Lithuania

Where the name comes from

Lithuania comes from Lithuanian Lietuva, possibly linked to the Lietava River or lieti, “pour”; the origin is disputed.

First people

Baltic tribes lived here for thousands of years, and Lithuania’s medieval grand duchy stretched well beyond today’s borders.¹

Known for

Lithuania is known for basketball, its national passion, and for the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai.²

Outside contact

Russia annexed most Lithuanian lands in 1795, and from 1864 to 1904 it banned Lithuanian printing in Latin letters, so book smugglers carried banned publications across the border.^3,4

The modern country

That resistance fed the national revival that led to independence in 1918. After Soviet and German occupation from 1940, independence was restored in 1990.³