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ESTONIA

Estonia offers variety and unique experience for foreign visitors. Estonians have been living in this tiny portion of the Baltic lands since approximately 2,500 B.C., making them the longest settled of the European peoples. Due to Estonia's strategic location as a link between East and West, it has been highly coveted through the ages by rapacious kings and conquerors.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Estonia was subjugated by the Teutonic knights. Their castles still dot the countryside, in varying states of eerie decay. By 1285, Tallinn was part of the Hanseatic League. Trading activities were dominated by the German merchant families which settled there, and successive generations of Germans built their manor houses across the country.

But the Germans were only the first of successive waves of conquerors. Danes, Swedes, Poles and Russians all swept across Estonia, setting up successive regimes, fortifying their towns and castles, and shipping their goods through Estonian ports.

In the late 19th century a powerful Estonian nationalist movement arose. Eventually, on 24 February 1918, Estonia declared its independence. Its period of independence was brief, however, and Estonia was forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. But in 1991 Estonians again reasserted their independence, and peacefully broke away from the Soviet Union.

LATVIA

After seven centuries of foreign domination, Latvia is once again independent and transforming herself into an economically vigorous democracy, ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

Although the country's history goes back 3,000 years, the people who lived in the five main regions of Latgale, Zemgale, Kurzeme, the Liv land and Selija, had no central government, though they were successful traders. But "crusading" Teutonic Knights of the Sword conquered them, founding Riga in 1201. From then until World War 1 Germans, Russians, Poles and Swedes fought for control of the territory and Latvian culture was suppressed. The predominant influences were Russian and German, with a 90-year interlude of beneficent rule under King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, which ended when he was defeated by Peter the Great in 1701. The Russian Czars appointed governors, but actually ruled through the German nobility, treating Latvians as serfs.

The largest of the three Baltic republics, Latvia has been an important trading center and strategic pawn in the Baltic region for centuries. The various Latvian tribes functioned under local self-government until the end of the 13th century when the German Teutonic Knights conquered the territory. Latvia was subject to sporadic invasions by the Poles and the Swedes until the 18th century when Russia, under Peter the Great, emerged as a major European power. By 1795, the entire Latvian territory was under Russian control. The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 heralded the end of the Russian Empire, which was decided at the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Under
this treaty, Russia was obliged to cede its Baltic territories. The Bolsheviks invaded Latvia the following year, but were driven out. The treaty of Versailles also forced the Germans to leave. That allowed the Latvians to assert their independence for the first time in over 600 years. In 1940, the Russians again took over, after which Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union.

The Russians were driven out by the Nazi invasion in 1941, but returned three years later. Campaigning for democracy and independence did not begin
in earnest until October 1988 with the formation of the Popular Front of Latvia. During the elections of the Supreme Soviet in March 1990, the Popular Front won a convincing victory by taking 131 of 201 seats. Latvia's independence was finally secured in August 1991 after the attempted coup in Moscow failed. Latvia's independence was quickly recognized internationally and the country was readmitted into the United Nations. At the end of July 1992, the Latvian rouble replaced the Soviet rouble. The Lat then replaced the Latvian rouble in October 1993. The government is pressing ahead with reforms to introduce a market economy and encourage foreign investment.

LITHUANIA

Nature has been generous to Lithuania. Although there are no mountains or great forests, the country's beauty lies in the diversity of its landscape. This is a place of rolling hills and gentle plains; of quietly flowing rivers and of lakes which reflect the blueness of the sky. The largest river, the Nemunas, gathers and carries the waters of many tributaries to the Baltic Sea, wherein lies Lithuania's famous "amber coast". Called the Curonian Spit, it is a sixty mile-long bank of sand dunes and pine trees which stretches from the southwest to the seaport of Klaipëda and encloses the vast Curonian Lagoon. For centuries, amber, Lithuania's precious harvest
of the sea, has been washed onto these golden sands.

The earliest known mention of the name "Lithuania" is found in the German (Teutonic) chronicles of 1009. Lithuania emerged as a larger state in the middle of the 13th century through a union of Baltic territories with Mindaugas becoming the state's first Grand Duke. The country, however, did not adopt Christianity until 1387 and was, for the most part, under constant military attack by the Germanic Livonian and Teutonic Orders for the first 200 years of its existence as a united territory. Not only did the Teutonic and Livonian Orders fail to conquer Lithuania, but by the end of the 14th century Lithuania became one of the most powerful states in eastern Europe. In 1410, a joint Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Tartar and Czech army under the leadership of Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas crushed the Teutonic Order
once and for all at the battle ofxalgiris (Tannenberg or Grunwald). The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was also responsible for keeping the Golden Horde from invading western Europe.

In the recent past, Lithuania was one of the first republics to break away from the Soviet Union at the time of its collapse in 1991. It was around this time that the modern Lithuanian flag was first hoisted up the historical Gediminas Tower in Vilnius symbolizing the reinstatement of Lithuanian statehood.

Today, Lithuania is an independent democratic republic. It has an elected President as the head of state and an elected parliament called the Seimas. Both the government and the Supreme Court are appointed. The division of power is guaranteed by the Constitution, which was adopted by national referendum in 1992.

BALTIC VACATIONS

Amber Museum in Palanga Palanga This resort on the shores of the Baltic Sea in north western Lithuania is noted for its various treatments. Palanga has a variety of balneological and mud treatment facilities. It is also a pleasant and interesting place to stay.

Archeological sites dated from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC testify that this part of the Baltic coast has been inhabited since prehistoric Neolithic times. Palanga eventually became an important centre for trade, especially of amber, and was well known to Hanseatic merchants. Over time, as its
trading significance declined, the town developed into a resort. Palanga is packed with architectural and historical monuments, and its local Amber Museum houses a unique and rich collection of natural amber and amber artifacts.

Birxtonas - This resort town on a loop of the Nemunas river in central Lithuania is situated in a most lovely natural setting, which has been developed with much care and sensitivity. The resort offers therapy and recreation year-round.

Druskininkai - Situated in southern Lithuania on the right bank of the Nemunas river, the resort of Druskininkai has been shaped by nature itself. The surrounding pine forests, the picturesque valleys of the Nemunas and its tributary the Ratnyèia river, lake Druskonis located right in the centre of town, and a small lake called Mergelës Akys (or maiden's eyes) in a nearby forest, all contribute to what makes the town special. Druskininkai houses a memorial museum to painter and composer M. K. Èiurlionis (1875-1911), who once lived there.

PARKS
Five national parks have been established in various regions of Lithuania for the protection and study of the country's diverse natural, cultural and historical heritage. Agricultural and recreational activities are restricted within their boundaries as the parks are administered according to a specifically designed program. They are, however, open to visitors.

Aukxtaitija andxemaitija National Parks feature moraine hills, uplands and strings of lakes created by the Ice Age.

Dzûkija National Park is a conservation area protecting plains and valleys,
rivers, forests and inland dunes.

Trakai Historical National Park encompasses the medieval capital of Lithuania and its surrounding lakes and majestic countryside. The largest lake, Galvë, is distinguished by a red brick castle fortress built in the 14th and 15th centuries on an island and seems to rise straight out of the water. Ever since the 15th century, Trakai has been the home of a small Karaite community, which has succeeded in preserving its own religion, customs and culture within Lithuania.

The Curonian Spit National Park protects the unique sand spit which encloses Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic. Its long ridge of white sand dunes were formed by wind and water and is home to rare species flora and fauna. The dunes conceal old villages now buried beneath their sands, but there are several modern fishermen's settlements on the shores of the lagoon. These settlements are built in an architectural style unique to this coast and a legacy left by the ethnic Curonian Balts who lived here until the end of the 16th century. There are 30 regional parks in Lithuania. Agricultural activity in these 
areas are controlled by environmental protection agencies. They are ideal for recreation and walks at any time of the year. Many of the parks protect small hills and sacred forests once an integrated part of pagan life in Lithuania.

FOLKLORE AND  ETHNIC TRADITIONS

Most written folklore dates back to medieval times. The three main branches of written folklore are songs, narration and sayings. Of these, songs are the most numerous and the most important covering a wide range of subjects of concern to ordinary people at the time of their creation. Whether about mythology, rites, history, military battles, weddings, children, or just simply work, these songs best reflect the character of Lithuanian folklore.

Traditional Lithuanian folk architecture constitutes a unique part of north-eastern European folk architecture. Not only did it influence architecture in other territories populated by Lithuanians such as Lithuania Minor, West Belarus and north-eastern Poland, but it also shares many common features with Latvian, Western Belorussian and Polish (Mazovian) folk architecture. Characteristic features of towns and villages include a central square and a regular network of streets, while trees and shrubs are used in a way to create harmony with the local environment.

The main characteristics of folk art are simple shapes, clear composition, symmetrical patterns and moderate colors. Before industrialization, the everyday use of applied and decorative arts was widespread in being applied to fabrics, ceramics, wood carvings, metalwork and amber ornaments. The most popular designs were made up of stylized geometrical patterns, floral and animal shapes, and small suns.

Decorative Easter eggs - marguèiai - still constitute a very special and popular type of Lithuanian folk art. Still today, the Easter eggs are normally either engraved with a sharp tool or given patterns by the application of bees wax. Even more skilled were the depictions of Biblical scenes by the peasantry. Skilled local craftsmen also carved wooden statues of the Christ of Sorrows - the so-called Rûpintojëlis - which were attached to outdoor crosses or placed in miniature outdoor chapels. Works of folk art created in the spirit of these old traditions are continued to be made by Lithuanian craftsmen which are possible to find on sale in shops and at fairs during festivals.

An open-air Country Life Museum was established at Rumxixkës in 1966 in order to help preserve and research the past ways of living. Entire buildings and artifacts from towns, villages and farmsteads from all over Lithuania have been brought to this place and reassembled. They date from the second half of the 18th to the first half of the 20th century and are well worth seeing. The museum also stages folk song, folk dance and other ethnic events. It is located 18 km east of Kaunas between the Kaunas-Vilnius motor way and the Kaunas Basin.