Lithuanian Jews are Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: (present-day Belarus, Lithuania and the northeastern Suwałki region of Poland). Lithuania was historically home to a large and influential Jewish community that was almost entirely eliminated during the Holocaust: see Holocaust in Lithuania. Before World War II there were over 110 synagogues and 10 yeshivas in Vilnius. Before World War II, the Lithuanian Jewish population was some 160,000, about 7% of the total population. Vilnius (then Wilno in the Second Polish Republic) had a Jewish community of nearly 100,000, about 45% of the city's total. About 4,000 Jews were counted in Lithuania during the 2005 census.There are still strong communities of Jews of Lithuanian descent around the world, especially in Israel, the United States, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia.
Vilnius has been known as the city of churches since olden times, several dozens of them can be found in the Old Town alone. Almost every style of architecture can be found in the churches and shrines of other religions in the city: gothic, renaissance, baroque and classicism.The Cathedral of Vilnius is the most important piece of 18th-century classical architecture from which we invite you to start the tour.
Lithuania has the smallest coastline of the Baltic countries, but what a coastline it is! Here you will find some of the region's most unique and stunning areas of coastal beauty. The Curonian Spit is the ultimate holiday destination for those looking for peace and quiet. Long stretches of white sandy beaches backed by some of the highest sand dunes in Europe, flanked on one side by the Curonian lagoon and on the other, the Baltic Sea. Pretty fishing villages with their colourful wooden houses and flower displays, are hidden by the surrounding pine trees and make ideal places to stay for rest and relaxation. This is a nature lovers paradise, where moose, wild boar and foxes roam the forests.
