The rich culture of Lithuania goes back thousands of years. Lithuanians are a branch of the Balts whose settlement dates back to around 200 B.C. Lithuanian is one of the oldest languages in Europe. The first written mention of Lithuania was in the Annales Quedlinburgenses in 1009 A.D. The first Lithuanian state was established by the Grand Duke Mindaugas in 1230. He converted to Christianity briefly and was crowned king of Lithuania in 1252.
     Grand Duke Gediminas, who reigned from 1316 to 1341, is credited with founding Vilnius at the confluence of Neris and    Vilnia rivers - and a dynasty that united Lithuania and Poland from 1386 until 1795.
     Lithuania reached its height under the Grand Duke Vytautas the Great, who ruled from 1392 to 1430. He strengthened the foundations for Europeanized and Catholic state. Driving back the Turks, he extended the grand duchy almost to the Black.
     In 1410, Vytautas and his cousin Jogaila decisively beat the German crusaders of the Teutonic Order in the great battle of Tannenberg. He celebrated his victory in his magnificent red-brick castle on an island at Trakai.
Lithuania progressively entered European culture. At the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom was formally merged into a commonwealth headed by a monarch. In 1579, the region's oldest university, Vilnius University, was established by the Jesuits. It was one of the most important centers of the Counter-Reformation. The country now has six universities, academies and research institutes
       The Lithuanian-Polish union came under threat from Prussia, Austria and Russia at the end of the 18th century. An uprising by the Lithuanian patriot Col. Jacob Jasinskis in 1794 was defeated, and most of Lithuania was annexed by Russia in 1795. The new rulers tried to Russify the country, closing Vilnius University and banning the publication of Lithuanian books in the Latin alphabet. In the late 1800s, brutal persecution and economic necessity forced thousands of Lithuanian to emigrate.
       In the late 19th century, national culture revived with great strength, reaching its height in the mystical paintings and music of the great M.K. Ciurlionis was dead at 36 in 1911, but his magnificent work survives in Kaunas. The Lithuanian state was reestablished in 1918 after the defeats of Russia and Germany in World War I. Trade and industry flourished. But beginning in 1919, following heavy fighting between Poland, Russia and Lithuania, Poland annexed Vilnius, forcing Lithuania to transfer its capital to Kaunas.
        Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets in 1940 and then overrun by Nazi Germany in 1941. The republic was briefly re-established in the interval between the two calamities, which saw tens of thousands deported to Siberia and the near disappearance of the Jewish community in Hitler's "final solution". The Soviets returned in 1944.
       Armed resistance against the Soviets continued for several years after World War II, but even after more than 50 years under the Soviets, Lithuanians retained the goal of independence. On March 11, 1990, the Republic was again proclaimed. Soviet intervention resulted in 14 unarmed civilians being killed at the TV tower in Vilnius. After the Moscow putsch collapsed, Lithuania won international recognition and was admitted to the United Nations on Sept. 17, 1991.
       On Feb. 14, 1993, Lithuanians turned out to vote for Algirdas Brazauskas, making him the first directly elected president of Lithuania. Lithuania's own currency, the litas, was reintroduced in 1993, pegged to the U.S. dollar. The 10-litas note carries the picture of two pioneers of Lithuanian aviation who flew the Atlantic in 1933. Also in 1993, the last Russian soldier left the country, and Lithuania became a member of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.