Vienybė Težydi (Lithuanian) ("May Unity Flourish") | ||||||
| Anthem | "Lietuvos Himnas" | |||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Vilnius | |||||
| Other Cities | Kaunas, Šiauliai, Panevėžys | |||||
| Language | Lithuanian | |||||
| Religion | Catholicism | |||||
| Demonym | Lithuanian | |||||
| Established | 1235 AD | |||||
Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė), is one of the two constituent countries of Poland-Lithuania. It is bordered by Russia to the east, Latvia to the north, Germany to the west, and Poland to the south. Lithuania emerged as a unified kingdom and later duchy in the late Middle Ages, and was one of the last European regions to be christianized: later, it joined in a union with Poland before becoming a Russian territory. During the Great War, Lithuania became independent together with Poland, and was once again joined in a union with the latter.
Lithuania is the smaller and less populated country of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and is often considered a backwater because of this. Lithuanian economy is still essentially rural, with limited industrialization around major urban centres. It is a predominantly flat country, with large forests scattered around all its territory.