VILNIUS - In Your Pocket
VILNIUS - In Your Pocket
VILNIUS - In Your Pocket
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
The Lithuanian state arose and strengthened to counter<br />
the religious fervour of crusading German knights. Lithuania<br />
was the last European country to convert to Christianity,<br />
and has seen countless invasions and occupations over<br />
the centuries.<br />
7th-2nd centuries BC The first Baltic tribes establish themselves<br />
on what’s now known as Lithuanian territory.<br />
11th century The word Lithuania is first used in written<br />
texts in AD 1009. At the same time, a wooden castle is built<br />
on Vilnius’ Gediminas Hill (Gedimino Kalnas), leading to the<br />
construction of a diminutive settlement beneath it.<br />
13th century Žemaitians defeat the Livonian Knights at<br />
the Battle of Saulė in 1236, establishing the settlement<br />
of Šiauliai. After uniting local chieftains, on July 6, 1253<br />
Mindaugas (circa 1203-1263) is crowned Lithuania’s one<br />
and only king. During his reign as the first Christian sovereign<br />
of the state, Vilnius Cathedral is built. However, the majority<br />
of the population remains pagan.<br />
14th century <strong>In</strong> 1323 Grand Duke Gediminas (circa 1275-<br />
1341) sends letters to various Germanic-speaking towns,<br />
inviting their craftsmen and merchants to settle in Vilnius with<br />
the promise of religious freedom. Trying to ensure peace, in<br />
1325 he forms a union with Poland by marrying his daughter<br />
Aldona to the Polish king’s son. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth<br />
comes into being with the 1387 Krėva Union,<br />
whereby Gediminas’ grandson Jogaila (circa 1348-1434)<br />
becomes a Polish king by marrying the Polish Princess Jadwiga<br />
(circa 1373-1399). Even with the increased security,<br />
the Teutonic Knights still manage to invade, resulting in the<br />
1390 burning of the wood-constructed Vilnius.<br />
15th century The Teutonic Knights are eventually defeated<br />
on July 15, 1410 by joint Polish-Lithuanian armies led by<br />
Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas (1350-1430) at the Battle<br />
of Grunwald (Lithuanian, Žalgiris. German, Tannenberg),<br />
one of the greatest battles in medieval Europe. The country<br />
flourishes and by 1430 the borders extend from the Baltic<br />
to the Black Sea.<br />
16th century The Renaissance sees marked cultural<br />
advances, notably the printing of the first Lithuanian book<br />
in 1547, and the founding of Vilnius University in 1579. The<br />
end of the Jogaila dynasty in 1572 results in the political<br />
and cultural marginalisation of Lithuania. Polish becomes the<br />
state language. The Livonian Wars (1558-1582) with Russia<br />
and Sweden drain the Commonwealth’s resources.<br />
18th century At the start of the 18th century both Swedish<br />
and Russian forces try to seize control of Vilnius. <strong>In</strong> 1795<br />
Lithuania is incorporated into tsarist Russia. The 120-year<br />
Russian occupation is only interrupted by a short liberation<br />
by Napoleon’s army in 1812 on his failed campaign<br />
to Moscow. During the Napoleonic army’s return through<br />
Vilnius nearly 40,000 of his soldiers die due to starvation<br />
and extreme cold.<br />
19th century Vilnius University acts as a hotbed of dissent<br />
against the tsarist government, culminating in the 1831 November<br />
Uprising, which leads to the closing of the institution.<br />
Russification ensues with non-Orthodox churches forcibly<br />
closed, the Lithuanian language banned in 1864 and the<br />
country named the Northwest Region. The ban on the Latin<br />
script forces the smuggling in of books from neighbouring<br />
East Prussia. Another uprising takes place in 1863 and<br />
General Muravyov (The Hangman) is sent from Moscow to<br />
restore order, resulting in deaths by hanging for most of the<br />
vilnius.inyourpocket.com<br />
20th century<br />
history<br />
leading activists. The repression is countered and defied by<br />
a revival of Lithuanian culture and tradition. <strong>In</strong> 1883 Jonas<br />
Basanavičius (1851-1927) publishes the first Lithuanianlanguage<br />
newspaper, Auszra (Aušra, or Dawn).<br />
<strong>In</strong>dependence & Beyond<br />
1988 June 3 The Lithuanian reform movement Sąjūdis is<br />
founded by some 500 representatives of the intelligentsia,<br />
advocating openness, democracy and sovereignty. August<br />
23 Some 250,000 people gather in Vilnius to mark the 49th<br />
anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.October 7 The<br />
Lithuanian flag is raised on Gediminas Castle.<br />
1989 February 16 Lithuanian <strong>In</strong>dependence Day is officially<br />
commemorated. August 23 An estimated 2,000,000<br />
Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians join hands in a human<br />
chain stretching the 650km between Vilnius and Tallinn to<br />
protest the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop<br />
Pact.<br />
1990 January 11-13 Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to Vilnius<br />
is far from pleasant as 300,000 pro-independence<br />
demonstrators turn out to ‘welcome’ him. March 4 Proindependence<br />
Sąjūdis candidates receive an overall majority<br />
in the first free elections in Lithuania since 1940. March<br />
11 The Supreme Council (later to become Parliament, or<br />
Seimas) declares the restoration of Lithuanian independence<br />
and demands the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Dr. Vytautas<br />
Landsbergis is elected parliamentary chairman. April 17<br />
Moscow imposes an economic blockade.<br />
During the WWI German<br />
occupation of 1915-<br />
1918 the Lithuanian<br />
Council proclaims independence<br />
on February<br />
16, 1918. As the<br />
Germans retreat, the<br />
Lithuanian state comes<br />
under attack by the Polish General Józef Piłsudski (1867-<br />
1935) who seizes control of Vilnius and areas south of<br />
it from1920-1939. Poland maintains control of these<br />
areas by claiming they were a portion of the pre-war<br />
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kaunas becomes<br />
the interim capital of Lithuania until 1940. During the<br />
inter-war period independent Lithuania prospers under<br />
the 14-year dictatorship (1926-1940) of the nationalist<br />
president Antanas Smetona (1874-1944). Lithuanian<br />
independence ends with the clandestine signing on August<br />
23, 1939 of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between<br />
Hitler and Stalin, who carve up Europe into portions to<br />
be controlled by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.<br />
Lithuania is subject to both Soviet and Nazi occupation.<br />
Between 1941-1944 the Nazis and their Lithuanian<br />
henchmen organise the mass murder of over 200,000<br />
Jews, 94% of the entire Litvak population. The return of<br />
the Red Army and the re-incorporation of Lithuania into<br />
the USSR on July 7, 1944 results in the deportation of<br />
some 250,000 Lithuanians to Siberia, a task they’d already<br />
begun in 1940 before the Nazis arrived. Lithuanian<br />
partisans, dubbed the Forest Brothers (Miško Broliai),<br />
wage guerrilla warfare until 1953. <strong>In</strong> an act of protest<br />
against the Soviet occupation, on May 14, 1972 19year-old<br />
student Romas Kalanta sets fire to himself in<br />
public in Kaunas, dying from his wounds.<br />
August - November 2012<br />
9