LITHUANIA The Republic of Lithuania is the country in Central Europe, by the Baltic Sea. Lithuania borders with Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia. Lithuania Area - 65.2 thousand km ² Population - 3,555,179 Capital – Vilnius. Language - Lithuanian - 82%, 8% - Russian, 5.6% - Polish, 4.4% - other languages. The Largest Cities of Lithuania Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai. The President of Lithuania – Dalia Grybauskaitė Our country is democratic country with the president and parlament. Our president Ms Dalia Grybauskaite is the first woman to have this post in all history of Lithuania. These two facts are very important for our country Lithuania became the member of NATO on the 29th of March,2004 We started the membership in EU on the 1st of May, 2004 Here you can see some historical facts. As you can see we celebrated one thousand years anniversary when Lithuania was first mentioned. Just take a look at some more events. The first written record of the name of our country was in 1009. Lithuanians were later conquered by the neighboring lands. The Kingdom of Lithuania was established in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained independent and dominating country in Europe. It was also one of the last European countries to adopt Christianity. In the 15th century Lithuania became the largest state in Europe, merging with Poland and forming Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1795, however, Lithuania was erased from the political map after the Partition with Poland. Lithuania was included by force into the Soviet Union after the World War II and regained the independence only in 1991. This is the logo of the anniversary. You can see Vilnius – our capital city. It is very beautiful you should visit it one day. Vilnius is the largest city of Lithuania. Vilnius population is about 850 000. It is the political, economical, scientific and cultural centre of the country. As our country is on the crossroads of the East and the West, in the course of history, we suffered invasions of different armies such as Polish, Russian and German. Our Way to Independence The Baltic Way - 650 km long human chain (people holding each others’ hands through three neighbouring countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) August 23,1989. Our way to independence was very difficult and unusual because we fought without any weapons. This act symbolised friendship among countries and the wish to be free from the Soviet Union. Some photos from this time. In 1991 people stood in front of Russian tanks without guns. We are happy to be independent now and be here with you, travel where we want and talk what we wish. We want to present you the beauty of our country nature. We don‘t have mountains but we are proud of our hills, plains and waters. Lithuania has about 3000 rivers and lakes. The largest river is the Nemunas. You can see our seaside, the dunes and the beach. Lithuania is well known for its amber. We make a lot of nice jewellery from it. Here are some of historical sites. Grand Duke Gediminas founded Vilnius in the13th century Trakai castle Trakai Island Castle was built in the second half of the 14th century by the other Grand Duke Kęstutis. The construction of Trakai Island Castle was related to the expansion and strengthening of the Trakai Peninsula Castle. Kęstutis moved his main residence and his treasury to the Island Castle. The Hill of Crosses This is a unique hill with thousands of crosses not only from Lithuania but also from other countries of the world. Unesco Heritage There are some objects included in the list of UNESCO heritage. (Vilnius old town,dunes, Kernavė prehistoric hills. National Festivals We have state and religious festivals. Actually religious festivals are more connected with pagan traditions than Christian ones. Such as Shrovetide, Easter or All Saints’ Day. The Song and Dance festival Every four years we have a very cheerful festival of song and dance. Basketball - the Second Religion of Lithuania Maybe you heard about our famous basketball players Sabonis, Marčiulionis or Kleiza. This year you are welcome to Europe Basketball Championship in Lithuania Lithuania is divided into 4 regions: Aukštaitija, Suvalkija, Žemaitija, Dzūkija. We are the representatives of Suvalkija region. Suvalkija is the ethnic region of Lithuania. It is the region of extensive plains and fertile soil where it is difficult to find a stone. Like every region of our country, Suvalkija has its typical accent which is considered as an official accent of our language. We have traditional clothes, songs, food and so on. Marijampolė My native town is Marijampolė. The symbol here is Saint George fighting the evil dragon. Marijampolė is a town in southwestern Lithuania. It is called “the capital” of Suvalkija. Marijampole is the seventh largest city in Lithuania. Area: 21 km² Date of establishment: 1667 Population: 46 261 The history of our town Pašešupio village was first mentioned in historical sources in 1667. It only consisted of 24 wooden houses. Later the village grew to a nice town. Neobarocco Classical architecture style prevails in the old town. Our Churches We are proud of our historical sites such as churches The Railway Station We have one of the oldest railway stations in Lithuania. There are important historical places and buildings in Marijampole, such as one of the oldest gymnasiums, Marijampole College, Drama Theatre or new culture house. Our town gave a lot of famous people to Lithuania. The first president of the country was from Marijampole. There is a number of poets, politicians, writers, etc that came from this town. Our School – Rimanto Stankeviciaus General Secondary School I would like to mention one of the most significant people that came from Marijampolė. Rimantas Stankevicius graduated our school. He is the national hero and the only Lithuanian astronaut in the former Soviet Union. He chose his own death in order to save other people’s lives. Thank you for your kind attention. We are happy to welcome you in Lithuania in one year.