#698 Vilnius, Lithuania

Panevėžys is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied 52 square kilometres (20 sq mi) with 113,653 inhabitants.

The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys, Cido Arena, hosted the Eurobasket 2011 group matches.

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Thank you, Ilona !

Sent on: July 21, 2014

Received on: July 23, 07

#696 Vilnius, Lithuania

Klaipėda (German: Memel) is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Danė River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.

The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the Port of Klaipėda, a usually ice-free port on the Baltic Sea, and the Akmena – Danė River. It has been controlled by the Teutonic Knights, the Duchy of Prussia, the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, the Entente States immediately after World War I, Lithuania as a result of the 1923 Klaipėda Revolt, and the Third Reich following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. The city was incorporated into Lithuania during its tenure as a Soviet Socialist Republic and has remained within Lithuania following its re-establishment as an independent state.

The population shrank from 207,100 in 1992 to 157,350 in 2014. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Nida to the south on the Curonian Spit, and Palanga to the north.

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Thank you, Ilona !

Sent on: July 21, 2014

Received on: July 23, 2014

#695 Vilnius, Lithuania

Telšiai is a city in Lithuania with about 30,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis.

Telšiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania, probably dating earlier than the 14th century. Between the 15th and 20th centuries, Telšiai became a district capital and between 1795 and 1802 it was included in the Vilnius region. In 1873, Telšiai was transferred to the Kaunas region.

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Thank you, Ilona !

Sent on: July 21, 2014

Received on: July 23, 2014

#694 Vilnius, Lithuania

Druskininkai is a spa town on the Neman River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a population of 18,233 (2001 Census) and dates back as a spa resort to the 19th century.

Wikipedia.org 

Pic #4 - Saint Mary's Church

Pic #6 - Joy of all who Sorrow Church is an Orthodox church in Druskininkai, Lithuania.

 The church was built in 1865, after Druskininkai become a highly popular spa town visited by many wealthy Russians. The vice-governor of Grodno, Yakov Rozhnov, announced a collection of funds in the whole country. Among the contributors, there was the granddaughter of general Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, Iekaterina, who offered the sum needed for the construction of the iconostasis. Rozhnov himself also donated ten thousand rubles. The church was built between 1861 and 1865. Up from 1890, the Orthodox parish in Druskininkai also ran a school for girls of different confessions.

In 1915, when World War I started, most of the Russian Orthodox inhabitants of Druskininkai left the town. However, after the Vilnius region was annexed by Poland, the town - and so the parish - become a local center of White Russian emigration. Because of that, the church was closed in 1944, after Red Army entered Druskininkai. At this time there was around 350 Orthodox Christians in Druskininkai and the Soviet government agreed to reopen the parish in 1947. In addition, ten years later, the church was renovated. It still houses a parish, although the number of the parishioners has been falling since the 1970s.

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Thank you, Ilona !

Sent on: July 21, 2014

Received on: July 23, 2014

#136 Klaipeda, Lithuania | LT-241275

Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarusto the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 3.2 million as of 2011, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The Lithuanians are a Baltic people, and the official language, Lithuanian, is one of only two living languages (together with Latvian) in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.

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Thank you, Dalia (Lituana) !

Received on: September 29, 2012

Travel time: 8 days

Distance: 439 km (273 miles)