Lithuania

16 June 2011

The Vilnius cathedral was built on the site of a destroyed pagan temple in the 1200s, and has been rebuilt many times over the centuries. Most Lithuanians are Catholics, but some had a curious pride in being one of the last European areas to convert.

I saw flags at half mast on June 14, 2011 to mark the 70th anniversary of the day the Soviet Union, having just occupied Lithuania, began to ship many tens of thousands of Lithuanians to remote work camps in Siberia.

In the 1400s Lithuania was the largest country in Europe!