Lithuania for Overseas Travel: Over 100,000 Symbols of Hope Infused with a Spirit of Resistance, the Hill of Crosses! Trivia about how they were torn down by the Soviet government to eradicate religion and destroy national consciousness, only to be rebuilt anew☦️ An in-depth look at the country, including castles built for defense and residence, characterized by red-brick Gothic architecture and appearances that shimmer on the water's surface🏰🕊🏺ဗီူ

Understand Lithuania in just 1 article
The ultimate structured information summary guide🇱🇹

1. Features

① Time, Currency, Climate⏰💸🌞

・There are no direct flights and flight time, including transfers, is at least about 13-15 hours・The time difference from Japan is 7 hours
during standard time. During daylight saving time (last Sunday of March to last Sunday of October), it is 6 hours

・1 Euro = approx. 183.8 Yen
・A country with great cost-performance that maintains quality equivalent to advanced European nations while keeping prices reasonable

・A transition type from maritime climate to continental climate, characterized by distinct four seasons, with a short summer and long winter

② Culture🕊🏺⸝ဗီူ⸜

・Traces of Paganism → Baltic ancient beliefs (nature worship) live on. Religion is forests (sacred sites), water (source of life), fire (household guardian deity) as its foundation

・Kaziukas Fair → Commemorating patron saint Casimir, hundreds of stalls line the streets, where you can enjoy handicrafts (artisan amber, dried flower arrangements 'Verba', and pottery) and flavors with your five senses

・Baltic Way → August 23, 1989, a peaceful protest where about 2 million people in the Baltic states, which were under Soviet rule, held hands and called for independence across more than 600 km of territory in a demonstration of unity

③ Cuisine

☆Simple and hearty home cooking using potatoes (staple food), rye (black bread), dairy products, and pork, suitable for the cold climate

・Cepelinai →grated potato dough wrapping meatballs that are boiled, characterized by a chewy texture and an airship-like oval shape

・Kibinai → Trakai region Karaite ethnic minority traditional dish. Crispy buttery pastry filled with juicy meat broth snack

④Souvenirs🎂🧡🍎

・Sakotis → Baumkuchen resembling, a cake that is baked over charcoal in many layers, where the batter drips while being stacked, creating a spiky tree-like shape (branches) as it is baked into a cake

・Amber → Fossilized tree resin from about 50 million years ago. It contains a lot of succinic acid and comes in over 250 colors, including the classic honey color, milky white, red, and green

・Apple cheese → apples that are boiled down and dried, a dairy-free fruit confection. It has a sticky texture similar to yokan or dried fruit, and a rich sweet and sour taste

2. Tourist spots

Capital: Vilnius

① Hill of Crosses ☦️

[Features]

・A Catholic pilgrimage site where over 100,000 crosses stand across the entire hill, which was also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

・Over 100,000 crosses → a spirit of resistance imbued, ranging from huge crosses to small rosaries (Catholic Church prayer bead-like religious items)

・Rosaries swaying in the wind, clacking, tinkling sounds echoing, or in winter snow covered, silence enveloped very sacred atmosphere

[In-depth Trivia]

・Since the 1831 uprising against the Russian Empire (a mass rebellion by many people all at once against authority or rulers), they have been continuously erected as symbols of hope for the peace, faith, and independence of the Lithuanian people.

・the Soviet government in 1961 in just one night, over 5,000 crosses were toppled and completely leveled to flat, bare ground, but by evading the soldiers' surveillance, they slipped past and in the middle of the night began erecting new crosses again

・The Soviet Union's purpose for tearing down the crosses → two national goals: the eradication of religion (viewed as something that clouds people's vision and reason) and the destruction of the Lithuanian national consciousness (meaning that their continued standing = a silent protest against the Soviet Union that continues to this day).

② Trakai Island Castle 🏰

[Features]

・14th centurybuiltconstructedared brickinGothic styleandwater surfaceinreflectingabeautiful appearancecastle characterized by. At the timeit wasadrawbridgeonly accessible byimpregnableafortress

[In-depth Trivia]

・Red brick → In the Baltic coastal region, building materials suitable for high-quality stone (limestone or marble, etc.) were scarce, so clay, which was abundant in the surrounding area, was used to fire bricks and utilize them as construction material.

・Baroque style → Pointed arch (heavy brick's load efficiently distributed), rib vault (ceiling's framework protruding structure. Ceiling high, effect of making it look spacious), stained glass

・Practicality → Duke Kęstutis (14th-century medieval Lithuania's valiant co-ruler) built it for defensive purposes (to protect the country from the Teutonic Knights), and later it functioned as the residence of Vytautas the Great (who boasted vast territories extending from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea).residence functioned functioned