Discover Lithuania: History, Culture & Traditions

1. Lithuania

2. Lithuania • The Respublic of Lithuania– country in Europe, the Baltic Sea south- east coast. Borders with the following countries: Latvia, Belarus, Poland, Russia (Kaliningrad).

3. History • Fourteenth century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. In 1569 the Union of Lublin Lithuania with Poland,forming a new country Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, who lasted more than 200 years, until neighboring countries in 1795 finally shared its territory. Lithuania restored its independence in 1918 February 16 however, in 1940, at the beginning of the Second World War was occupied by the USSR and later Germany. Losing the war on Germany, Lithuania, the second time was occupied by the USSR. In 1990 March 11 Lithuania declared the restoration of full sovereignty of the State.

4. Management Presidential building • The Republic of Lithuania is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Control system: a parliamentary republic. • The head of state- the president is elected directly for a five- year term . The President appoints the Prime Minister (approved by the Seimas), the Prime Minister appoints ministers, the chief military commander, also appionted by the courts, including the Constitutional Court judges. President of Lithuania form the foreign policy. Seimas

5. Flag • Lithuanian flag consists of three colors,which are arranged horizontally. Yellow stands for the sun,light and well-being, green- the natural beauty, freedom, hope, red- earth, courage, shed blood for the motherland.

6. Blazon • Lithuania blazon is Vytis. Armored knight with sword and shield – Vytis – one of the oldest blazon in Europe.

7. Anthem • The actual name of the Lithuanian anthem is „Tautiškagiesmė“. Its author include VincasKudirka(1858-1899). In 1919 „Tautiškagiesmė“ passed Lithuanian anthem.

8. Ethnic composition of the Lithuanian population • lithuanians– 84,1 % (2 561,3 mln.) • polishs – 6,6 % (200,3 thousand) • russians – 5,8 % (176,9 thousand) • belarusians – 1,2 % (36,2 thousand) • ukrainians – 0,5 % (16,4 thousand ) • jews – 0,1 % (3,1 thousand) • tatars– 0,1 % (2,8 thousand) • germans – 0,1 % (2,4 thousand) • romany – 0,1 % (2,1 thousand) • latvian – 0,1 % (2,0 thousand) • other nationalities

9. Languages • lithuanian – 82 % (2 855,8 thousand) • russian – 8 % (277,3 thousand) • polish – 5,6 % (195 thousand) • belarusian – 0,46 % (16 thousand) • ukrainian– 0,235 % (8,2 thousand) • other – 0,28 % (9,8 thousand)

10. Ethno-cultural regions of Lithuania • Ethno cultural regions of Lithuania- historically formed Lithuanian regions. Regions are defined according to cultural characteristics- traditions, traditional lifestyle, songs, stories... Part ethnographic regions limits the Lithuanian dialects limits.

11. Regions • Aukštaitija (capital is Panevėžys) • Dzūkija (capital is Alytus) • Suvalkija (capital is Marijampolė) • Žemaitija (capital is Telšiai) • Lithuania Minor (capital is Šilutė)

12. Aukštaitija • Aukštaitija is the largest ethnographic region of Lithuania. The name comes from the relatively high elevation of the region, particularly the eastern parts. The people mostly speak the Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian. Under the new classification of dialects Lithuanian is divided into just two dialects, Aukštaitian and Samogitian with all previous dialects being classified as sub dialects. The Sudovian and Dzukian dialects are also considered sub dialects of Aukštaitian now, therefore the specific sub dialect spoken in Aukštaitija is known as East Aukštaitian.

13. Clothes • Stylistically, the 19th century costume of Aukštaitija is considered the most archaic. Aukštaitija' women wore long linen shirts. These have retained old, quite primitive shape refereed to as a tunic with shoulders tabs. Shirts had red ornaments. Sleeves were mostly decorative, sewn with either cuffs or left wide open.

14. Dzūkija • Dzūkija or Dainava is ethnographic region of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population and has never been defined as a political or administrative unit. Traditionally, Alytus is regarded as the capital of the region, although it is not the largest city in Dzūkija. People in Dzūkija traditionally speak the Dzukian dialect (also known as South Aukštaitian), which is a sub-dialect of the Aukštaitian dialect. Same as elsewhere in Lithuania, the local dialects are dying out as people adopt the standard Lithuanian through schools and mass media.

15. Clothes • The Clothing of Dzūkija Traditional clothing was worn in many parts of Dzūkija longer than anywhere else in Lithuania, even into the first decades other twentieth century. Fancy dress worn by villagers varies greatly among the different parts of this region. The woven cloth of garments from Dzūkija is distinguished from that of other regions by its bright colors and smaller checkers and stripes.

16. Suvalkija • Suvalkija or Sudovia (Lithuanian: Sūduva or Suvalkija or Užnemunė) is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija are called suvalkiečiai (plural) or suvalkietis (singular). It is located south of the Neman River, in the former territory of Vilkaviškis bishopric. Historically, it is the newest ethnographic region as it’s most distinct characteristics and separate identity formed during the 19th century when the territory was part of Congress Poland.

17. Clothes • The latest surviving women’s shirts in Suvalkija date from the second half of the nineteenth century. They are usually sewn with white cut-work embroidery. There are also examples sewn with red and black cross-stitches. Shirts here are distinguishable from those of other regions by their wider, beautifully gathered sleeves and by the decorations’ outstanding precision.

18. Žemaitija • Samogitia or Žemaitija (Samogitian: Žemaitėjė; Lithuanian: Žemaitija; literally "lowlands") is ethnographic region of Lithuania. Žemaitija is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. Žemaitija has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian language, which is called by Lithuanians Žemaičiųtarmė.

19. Clothes • Traditional clothing from Žemaitija is often described by comparing it with the clothing of Aukštaitija and by seeing in it a certain stylistic opposition. The clothing's deep colors, dominated by the color red and the outfit's massiveness lends credence to this idea. The long linen shirts that women of Žemaitija wore were cut similarly to those of Aukštaitija. Red decorations were sometimes woven into the lower sleeves, cuffs, narrow collars, shirt's fasteners, sometimes - into the shoulder tabs. Decorative patterns from Žemaitija were geometric. They were of a delicate, rather simple structure often covering a given area like a web or a small group of stripes.

20. Lithuania Minor • Lithuania Minor (Lithuanian: MažojiLietuva) or Prussian Lithuania (Lithuanian: PrūsųLietuva) is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, later East Prussia in Germany, where Prussian Lithuanians or Lietuvininkailived.Today a small portion of Lithuania Minor is within the borders of modern Lithuania and Poland while most of the territory is part of the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia.

21. Lithuania Minor history • . Lithuania Minor enclosed the northern part of this province and got its name due to the territory's substantial Lithuanian-speaking population. Prior to the invasion of the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, the main part of the territory later known as Lithuania Minor was inhabited by the tribes of Skalvians and Nadruvians. The land became depopulated to some extent during the warfare between Lithuania and the Order. The war ended with the Treaty of Melno and the land was resettled by Lithuanian newcomers, returning refugees, and the remaining indigenous Baltic peoples; the term Lithuania Minor appeared for the first time between 1517 and 1526. With the exception of the Klaipėda Region, which became a mandated territory of the League of Nations in 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles and was annexed to Lithuania from 1923 to 1939, the area was part of Prussia until 1945.

22. Clothesin seventeen to eighteen century • Old clothing in Klaipėda, as described by writers in the seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries, was very colorful and decorative. However, few examples are left

23. Clothes in nineteen century • . In the second half of the nineteenth century, village clothing changed dramatically due to the influence of the religious movement. Seeking modesty, people started wearing dark colors and renounced colorful ornamental designs. The darkened clothing of Klaipėda is attractive in its unique elegance and its somewhat inventive transformation of urban fashions.

24. Sources • http://www.tautinispaveldas.lt/zemelapis/index.php?page=regionai • http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=7039&p_k=1 • http://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lietuva • „Vaikų enciklopedija apie Lietuvą“ Alma littera Vilnius/ 2008 • http://identitetas.mch.mii.lt/ • http://www.cepkeliai-dzukija.lt/ • http://www.grazitumano.lt/wiki/index.php/Kategorija:ŽEMAITIJA

25. The work created Elžbieta Žutautaitė ir Jorinta Ramanauskaitė 7a