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Family roots

Discover your Lithuanian roots

A green, lake-filled land on the Baltic Sea with a baroque capital, island castles, tall sand dunes and one of the oldest-sounding languages in Europe.

Lithuania is one of the three Baltic states, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It is a low country of fields, forests and more than 3,000 lakes, smoothed by the glaciers of the last ice age. Its short coast includes half of the Curonian Spit, a thin strip of sand dunes that runs south towards Kaliningrad.

Baltic tribes lived here for thousands of years. Mindaugas united the Lithuanian lands and was crowned king in 1253, and by the end of the 14th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. From 1569 it shared a Commonwealth with Poland, until its neighbours divided that state in 1795 and most of Lithuania passed to the Russian Empire.

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

  1. Which town or region of Lithuania did our family come from? Was it near Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai?
  2. Who was the first in the family to leave Lithuania, when, and why?
  3. Which dishes from Lithuania were cooked at home? Did anyone make Cepelinai (potato zeppelins) or Šaltibarščiai (cold pink beet soup)?
  4. Does anyone in the family still speak Lithuanian, or use a few words of it?
  5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Lithuania that the family kept?
  6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Lithuania? Who has them?
  7. If you could visit Lithuania together, where would you go first?

A short history of Lithuania

Lithuania's story runs from pagan Baltic tribes and a crowned king, through a grand duchy that stretched towards the Black Sea and a long union with Poland, to more than a century under Russian rule, two declarations of independence and a peaceful chain of two million people.

  1. 1009

    Lithuania first named

    The name of Lithuania appears in writing for the first time, as 'Litua', in the Annals of Quedlinburg. The entry tells the story of the missionary Saint Bruno.

  2. 1253

    Mindaugas crowned king

    Mindaugas, who had united most of the Lithuanian lands, was crowned the Catholic King of Lithuania. He is the only king Lithuania ever had, and 6 July, the traditional coronation date, is Statehood Day.

  3. 1387

    Lithuania adopts Christianity

    Grand Duke Jogaila, now also King of Poland, began the official conversion of Lithuania to Catholic Christianity. Lithuania is often described as the last pagan country in Europe.

  4. 1569

    Union of Lublin

    Poland and Lithuania joined into one Commonwealth with a single elected monarch and a common parliament. It was one of the largest countries in Europe at the time.

  5. 1904

    Press ban lifted

    For about 40 years the Russian Empire had banned Lithuanian books printed in the Latin alphabet. Book smugglers carried them in from abroad, and on 24 April 1904 the ban was finally lifted.

  6. 1940

    Soviet occupation

    Lithuania accepted a Soviet ultimatum and was occupied and turned into a Soviet republic. After German occupation from 1941, Soviet rule returned in 1944, with deportations and years of armed resistance.

  7. 1990

    Independence restored

    On 11 March the Supreme Council declared Lithuania's independence restored. It was the first of the 15 Soviet republics to do so, and it survived a Soviet economic blockade that lasted 74 days.

  8. 2004

    Lithuania joins NATO and the EU

    Lithuania became a member of NATO in March and a full member of the European Union on 1 May 2004. It later joined the Schengen area in 2007 and the eurozone in 2015.

Family recipes to cook together

CepelinaiCepelinai (potato zeppelins) 1 h 30 min · serves 4Cold beet soupŠaltibarščiai (cold pink beet soup) 30 min · serves 4KugelisKugelis (potato bake) 1 h 40 min · serves 6Kepta duona (fried garlic bread)Kepta duona (fried garlic bread) 15 min · serves 4TinginysTinginys (lazy man's cake) 20 min · serves 8

Lithuanian words to teach the grandchildren

Basics

  • labasLAH-bahshi, hello
  • ačiūAH-choothank you
  • taipTAYPyes
  • neNEHno
  • prašauprah-SHOWplease, or you're welcome

Food and drink

  • duonaDWOH-nahbread
  • alusah-LOOSbeer
  • vanduovahn-DWOHwater
  • sūrisSOO-rischeese
  • pienasPYEH-nahsmilk
  • sriubasryoo-BAHsoup
  • bulvėBOOL-vehpotato

Towns and regions

  • Vilnius, Vilnius County: Gediminas's Tower on Castle Hill, The Gate of Dawn chapel.
  • Kaunas, Kaunas County: Interwar modernist architecture, Žalgiris basketball club.
  • Klaipėda, Klaipėda County: Its usually ice-free port, The Curonian Spit, just across the strait.
  • Šiauliai, Šiauliai County: The Hill of Crosses nearby, Its history of leather making.
  • Panevėžys, Panevėžys County: The Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre, Its gateway to Aukštaitija.
  • Alytus, Alytus County: The Nemunas river, Forests full of mushrooms and berries.
  • Trakai, Vilnius County: Trakai Island Castle on Lake Galvė, Kibinai pastries of the Karaite community.
  • Palanga, Klaipėda County: The Palanga Amber Museum, Its botanical park.
  • Nida, Klaipėda County: The Parnidis Dune and its giant sundial, Thomas Mann's summer house.
  • Druskininkai, Alytus County: Mineral spas, The Snow Arena indoor ski slope.

A heritage evening with the family

Cook one of the recipes, print the large-print pack about Lithuania, and finish with the big-screen quiz or the words crossword. Grandchildren can colour the flag.

More about Lithuania