Unlike its Baltic neighbours, Lithuania once enjoyed a period of sustained independence. Having driven off the German Knights of the Sword in 1236 at Siauliai, the Lithuanians emerged as a unified state under Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-41). The 1569 Union of Lublin established a combined Polish-Lithuanian state which reached its zenith under King Stefan Bathory. But the Great Northern War of 1700-21, in which Poland-Lithuania, Russia and Sweden battled for control of the Baltics, left the country devastated, and by the end of the 18th century most of Lithuania had fallen into Russian hands. Uprisings in 1830 and 1863 presaged a rise in nationalist feeling, and Russia's collapse in World War I enabled the Lithuanians to re-establish their independence. In July 1940, however, the country was effectively annexed by the USSR. When Moscow eventually relaxed its hard line in the late 1980s, demands for greater autonomy led to the declaration of independence on March 11, 1990, way ahead of the other Baltic States. A prolonged stand-off came to a head on January 11, 1991 when Soviet forces killed fourteen people at Vilnius TV Tower, but as the anti-Gorbachev coup foundered in August 1991, the world - soon followed by the disintegrating Soviet Union - recognized Lithuanian independence.
Transportation in Lithuania
By Car: Lithuania has a good road network with modern four lane motorways connecting Vilnius with Klaipeda, Kaunas and Panevezys. The speed limit is 110kph on motorways, 90kph on country roads and 60kph inside towns. The Vilnius-Kaunas motorway has a speed limit of 100kph. Traffic drives on the right.
By Bus: Generally, buses are more frequent and quicker than domestic trains and serve almost every town and village. As well as being a viable means of getting around Lithuania, buses are also useful for travelling to other Baltic countries, with services linking Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.
By Rail: Lithuania has a well-developed rail network and Vilnius is the focal point for Lithuania’s international rail services and twice daily services connect with the Baltic coast. Domestic connections between the main towns are generally good.
By Ferry: The port of Klaipeda is served by Kiel in Germany while ferry services of neighbouring countries offer connections to Scandinavia.
By Air: There are domestic airports at Kaunas, Palanga and Siauliai though domestic flights are few and far between. Lithuanian Airlines operate services between Vilnius and Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Frankfurt/M, Helsinki, Kiev, London, Moscow, Paris, Stockholm, Tallinn and Warsaw. Air Lithuania operates flights from Kaunas and Palanga to Billund, Cologne, Hamburg, Kristianstad, Moscow and Oslo.
Travel in Lithuania presents no real hardships, and even in well-trodden destinations the volume of visitors is low, leaving you with the feeling that there's still much to discover here. Vilnius, with its Baroque old town, is the most architecturally beautiful of the Baltic capitals, with an easy-going charm all of its own. Lithuania's second city, Kaunas, also has an attractive old town and a couple of unique museums, along with a handful of surprisingly good restaurants and bars. The port city of Klaipeda, despite its restored old town, is more a stopping-off point en route to the low-key resorts of Neringa. The Neringa Peninsula, the Lithuanian section of the Kurland Spit, is a 95 Kilometre bar of land replete with sand dunes and pine forests. The most beautiful village on the peninsula is Nida, an old fishing settlement full of painted wooden houses with thatched roofs and kitchen gardens.
Main Attractions
Trakai Island Castle and Museum
The Island Castle in the midst of Lake Galve, which now houses a museum, is one of Lithuania's most famous monuments, built by the Grand Duke Vytautus when the country was at the pinnacle of its power.
The Devil's Museum (Kaunas)
The Museum houses a collection of over 2000 figures of devils put together by the artist Antanas Zmuidzinavicius. Don't miss the diabolical figures of Hitler and Stalin dancing over Lithuania.
The Gediminas Tower
The Tower that houses the Vilnius Castle Museum is one of the city's best-known landmarks, and the ideal place to take some rooftop photographs of Vilnius.
M.K. Ciurlionis Art Museum (Kaunas)
Lithuania's most celebrated artist, M.K. Ciurlionis (1875-1911) has a museum dedicated to him in Kaunas containing 360 pieces of his mystical artwork that is often suffused with religious imagery, as well as other pieces of pre-1940 folk art, sculptures and paintings.
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