Presentation of Lithuania in the frame of the Erasmus+ programme I-TALC

1. San Fernando
Nida

4. ANTHEM
Tautiška giesmė (The National Hymn) is the national anthem
of Lithuania, also known by its opening words "Lietuva,
Tėvyne mūsų" (official translation of the lyrics:"Lithuania, Our
Homeland", literally: "Lithuania, Our Fatherland") and as
"Lietuvos himnas" (Hymn of Lithuania). The music and lyrics
were written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, when Lithuania was
still part of the Russian Empire. The fifty-words poem was a
condensation of Kudirka's conceptions of the Lithuanian
state, the Lithuanian people, and their past. Shortly before his
death in 1899, the anthem was performed for Lithuanians
living in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The first public Lithuanian performance of the anthem took
place in Vilnius in 1905, and it became the official national
anthem in 1919, a year after Lithuania declared its
independence. Following the occupation and annexation of
Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1940, the anthem was
forbidden to be played or sung in public.

5. POPULATION
The name of Lithuania – Lithuanians – was first mentioned in
1009. Among its etymologies there are a derivation from the
word Lietava, for a small river, a possible derivation from a
word leičiai, but most probable is the name for union of
Lithuanian ethnic tribes ('susilieti, lietis' means to unite and
the word 'lietuva' means something which has been united).
The primary Lithuanian state, the Duchy of Lithuania,
emerged in the territory of Lietuva, the ethnic homeland of
Lithuanians. At the birth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
(GDL), ethnic Lithuanians made up about 70% of the
population.With the acquisition of new Ruthenian territories,
this proportion decreased to 50% and later to 30%. By the
time of the largest expansion towards Kievan Rus' lands, at
the end of the 13th and during the 14th century, the territory
of the GDL was about 800,000 km2, of which 10% was
ethnically Lithuanian. The actual numbers of habitants in
Lithuania is 2.929.323.

6. FLAG
The flag of Lithuania consists of a horizontal tricolor of
yellow, green and red. It was adopted on March 20,
1989, almost two years before the re-establishment of
Lithuania's independence and more than three years
before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was first used
in Lithuania's first period of independence (in the 20th
century) from 1918 to 1940, which ceased with the
occupation first by Soviet Russia and Lithuania's illegal
annexation into the Soviet Union, and then by Nazi
Germany (1941–44). During the post-WW2 Soviet
occupation, from 1945 until 1989, the Soviet Lithuanian
flag consisted first of a generic red Soviet flag with the
name of the republic, then changed to the red flag with
white and green bars at the bottom.

7. CLIMATE
The climate of the Lithuania can
be described as typical
European continental
influenced climate with warm,
dry summers and fairly severe
winters. January is the coldest
month with daytime
temperatures usually around -
5°C, but in some cases winter
months can be quite colder with
temperatures far below zero,
about -20°C or lower and
strong, cold north easterly
winds. Heavy snowfall or even
snow storms are also possible
on some days. The weather is
often breezy and humid due to
the proximity of the Baltic Sea.

8. old CURRENCY
The Lithuanian litas was the currency of Lithuania, until 1
January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was
divided into 100 centų (genitive case; singular centas, nominative
plural centai). The litas was first introduced on 2 October 1922
after World War I, when Lithuania declared independence and
was reintroduced on 25 June 1993, following a period of
currency exchange from the ruble to the litas with the temporary
talonas then in place.The name was modeled after the name of
the country (similar to Latvia and its lats). From 1994 to 2002,
the litas was pegged to the U.S. dollar at the rate of 4 to 1. The
litas was pegged to the euro at the rate of 3.4528 to 1 since
2002. The euro was expected to replace the litas by January 1,
2007, but persistent high inflation and the economic crisis
delayed the switch. On 1 January 2015 the litas was switched to
the euro at the rate of 3.4528 to 1. The actual currency is the
Euro (€)

9. Dalia GrybauskaitE
Dalia Grybauskaitė (Lithuanian
pronunciation, born 1 March 1956) is
the President of the Republic of
Lithuania, inaugurated on 12 July
2009 and re-elected in May 2014.
She is the country's first female
President and the first to be elected
for a second term.
She was Vice-Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Minister of Finance, also
European Commissioner for Financial
Programming and the Budget from
2004 to 2009. She is often referred to
as the "Iron Lady" or the "Steel
Magnolia".

10. Algirdas Butkevičius
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of
Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the
Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern
office of Prime Minister was established in 1990,
although the official title was "Chairperson of the
Council of Ministers" until 25 November 1992.
The post was established during the turmoil
surrounding the Soviet Union's collapse, and was
organized by Sąjūdis, a multi-party coalition in
favour of Lithuanian independence.
Historically, the title of Prime Minister was also
used between 1918 and 1940. This was during
the original Republic of Lithuania, which lasted
from the collapse of the Russian Empire until the
country's annexation by the Soviet Union.

11. Amber in nida
The Baltic region is home to
the largest known deposit of
amber, called Baltic amber
or amber from the Baltic,
where it is concentrated
about 80% of the world
amber known. Its origin
dates from between 35 and
40 million years ago.
Baltic amber is distinguished
by the numerous fossils,
which are among the oldest
in amber.

14. In 1918, Lithuania was
re-established as a
democratic state. It
remained independent
until the outset of World
War II. Following a brief
occupation by Nazi
Germany after the Nazis
waged war on the
Soviet Union, Lithuania
was again absorbed into
the Soviet Union for
nearly 50 years. In
1990–91 Lithuania
restored its
independence and
joined the NATO
alliance in 2004 and the
European Union as part
of its enlargement in
2004.
Basic historyThe first written record
of the name for the
country dates back to
1009, later neighboring
lands were conquered
and the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania was
established in the 13th
century.
It was one of the last
areas of Europe to
adopt Christianity. In
1385, the Grand Duchy
formed a dynastic union
with Poland through the
Union of Krewo.
Afterwards, the
Lithuanians lived under
the rule of the Russian
Empire until the 20th
century.

15.  Early settlement
 Kernavė mounds
 The first humans arrived at the end of the last glacial
period. They came from two directions: the Jutland
Peninsula and from present-day Poland. They brought two
different cultures. In the 8th millennium, the climate
became much warmer, and forests developed. During the
6th–5th millennium BC, various animals were domesticated
and dwellings became more sophisticated in order to
shelter larger families. Agriculture did not emerge until the
3rd millennium BC due to a harsh climate and terrain and a
lack of suitable tools to cultivate the land. Crafts and trade
also started to form at this time.
Before statehood

16. Baltic tribes around 1200. The first
Lithuanian people were a branch of
an ancient group known as the Balts.
The main tribal divisions of the Balts
were the West Baltic Old Prussians
and Yotvingians, and the East Baltic
Lithuanians and Latvians. The Balts
spoke forms of the Indo-European
languages. Today, the only
remaining Baltic nationalities are the
Lithuanians and Latvians, but there
were more Baltic groups or tribes in
the past.
Baltic tribes

17. Past and Present:
Lithuanian history

28. Lithuania´s capital

29. Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city,
with a population of 539,939 as of 2014. Vilnius is
located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the
second largest city in the Baltic States, after Riga

30. Administratively, it houses the city of Vilnius and Vilnius district. It is also the
capital of the province of Vilnius. Besides being the capital and most populous
city, Vilnius is of importance in terms of the national media, art, fashion, research
industries, technology, education and entertainment.
The first written mention of Vilnius dates from 1323, letters of King Gediminas. Its
historic center or "Old Town", one of the largest and best preserved medieval
quarters of Eastern Europe, was considered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
in 1994. In 2009, it was European Capital of Culture title shared with the Austrian
city of Linz.

33. T H E M O S T I M P O R T A N T P A I N T E R S
W E R E A N T A N A S Ž M U I D Z I N A V I Č I U S
, M I K A L O J U S K O N S T A N T I N A S
Č I U R L I O N I S , Z O M A B A I T L E R A N D
S A M U E L G R O D Z E N S K Y .

34.  Antanas Žmuidzinavičius
was a famous painter and a
collector of Lithuanian
paints. He organised the
first exhibition of art in
Lithuania . The most
important paintings of
Antanas Žmuidzinavičius
are Gavo laišką , Paskutiniai
spinduliai and Estijos peizažas
Antanas
Žmuidzinavičius

35.  He was a painter ,
drawer , diplomatic and
reporter , he was
uruguayan but his
nationality was
Lithuanian. He studied
painting and drawing
with Paul Kaufman.
Zoma Baitler

36.  He was a painter who
was born in Lithuania .
He began his studies
when he was 13 years old
, he discovered the
original technique , the
Artelanismo . He was
founding member of the
association of the artists
and sculptors.
 Two of his Works are in
the museum of Tel-Aviv.
Samuel Grodzensky

37. LITERATURE

38.  He was a Lithuanian poet
and physician, and the author
of both the music and lyrics
of the Lithuanian National
Anthem, Tautiška giesmė. He
was regarded as a National
Hero in Lithuania
VINCAS
KUDIRKA

39. 
 She was born in Lithuania .
She studied beaux arts in
Vilnius where she published
her first book. Agnė
Marcinkevičiūte made a
documentary about her life.
Jurga Ivanauskaitė

40.  She was a writer , literature
critic, translator and
Lithuanian diplomatic. She
spread the Latin American
literature in oriental Europe.
One of her works is :
“Demain, il n'y aura plus de
trains “.
Ugné Karvelis

41. Cinema

42.  He is a Lithuanian film –
maker who emigrated in
1949. He is one of the most
important in experimental
cinema.
 Some of his works are : Guns
of the Trees, Report from
Millbrook, Cassis.
Jonas Mekas

43. FUN

44.  It is a type of animated
fountain for
entertainment purposes
that creates an aesthetic
design. This is achieved
by employing the effects
of timed sound waves
and timed light against
water particles. The
water refracts
and reflects the light, and
in doing so, three-
dimensional images can
be produced.
MUSICAL FOUNTAIN

45.  It is the fourth biggest
city from Lithuania. The
capital of Šiauliai
Country is Šiauliai.
 In the ninteenth century,
it was the administrative
centre from this area.
Šiauliai Country

46.  It´s a tower on Vilnius (
capital of Lithuania ). The
tower was damaged in 1965
but it was repaired in 1930 to
build a museum.
 It is considered an emblem
for the city and the country.It
appears in the national coin
and in many poems and
songs.
Gediminas tower

47. Ninth Fort
 Between 1914 y 1924, it
was a military fort but in
1924 it was a prison.
 Nowadays, it is a
museum with exhibitions
about the history of the
fort and the country.

50. Basketball
is the most
important
sport
 Basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania. In fact ,
the national team has achieved the European Basketball
Championship three times ( 1937 , 1939 and 2003 ), three
second places (1995 , 2013 and 2015) , bronze (2007 ) ;
three Olympic bronze medals (Barcelona 1992 , Atlanta
1996 and Sydney 2000) and seventh place in 1998 and 2006
and a bronze medal in 2010 at the World Basketball
Championship . According to the classification of FIBA ,
the Lithuanian selection occupies the 4th place in the world
.
 The most important basketball club BC Žalgiris Kaunas is
winning Euroleague (1999 ) , a European Championship
(1998 ) and 12 Lithuanian League ( LKL ) . It was also a
symbol of resistance against USSR in the 80s , winning 5
League against CSKA Moscow.

52. Arvydas Sabonis (1964) is the most famous and the best ever
Lithuanian former basketball player. His best achievements are: 3
times SSSR champion, 2 times European champion, 1 time World
champion and 1 time Olympic Champion, one of the greatest centers
in the world from 1980 to the end of its sportsmen career in 2003.
 FAMOUS
ATHLETES

53. Šarūnas Marčiulionis (1964) is one of the best former Lithuanian
basketball players and one of the first European players which was
asked to play in NBA. His best achievements are: 1 time SSSR
Junior Champion, 1 time European Junior champion, 1 time
Olympic Champion, 2 times European vice champion.

54. Šarūnas Jasikevičius (1976) – Lithuanian basketball player, 4 times
Euro league champion, 2 times Spanish Champion, 2 times Israel
champion, 1 time Europe champion and 1 time Greece champion.
Right now is playing in Athens “Panathinaicos” club.

55. In Winter…  Ice fishing in Lithuania
 With the arrival of polar cold ,
thousands of amateur fishermen turn
to ice Kuršiai Lagoon near Kapipeda
, Lithuania, small smelt fishing (also
known as chaplains)

59. National
Dish:
Cepelinai
It is made with mashed
potatoes and stuffing of
minced meat ,
accompanied by curd
cheese or mushrooms.

60. Lithuanian
Cuisine
Lithuanian cuisine has much in common
with its Baltic neighbours and, in general,
Northern countries. It also shares some
traditions with Polish, Ukranian, Hungarian,
German and Georgian cuisines as well as
Ashkenazi cuisine.

61. Some traditional
Lithuanian dishes
are: rye bread, cold
beet soup, potato
sausages, pancakes
and different types
of dishes made from
potatoes,
mushrooms, various
grains and milk.