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Lithuania - history

Vilnius

Lithuania was first mentioned in a medieval German manuscript in 1009. The country gradually grew more powerful and by the end of the 14th century it was the largest in Europe. Lithuania accepted Christianity in 1386 and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was crowned King of Poland. The alliance of Lithuania and Poland was a lasting one. The partition of the Commonwealth in 1795 led to the incorporation of more than 90 % of Lithuania into the Russian Empire and the rest into Prussia. Lithuania restored its independence only in 1918. In 1940 the country was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union. The German occupation followed a year later. In 1944 Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union again. In 1990 Lithuania proclaimed its independence.