Neringa in Lithuania

15 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Thomas Mann's summer house © Wojsyl/cc-by-sa-3.0

Thomas Mann’s summer house © Wojsyl/cc-by-sa-3.0

Neringa or Neringa Municipality (Lithuanian: Neringos savivaldybė) is a municipality of Klaipėda County in westernmost Lithuania, comprising several villages in the Curonian Spit. In terms of population, it is the smallest municipality of the country. The name of the city is relatively new and is not found in old scriptures in this form. The name is derived from a German word Neringe, Nerunge, Nehrung which itself is a derivative of a curonian word nerija meaning a long peninsular spit.   read more…

The European Union: European Sky Shield Initiative

12 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag_of_Europe European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative. ESSI is part of the Common Security and Defense Policy and as such is designed to complement and relieve the burden on NATO.   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania – Kėdainiai

25 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

City Hall and Monument of Radziwiłł © Algirdas/cc-by-sa-3.0

City Hall and Monument of Radziwiłł © Algirdas/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located 51 km (32 mi) north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2020 is 23,667. Its old town dates to the 17th century. The city is the administrative centre of the Kėdainiai District Municipality. The geographical centre of the Lithuanian Republic is in the nearby village of Ruoščiai, located in the eldership of Dotnuva.   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania – Palanga

24 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

The Tiškevičiai Palace houses the Amber Museum © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Tiškevičiai Palace houses the Amber Museum © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Palanga is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. It is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has beaches of sand (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 1000ft wide) and sand dunes. Officially Palanga has the status of a city municipality and includes Šventoji, Nemirseta, Būtingė, Palanga International Airport and other settlements, which are considered as part of the city of Palanga.   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania – Šiauliai

23 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Hill of Crosses © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Hill of Crosses © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Šiauliai is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 99,462. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Šiauliai located in eastern part of the northern plateau, Mūša, Dubysa and Venta River divide. Distance of 210 kilometres (130 miles) to Vilnius, Kaunas – 142 km (88 mi), Klaipėda – 161 km (100 mi), Riga – 128 km (80 mi), Kaliningrad – 250 km (155 mi).   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania – Jonava

22 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Library © Bearas/cc-by-sa-3.0

Library © Bearas/cc-by-sa-3.0

Jonava is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of c. 30,000. It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, 30 km (19 mi) north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. Achema, the largest fertilizer factory in the Baltic states, is located nearby. The city is sometimes called “the capital of midsummer holiday” (lithuanian: Joninės).   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania – Trakai

21 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  15 minutes

Užutrakis Manor © Karmen media/cc-by-sa-3.0

Užutrakis Manor © Karmen media/cc-by-sa-3.0

Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 kilometres (17 miles) west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 497.1 square kilometres (191.9 square miles) of area and, according to 2007 estimates, is inhabited by 5,357 people. A notable feature of Trakai is that the town was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Historically, communities of Karaims, Tatars, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Poles lived here.   read more…

Theme Week Lithuania

20 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Vilnius © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vilnius © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest. It has a maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km² (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages.   read more…

Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius

7 January 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Christmas 3D video projected on the Cathedral © flickr.com - Guillaume Speurt/cc-by-sa-2.0

Christmas 3D video projected on the Cathedral © flickr.com – Guillaume Speurt/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. Dedicated to Saints Stanislaus and Ladislaus, the church is the heart of Catholic spiritual life in Lithuania.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top