Lithuania (Austria and others)

' Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the 'Kingdom of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Karalystė) is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the four Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Courland to the north, Russia to the southeast, Poland, and Germany  to the southwest. Across the Baltic Sea to the west lie Sweden and Denmark. Its population is 1.35 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius.''

During the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe: present-day Russia, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Poland and Lithuania formed a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.

Lithuania's Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1917, declaring the re-establishment of a sovereign state.Lithuania was then proclaimed a kingdom.

Lithuania is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. Lithuania is a member of NATO, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture and Lithuania celebrated the millennium of its name.