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Lithuanian Travel Guide
Nature has been generous to Lithuania. Although there are no mountains or great forests, the country's beauty lies in the diversity of its landscape. This is a place of rolling hills and gentle plains; of quietly flowing rivers and of lakes which reflect the blueness of the sky. The largest river, the Nemunas, gathers and carries the waters of many tributaries to the Baltic Sea, wherein lies Lithuania's famous "amber coast". Called the Curonian Spit, it is a sixty mile-long bank of sand dunes and pine trees which stretches from the southwest to the seaport of Klaipėda and encloses the vast Curonian Lagoon. For centuries, amber, Lithuania's precious harvest of the sea, has been washed onto these golden sands.
ONCE THE LARGEST EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL STATE
Emergence of a Powerful Nation
The earliest known mention of the name "Lithuania" is found in the German (Teutonic) chronicles of 1009. Lithuania emerged as a larger state in the middle of the 13th century through a union of Baltic territories with Mindaugas becoming the state's first Grand Duke. The country, however, did not adopt Christianity until 1387 and was, for the most part, under constant military attack by the Germanic Livonian and Teutonic Orders for the first 200 years of its existance as a united territory. Not only did the Teutonic and Livonian Orders fail to conquer Lithuania, but by the end of the 14th century Lithuania became one of the most powerful states in eastern Europe. In 1410, a joint Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Tartar and Czech army under the leadership of Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas crushed the Teutonic Order once and for all at the battle of Žalgiris (Tannenberg or Grunwald). The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was also responsible for keeping the Golden Horde from invading western Europe.
VILNIUS - A WORLD HERITAGE CITY OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY
The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is also the country's largest and most beautiful city with a population of approximately 576,000. Vilnius was built at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers surrounded by picturesque wooded hills. First mentioned in historical documents in 1323, the city's subsequent history has been as turbulent as the nation's. Over many centuries it has been repeatedly plundered during wars, devastated by many fires and has suffered numerous occupations. Yet, the city has managed to retain its unique character as a northerly cultural meeting point at the crossroads of the Roman and the Byzantine and the Eu-ropean and the Eurasian worlds. Vilnius' Old Town, covering 255 hectares of the city, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
LIVING FOLKLORE AND ETHNIC TRADITIONS
Written Folklore
Most written folklore dates back to medieval times. The three main branches of written folklore are songs, narration and sayings. Of these, songs are the most numerous and the most important covering a wide range of subjects of concern to ordinary people at the time of their creation. Whether about mythology, rites, history, military battles, weddings, children, or just simply work, these songs best reflect the character of Lithuanian folklore.
An Architecture of the People
Traditional Lithuanian folk architecture constitutes a unique part of north-eastern European folk architecture. Not only did it influence architecture in other territories populated by Lithuanians such as Lithuania Minor, West Belarus and north-eastern Poland, but it also shares many common features with Latvian, Western Belorussian and Polish (Mazovian) folk architecture. Characteristic features of towns and villages include a central square and a regular network of streets, while trees and shrubs are used in a way to create harmony with the local environment.
A Unique Folk Art
The main characteristics of folk art are simple shapes, clear composition, symmetrical patterns and moderate colours. Before industrialization, the everyday use of applied and decorative arts was widespread in being applied to fabrics, ceramics, wood carvings, metalwork and amber ornaments. The most popular designs were made up of stylized geometrical patterns, floral and animal shapes, and small suns. Decorative Easter eggs - margučiai - still constitute a very special and popular type of Lithuanian folk art. Still today, the Easter eggs are normally either engraved with a sharp tool or given patterns by the application of bees wax. Even more skilled were the depictions of Biblical scenes by the peasantry. Skilled local craftsmen also carved wooden statues of the Christ of Sorrows - the so-called Rūpintojėlis - which were attached to outdoor crosses or placed in miniature outdoor chapels. Works of folk art created in the spirit of these old traditions are continued to be made by Lithuanian craftsmen which are possible to find on sale in shops and at fairs during festivals.
A Museum of Country Living
An open-air Country Life Museum was established at Rumšiškės in 1966 in order to help preserve and research the past ways of living. Entire buildings and artifacts from towns, villages and farmsteads from all over Lithuania have been brought to this place and reassembled. They date from the second half of the 18th to the first half of the 20th century and are well worth seeing. The museum also stages folk song, folk dance and other ethnic events. It is located 18 km east of Kaunas between the Kaunas-Vilnius motor way and the Kaunas Basin.
AMBER - LITHUANIAN GOLD
Fossilized Resin
Amber has historically been thought of as Lithuania's gold. This part of the Baltic has always been a source of the precious aromatic substance so valued by the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean. Always passed through so many traders' hands, no one was ever really sure where it came from. Amber is actually the fossilized resin of pine trees belonging to forests which flourished in this region before the Ice Age around some 35 million years ago. Back then the subtropical climate cultivated trees with an abundance of resin, which eventually seeped from the trees and coagulated on the ground. Insects, plants and the hair of animals were often embedded in the resin, remains of which are now highly valued and of scientific interest. When the Ice Age came, the resin was buried where it hardened into amber, lying in sheets on the bed of what is today the Baltic Sea. The substance was mined commercially in Lithuania for many centuries. Lumps of amber can still be found washed up on the coastal beaches after a storm.
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL PARKS
Five national parks have been established in various regions of Lithuania for the protection and study of the country?s diverse natural, cultural and historical heritage. Agricultural and recreational activities are restricted within their boundaries as the parks are administered according to a specifically designed programme. They are, however, open to visitors. Aukštaitija and Žemaitija National Parks feature moraine hills, uplands and strings of lakes created by the Ice Age. Dzūkija National Park is a conservation area protecting plains and valleys, rivers, forests and inland dunes. Trakai Historical National Park encompasses the medieval capital of Lithuania and its surrounding lakes and majestic countryside. The largest lake, Galvė, is distinguished by a red brick castle fortress built in the 14th and 15th centuries on an island and seems to rise straight out of thewater. Ever since the 15th century, Trakai has been the home of a small Karaite community, which has succeeded in preserving its own religion, customs and culture within Lithuania. The Curonian Spit National Park protects the unique sand spit which encloses Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic. Its long ridge of white sand dunes were formed by wind and water and is home to rare species flora and fauna. The dunes conceal old villages now buried beneath their sands, but there are several modern fishermen's settlements on the shores of the lagoon. These settlements are built in an architectural style unique to this coast and a legacy left by the ethnic Curonian balts who lived here until the end of the 16th century. There are 30 regional parks in Lithuania. Agricultural activity in these areas are controlled by environmental protection agencies. They are ideal for recreation and walks at any time of the year. Many of the parks protect small hills and sacred forests once an integrated part of
pagan life in Lithuania.
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