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MusicThe professional music appeared in the Grand Duchy o f Lithua nia as soon as theChristianity was adopted. Later, in the 16-17th century Vilnius wa s a very impo rtant centerof culture and science no t onl y in th e Gra nd Duchy of Lithuania, but also in all EasternEurope. Many musical activities like church choirs, orchestras, even Italian operas cameinto play then already. As the Grand Duchy of Lithu ania was a multinatio nal country, the

greatest part of the musicians and composers were invited from foreign countries, thusLithuanians could meet the professional techniques and methodology of musicalperformance and creation.In the 19th c entury rud iments of Lithuanian music traditions appeared when the famousartist, composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas ! iurlionis (1875-1911) as anexce ption among old fashioned artists evidenced in Lithuanian art history. Nowadays theartist is cons idered to be the former of traditional Lithuanian modern music, his w orks lik esymphonic poems Sea and In the Forest d elight listeners till nowadays. Th e genius of! iurlionis manifested in his creation as he used his own inside music techniques inpainting and vise versa.During the Independence of Lithuania (1918-1940) most composers created in a lateromanticism style using some elements of Lithuanian national folklore music. The leader ofthat generation of creators was Juozas Gruodis (1884-1948), also one of the mostimportant gures in Lithuanian music history. In fact, the most famous composers of the20th century were his pupils. In addition to this, the composer J. Gruodis was the rstmusician in Lithuanian history who revealed the unique tune of Lithuanian glees andstarted implementing themes of glees into Lithuanian musical world. However, as soon assoviets occupied Lithuania, the spread of development of Lithuanian professional musicwas stopped. Music as well as the whole cultural and casual life was ruled by sovietgovernment under strict control of censor. Despite that, contacts with the western culturedid not discontinued as Lithuanian composers positively participated in Polish music

festivals. That was the only one entrance to the West for them. The vivid modernization ofmusic in Lithuania started in the 7th decade, in the 8th decade the individual styles ofcreation appeared, new tendencies of minimalism and simplicity were discovered. The 9thdecade was the time for new generation of composers. Then the machine, sharp, evenaggressive sounds appeared in the music of Lithuanian authors. More modern, more free,more unexpected ways of creation appeared in natural stimulus of mediating life.A few of the most important historical gures in Lithuanian music history are: Mikalojus Konstantinas ! iurlionis, composer Juozas Gruodis, composer

Folk musicLithuanian folk music belongs to Baltic music branch which is connected with neolithic corded ware culture. In Lithuanian territory meets two musical cultures: stringed ( kankli #)and wind instrument cultures. These instrumental cultures probably formed vocaltraditions. Lithuanian folk music is archaic, mostly used for ritual purposes, containingelements of paganism faith. .

Rock and popular musicThe Communist government of the Lithuanian SSR criticized rock music , which wasconsidered a decadent and corrupting cultural invasion from the West.In the 1980s, rock bands Foje , Antis , and Bix made a big impact in Lithuania. In 1987,1988 and 1989 Lithuania saw several big rock festivals, such as Roko Mar $as (RockMarch). Roko Mar $as was connected to the ideology of S% j&dis .

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CinemaAfter the Second World War the development of Lithuanian cinema was stopped as thewhole process was controlled by soviet government. Cinema theaters were lled with thepropaganda soviet lms. Lithuanian cinematographs were under strict control as only thesoviet chronicles could be created and shifted to the big screens. Then the rst lm whichwas advertised as an original Lithuanian was Maryt ' (1947), but it had nothing incommon with Lithuania it was a production of Moscow lm studio Moslm and only thelandscape and names of the main heroes were of Lithuanian orign.The actors and director were Russians and the main purposes of this and later similarlms was to spread the soviet idealism. Luckily, as soon as Stalin died in 1953, thecircumstances got softer so the rst strong generations of Lithuanian cinematographscould act more various. The main lm thematic then was the after war life in villages insoviet Lithuania and the still alive ghts between patriots and procommunists. Of course, the Lithuanian nationalism lightly penetrated into the cinema art then and the only concernthey had to worry about then was to overcome the censor and to pursuit the commissionthat scenario was worth to be nanced.Later, in years of Regeneration, the situation changed. There was no more censor as wellas no more nancing. Despite the nancial difculties the real new competitors appearedas more new artists wanted to realize their cinematographic ideas. So the new generationof cinematographs worked under pretty tough conditions. These conditions grown manytalented people who created small budget but great artistry lms.A few of the most important nowadays gures in Lithuanian cinematography are: ( ar&nas Bartas, director Janina Lapinskait ' , director Jonas Mekas, cinematographer and poet

Dance

The really deep and rich Lithuanian dance heritage formatted the nowadays dancingculture which is characterized by inward emotional energy. Typical Lithuanian dance has amusic of moderate tempo, symmetric jumps of not very large interval. The most famouspaired Lithuanian dances are polkas, grinders, dances named ( okin ' kit,berniukai (Jump, Boys), Ki $kelis (The Bunny), Pjoviau $ien % ( Cut the Hay) and so on. The main movements and steps do not differ much from those of neighboring countries,however, Lithuanian folk dance owns a unique character.Nowadays not only the folk dance, but also modern dance and ballet are very popular inLithuania. The most famous club of sport dance is ) uv ' dra which 4 times becameEuropean and 4 times World champion. Well known young artists like Egl ' ( pokait ' ,And*elika Cholina, Nerijus Ju $ka, Gytis Ivanauskas are the people who create thenowadays Lithuanian dance. Despite the fact that art is not well supported by government,they try to do their best as they know that art is supported and upheld by society.

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CuisineCepelinai . The king of Lithuanian national food is a cepelinai - dish from potatoes, oval,tasty and pretty fat. Cooking perfect cepelinai requires experience and patience, but theresult is worth the hardest attempt.Kugelis is a well loved Lithuanian dish, which is pretty easy and cheap to cook. Warm,avorful and uffy dish delights everyone.

Potato Sausage is an extravagant Lithuanian dish of the category "How can they eatthat?". Various nations have something untraditional - some eat frogs, others eat worms.Lithuanians eat simple stuffed cleaned pig guts.Cold Beetroot Soup is a dish best when it is hot outside. Soup not only refreshes, butlightly satiates too. You will not surfeit and will be full of energy after dinner.Stuffed Cabbages are not only extremely delicious, but also improve the mood andatmosphere at home. Dish name "baland ' liai" means little doves so the good temper ofeating pretty birdies is guaranteed.

Architecture

Hill Of CrossesAlmost each and every country has a pilgrimage center that is the central hub for manycenturies. In Lithuania one of the most important pilgrimage centers is the Hill of Crosses.It is a depiction of Christianity and literally looks like its` name suggests - it really is a hill ofcrosses.Only 12 km North from ( iauliai city this amazing hill lies. The Hill of Crosses glories thefaith that people have in Christianity. Crosses put there are not by Lithuanians alone, butby people from all over the world. Dimensions of the ( iauliai Hill of Crosses aredetermined to be nearly 60 meters long and nearly 40 to 50 meters in its width. In fact, cross crafting is a unique Lithuanian art branch known as an important part of Lithuanian

culture. The kind of craft is even included into the list of Masterpieces of the Oral andIntangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The origin of these thousands of crosses here still remains a mystery, though most peoplebelieve it must have occurred after the uprising and rebellion in the year 1831, whenpeople fought against the then ruling Tsarist government which did not respect their wishesof honoring their God. After another uprising in the year 1863, the popularity of the crossesincreased and they also became more numerous in their overall total number.

Trakai CastleThe historical capital of Lithuania is Trakai which is otherwise known as the town of lakes.Trakai town owns a unique castle which is the only one of its type in the entire EasternEurope. The castle is surrounded by waters on all four sides and is called the Trakai IslandCastle. Though co nstructed in 1410 just after the famous Battle of Grnenwald as adefense fortress, it was turned into a residence of Grand Dukes of Lithuania Vytautas andK+stutis. Later on, t he Trakai Island Castle was used as a prison. At these times, however,it was almost completely neglected.The Trakai Island Castle today is the hub where plenty of concerts, events and festivalsare held.

Country side

Kernav ' is a unique Lithuanian 5 mounds complex in Baltic states. It reveals the olddisappea red culture, civilization and the most important periods of Lithuanian history. The

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town was included into UNESCO World Heritage list in 1994 and nowadays is a marvelousLithuanian corner where visitors are able to feel the power of past in this vicinity.The rst mention of Kernav ' was made in 1279. Then it was a feudal settlement dedicatedto be the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lithuania was only formatting then soKernav ' settlement was the main political and economical center of the region. However,in 1390 Kernav ' was totally destroyed by the Teutonic Order. The remains of the city werethen covered in an aluvian earth layer and that luckily helped to save invaluablearcheological relics. Thats why 30 years already intensive archeological investigations areset up there. Kernav ' is rich in secrets to be revealed. Archeologists sometimes callKernav ' the Troy of Lithuania as the oldest known medgrinda which is a secretunderwater road was found in here. In fact, Kerna v' was the last existing sanctum place ofpagans in Europe.

Activities

Klaipeda Sea FestivalThere is time once a year when Klaip ' da, the only one Lithuanian sea harbor, extremelychanges its face and becomes a place vibrant with action and energy. It is an annual SeaFestival time when people (nearly half a million in total) from all over Lithuania as well asfrom foreign countries come here and enjoy a few days lasting non-stop celebration.The Sea Festival was arranged for the rst time in 1934. Perhaps organizers of the festivalthen did not even imagine it will become such an old and valuable tradition attractingthousands of people from far away. Then the main purpose of the festival was tostrengthen an image of the city and all Lithuania as a marine country. Then the so calledGreat Day of Sea attracted more than a 100 thousand people. Klaip ' da city had neverseen such an amount of guests these times before. Streets were absolutely full, ships

packed. People then did not nd a place to sleep so they simply spent a night outside. Inlater years organizing aspects were perfectly implemented as organizers prepared for thefestival very well . The Sea Festival became an event of national importance. Every yearthe same good traditions of procession, song and dance performances, traditionalcompetitions of water sports, an outside trading market ourished and developed.

Song and Dance CelebrationThe Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration (Dain # $vent ' ) is an undoubtedly signicantLithuanian cultural tradition when the human self-expression, love and solidarity for thehomeland create the unforgettable event where thousands are able to participate in, andwhich attracts visitors from all over the world , especially Lithuanian emigrants to comeback home at least for one magnicent week. The Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebrationis a national level occasion which is even included into the UNESCO World Heritage list asto be an accredited world-line cultural worth.The main concerts of Lithuanian Song andDance Celebration are held on the huge stage in Vingis park.

Museum of The Genocide VictimsLithuania has faced a lot of historic trials during its national existence. One of the mostdamaging and painful experiences was the Soviet Occupation in 1940-1990 when theLithuanian independence, sovereignty and political system was inhumanly despoiled bythe Soviet military forces. In order to mention those who suffered during the occupationand to collect the documents and other materials that tell the cruel historic truth about thegenocide against the Lithuanian inhabitants, the Museum of Genocide Victims was set upin 1992.

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