About Lithuania
The official name of Lithuania is “The Republic of Lithuania”. It is a Baltic country in Northern Europe. It has a Baltic Sea coastline in the west and is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east, Poland to the southwest, and Russia’s exclave, the Kaliningrad Oblast, to the west. The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius and it’s located close to the Belarus border. Vilnius is famous for its medieval Old Town. There are Gothic, Renaissance and baroque architecture, and the 18th-century cathedral built on a pagan temple site in Vilnius. Hilltop Gediminas’ Tower, a symbol of the city and the nation, offers sweeping views.
Lithuania became independent in 1990 and it was the first country to gain independence from the Soviet Union. Lithuania is divided into 10 counties, 60 municipalities, and 500 administrative areas. The country has a total area of 65,300 square kilometres with a population of 2,856,350 inhabitants. The first university in Eastern Europe is in Lithuania and it is called Vilnius University. The name of Lithuania was first mentioned in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009. This country is the oldest and the largest in the Baltic region. It became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991.
The only country in the world that has a national perfume is Lithuania known as “the Scent of Lithuania.” Lithuania is said to be the geographical centre of Europe according to a study carried out by a French scientist in 1989.
The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian. However, you will find majority of the people speaking Russian and English also. The currency of Lithuania is Euro and 1 Euro is equal to 100 centas.
The first publishing house in Lithuania was founded in Vilnius, in 1522, and the first Lithuanian Book was published in 1547. Lithuanian was the first country in the world to invent a way to produce vodka from corn.
Four Lithuanian universities feature in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017, with a further three in the QS University Rankings: EECA, a ranking of the top universities in emerging Europe and central Asia.
