Travel information, Central Europe and Lithuania
Historical Lithuania
The complex and varied history of Lithuania has meant that there are many influences which can still be seen today both in the buildings and the culture of the country. This means that there are many interesting and beautiful places to visit in order to help to understand Lithuania and its people. With far too many sites to list in entirety, here are just five to whet your appetitie. [Read more...]
Lithuanian culture includes a long musical tradition in both folk and classical genres.
Folk Music
Sutartines are unique Lithuanian examples of traditional music dating back hundreds of years. These usually take the form of two or three part polyphonic forms with simple melodies. Originally these would have been sung by women, particularly in the North-Western part of Lithuania with instrumental versions played by men. Expressive and with clear rhythms (typically syncopated) these songs were performed at social occasions such as weddings. A lot of the Sutartine repertoire was written down in the 19th and 20th centuries and are still performed by Lithuanian Folk groups today.
Lithuanian folk songs also include references to wars throughout their history. Documents from the 16th century refer to songs about the heroic deeds of those who fell against the Teutonic Knights. There are also many religious songs associated with particular festivals such as Easter and Christmas.
Another popular form of Lithuanian folk music is that of Work Songs. Some of these appear to be of great age and the rhythms of some are even suggestive of the rhythm of the work being done as they are sung. There are herding songs, often sung by children and though to be a way of calming the animals. Haymaking and harvesting songs, milling and spinning songs and even laundry songs have been recorded.
Instrumental dance music is also an important part of Lithuanian culture, performed using a variety of instruments including violins, clarinets and accordions. If visiting Lithuania look out for its many folk festivals held throughout the year.
Classical Music
Perhaps Lithuania’s best known composer is Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis. Born in 1875 in Varena, Ciurlionis studied piano and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory followed by a spell at the Leipzig Conservatory. Although he died in 1911 aged only 35 in 1911, his body of work includes around 200 pieces of music including th symphonic poems, “In the Forest” and “The Sea” both of which were first performed posthumously.
Vytautas Miskinis, born 1954, is a popular Lithuanian composer and choir director who has written more than 400 secular and 150 religious works.
Kaunas is today Lithuania’s second largest city and, like Vilnius, it has a long and varied history.
In 1408, Kaunas became a city with a charter granted by Vytautas the Great.
In 1441, after the signing of the Hansa agreement, Hanseatic Merchants established an office in Kaunas which was to remain active until 1532. The wealth brought into the city plus the cultural advances of the European renaissance meant great expansion and prosperity to Kaunas and by the end of the 1500s it had a school and a public hospital.
The 17th and 18th centuries, however brought hardship and hostility to Kaunas caused by both political and environmental problems. The city was attacked by the Russian army in 1655 and in the aftermath of this was to experience two epidemics of bubonic plague in 1657 and 1708. Later, in 1731 and 1732, great fires brought widespread destruction to Kaunas.
The city had rallied somewhat by the end of the 18th century but this good fortune was not to last and 1812 saw Napoleon I’s army cross the Nemunas River in Kaunas on their way to Russia wreaking havoc along the way.
It was the industrial revolution which was to help Kaunas back onto a more prosperous path with engineering achievements such as the building of the Oginsky canal which connected the Nemunas and Dnieper rivers as well as the introduction of the railway linking the Russian Empire with Germany in 1862.
The expansion of Kaunas was interrupted by World War I when it lost its independence until 1919. Due to the occupation of Vilnius by the Russians that year, the Lithuanian State Council and Cabinet of Ministers moved to Kaunas and the following year it temporarily became the country’s capital when the national parliament gathered there. The period between the two world wars saw rapid economic and industrial growth to Kaunas with buses appearing on the streets in 1924 and plumbing being installed to most buildings in 1928.
Again the good times were short lived as World War II brought more devastation to Kaunas and the subsequent Soviet occupation led to oppression of the Lithuanian people. Since independence was finally achieved in 1991, many monuments and museums have been restored which along side the universities art galleries and theatres make Kaunas a fascinating destination and a vibrant home to its population of around 400,000.