where the Kražiai College was established already after his death and the Bernadines to Kretinga where they established the first monastery in Samogitia. He sponsored Mikalojus Daukša, who translated and published Catechism (1595) and Postil (1599) in the Lithuanian language—the first Lithuanian books printed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He also supported Maciej Stryjkowski, author of the first printed history of Lithuania. In recognition of his efforts, Giedraitis is often referred to as the second baptist of Samogitia.
Barbora of Žagarė was a Roman Catholic Servant of God from Žagarė, then Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to oral history, Barbora distinguished herself by her Christian virtues and died young under obscure circumstances. Her remains were said to be incorruptible. This inspired a strong following among local people, and numerous miracles are attributed to her. In 2005, the Diocese of Šiauliai began the process of Barbora's beatification and canonization.
Darsūniškis is a settlement on the Nemunas River in Kaišiadorys District Municipality, western Lithuania. The village is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania and dates back to the 14th century.
The Józef Zawadzki printing shop was a family-owned printing shop operating in Vilnius from 1805 to 1939. It was established by Józef Zawadzki who took over the failing printing press of Vilnius University established in 1575. It was one of the largest and most prominent printing presses in Vilnius. Until 1828, it had the exclusive rights to publish university publications. It published numerous books and periodicals in Polish, Latin, Lithuanian. It suffered difficulties due to Russification policies that closed Vilnius University in 1832 and banned Lithuanian press in 1864, but recovered after the restrictions were lifted due to the Russian Revolution of 1905. After World War I, it had difficulty competing with the larger printing presses in Poland. The press was sold to a Lithuanian company Spindulys in 1939 and nationalized by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. After World War II, the press was transferred to the communist daily Tiesa.
Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga, often abbreviated as Apžvalga, was a Lithuanian-language Catholic newspaper published in Tilsit, East Prussia, in 1889–1896. At the time, Lithuanian press was banned and the newspaper had to be smuggled across the Prussia–Russia border. It promoted and supported the Lithuanian National Revival, but above all defended the Catholic faith. While it was fiercely anti-Tsarist publication when it came to religious and cultural topics, it was a socially conservative publication. It was replaced by a relatively more liberal Tėvynės sargas established in 1896.
Videniškiai is a historic village in the Molėtai District Municipality, Lithuania. It is located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Molėtai. It is situated between the Ukmergė–Molėtai road and the Siesartis River. According to the 2011 census, it had 368 residents. In the 16th–17th centuries, the village was one of the core properties of the Giedroyć family who funded the monastery for the Canons Regular of Penance of the Blessed Martyrs and the Church of St. Lawrence. The monastery honored Michał Giedroyć who was possibly born in the village and was officially beatified in 2018. The reconstructed monastery now houses a small museum and a library.
Petras Kraujalis was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest, editor, and publicist who was active in Vilnius Region.
Eustachy Wołłowicz was Bishop of Vilnius in 1616–1630. He was one of the more accomplished bishops of Vilnius in the 17th century.
