Lithuania

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Lithuania
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• Lithuania is a country in Eastern, often
  referred to as Northern Europe or in Baltic
  Division. It is situated along the south-eastern
  shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with
  Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast,
  Poland, and the Russian exclave of the
  Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania is
  a member of NATO and of the European Union. Its
  population is 3.4 million. Its capital and
  largest city is Vilnius. Total area of Lithuania
  is 65.200 km2.

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History

• During the 14th century, Lithuania was
  the largest country in Europe. With the Lublin
  Union of 1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a new
  state, the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth.
  Starting in 1940, Lithuania was occupied first by
  the Soviet Union then Nazi Germany. On March 11,
  1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic
  to declare its renewed independence. Since
  Lithuania declared independence on March 11, 1990.

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About Lithuania

• Klaipeda port is the only port in
  Lithuania. Vilnius International Airport is the
  largest airport. It served 1.7 million passengers
  in 2007.
• Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is a Soviet-era
  nuclear station. Unit 1 was closed in December
  2004, as a condition of Lithuania's entry into
  the European Union. The population of Lithuania
  stands at 3.3662 million, 84.6 of whom are
  ethnic Lithuanians who speak the Lithuanian
  language (one of the two surviving members of the
  Baltic language group), which is the official
  language of the country. Several sizable
  minorities exist, such as Poles (6.3), Russians
  (5.1), and Belarusians (1.1) In 2005 79 of
  Lithuanians belonged to the Roman Catholic
  Church.

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• Ignalinas nuclear
  station

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Famous people from Lithuania

• Jurga Šeduikyte,
• known by her stage name Jurga, is a
  Lithuanian singer and songwriter. She is an art
  rock musician, won the Best Female Act and the
  Best Album of 2005 in the Lithuanian Bravo Awards
  and the Best Baltic Act at the MTV Europe Music
  Awards 2007.

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• VILNIUS

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Legend of establishing city of Vilnius

• Legend has it that the Grand Duke of
  Lithuania, Gediminas, was hunting in the sacred
  forest near the Valley of Šhventaragis. Tired
  after the successful day's hunt, the Grand Duke
  settled in nearby for the night. He fell soundly
  asleep and began to dream. A huge Iron Wolf was
  standing on top a hill and the sound of hundreds
  of other wolves inside it filled all of the
  surrounding fields and woods. Upon awakening, the
  Duke asked the pagan priest Lizdeika to interpret
  the meaning of the dream. And the priest told
  him "What is destined for the ruler and the
  State of Lithuania, is thus the Iron Wolf
  represents a castle and a city which will be
  established by you on this site. This city will
  be the capital of the Lithuanian lands and the
  dwelling of their rulers, and the glory of their
  deeds shall echo throughout the world.

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Gediminas and Iron wolf sculptures
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The culture of Vilnius

• Almost all styles of architecture can be
  found in Vilnius, from Gothic to Classical.
  However, Vilnius is the largest Baroque city,
  north of the Alps, and is often referred to as
  Little Rome. Owing to its uniqueness, the Old
  Town of Vilnius was inscribed on the UNESCO World
  Heritage List in 1994.

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Old town of Vilnius
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The new city of Vilnius
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The tower of Gediminas
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Vilnius cathedral
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Vilnius orthodox church
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Saint Annas church
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Vilnius synagogue
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Aušros Vartu street
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Europa sky-scraper
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Department store Akropolis
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Siemens Arena
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Vilnius TV tower
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Vichy aquapark
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• Thank you for your attention ?
• Made by Agneshka Rykman, Vilnius, 2008 y.