The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity. A formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century spread from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia. In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin (1569) created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the Second Northern War, the Grand Duchy sought protection under the Swedish Empire through the Union of Kėdainiai in 1655. However, it soon returned to being a part of the Polish–Lithuanian state, which persisted until 1795 when the last of the Partitions of Poland erased both independent Lithuania and Poland from the political map. After the dissolution, Lithuanians lived under the rule of the Russian Empire until the 20th century, although there were several major rebellions, especially in 1830–1831 and 1863.
Trakai is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 kilometres west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just 7 kilometres from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capital city. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The city is inhabited by 5,357 people, according to 2007 estimates. A notable feature of Trakai is that the city was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Historically, communities of Karaims, Tatars, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Poles lived here.
Gediminas' Tower is the remaining part of the Upper Castle on top of the Gediminas Hill in Vilnius, Lithuania. It has a viewing platform that offers scenic views of Vilnius Old Town and Vilnius Central Business District.
The coat of arms of Lithuania is a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as Vytis. Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is also known by other names in various languages, such as Waykimas, Pagaunė in the Lithuanian language or as Pogonia, Pogoń, Пагоня in the Polish, and Belarusian languages. Vytis is translatable as Chase, Pursuer, Knight or Horseman, similar to the Slavic vityaz. Historically – raitas senovės karžygys or in heraldry – raitas valdovas.
Aukštaitija is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The name comes from the fact that the lands are in the upper basin of the Nemunas, as opposed to the Lowlands that begin from Šiauliai westward. Although Kaunas is surrounded by Aukštaitija, the city itself is not considered to be a part of any ethnographic region in most cases.
The House of Gediminid or simply the Gediminids were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Bohemia. Several other branches ranked among the leading aristocratic dynasties of Russia and Poland into recent times.
The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms. They were used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, initially as a rulers' personal insignia, a state symbol, and later as a part of heraldic signs of leading aristocracy.
The Catholic Church in Lithuania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Lithuania is the world's northernmost Catholic majority country. Pope Pius XII gave Lithuania the title of "northernmost outpost of Catholicism in Europe" in 1939.
Bayernburg is the name of three separate wooden castles of the Teutonic Order in different locations along the Neman River in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Crusade. Their exact locations are not known and historians provide conflicting versions. The first fortress was built in 1337 by guest crusaders, including Henry XIV, Duke of Bavaria, in whose honor it was named after Bavaria. Emperor Louis IV declared it the capital of the to-be-conquered Lithuania. The newly built castle withstood a 22-day siege by Grand Duke Gediminas, but was abandoned by the Order in 1344. The Teutons burned down the first Bayernburg and built a brand new fortress a little closer to Prussia. The second Bayernburg withstood a six-day Lithuanian attack in 1381 but was burned down in July 1384 by Vytautas when he betrayed the Order at the conclusion of the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84). The third Bayernburg was built in spring 1387 where Georgenburg stood but the new name did not gain acceptance and the fortress continued to be known as Georgenburg. This fortress was captured and burned down by Vytautas in April 1403 during the first Samogitian uprising.
Awards and decorations of Lithuania are governed by the Republic of Lithuania Law on State Awards of 2002, amended in 2003.
The Vilnius Castle Complex is a group of cultural, and historic structures on the left bank of the Neris River, near its confluence with the Vilnia River, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The buildings, which evolved between the 10th and 18th centuries, were one of Lithuania's major defensive structures.
The national symbols of Lithuania are used in Lithuania and abroad to represent the country and its people, history, culture, and nature. These symbols are seen in official capacities, such as flags, coats of arms, postage stamps, and currency, and in URLs. They appear less formally as recurring themes in literature, art and folk art, heraldry, monuments, clothing, personal decoration, and as the names of parks, bridges, streets, and clubs. The less formal manifestations may be classified as national emblems.
The family of Gediminas is a group of family members of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, who interacted in the 14th century. The family included the siblings, children, and grandchildren of the Grand Duke and played the pivotal role in the history of Lithuania for the period as the Lithuanian nobility had not yet acquired its influence. Gediminas was also the forefather of the Gediminid dynasty, which ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1310s or 1280s to 1572.
The Duchy of Lithuania was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative names of the territorial formation, used in different periods, were Aukštaitija or Land of Lithuania, Duchy of Vilnius, Lithuania proper, or simply Lithuania.
Vytautas Merkys was a Lithuanian historian and a professor at Vilnius University.
Gediminas was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in 1202 and in the 1230s they settled in Chełmno Land, a fief of Poland. They first conquered other neighboring Baltic tribes—Curonians, Semigallians, Latgalians, Selonians, and Old Prussians—in the Livonian Crusade and Prussian Crusade.
Benedict Makrai was a well-educated Hungarian noble and diplomat in the service of Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary and later Holy Roman Emperor. He is best known for his 1412–13 mission to Poland–Lithuania to mediate their territorial dispute with the Teutonic Knights over Samogitia and Masovia in the aftermath of the Battle of Grunwald (1410). His mission did not resolve the dispute and only heightened the tensions.
Gediminas' Cap was the most important regalia of the Lithuanian monarchs who ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the Union of Lublin in 1569. During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs, Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral.
Lithuania 
