Welcome to Lithuania, the southernmost of the Baltic countries!
Subdivisions
Lithuania is divided into 10 counties, also known as apskritys:
- Alytus
- Kaunas
- Klaipėda
- Marijampolė
- Panevėžys
- Šiauliai
- Tauragė
- Telšiai
- Utena
- Vilnius
License Plates
As a member of the EU, Lithuania's license plates feature a blue band on the left side of the plate with the EU circle of stars and the country code LT. Plates are white with black text: LTABC 123.
Phone Codes
Phone numbers are prefixed with an eight (8), and are organized by municipality:
- 310: Varėna Alytus
- 313: Druskininkai Alytus
- 315: Alytus Alytus
- 318: Lazdijai Alytus
- 319: Birštonas Kaunas
- 319: Prienai Kaunas
- 340: Ukmergė Vilnius
- 342: Vilkaviškis Marijampolė
- 343: Marijampolė Marijampolė
- 345: Šakiai Marijampolė
- 346: Kaišiadorys Kaunas
- 347: Kėdainiai Kaunas
- 349: Jonava Kaunas
- 37x: Kaunas Kaunas
- 380: Šalčininkai Vilnius
- 381: Anykščiai Utena
- 382: Širvintos Vilnius
- 383: Molėtai Utena
- 385: Zarasai Utena
- 386: Ignalina Utena
- 386: Visaginas Utena
- 387: Švenčionys Vilnius
- 389: Utena Utena
- 41x: Šiauliai Šiauliai
- 421: Pakruojis Šiauliai
- 422: Radviliškis Šiauliai
- 425: Akmenė Šiauliai
- 426: Joniškis Šiauliai
- 427: Kelmė Šiauliai
- 428: Raseiniai Kaunas
- 440: Skuodas Klaipėda
- 441: Šilutė Klaipėda
- 443: Mažeikiai Telšiai
- 444: Telšiai Telšiai
- 445: Kretinga Klaipėda
- 446: Tauragė Tauragė
- 447: Jurbarkas Tauragė
- 448: Plungė Telšiai
- 449: Šilalė Tauragė
- 450: Biržai Panevėžys
- 451: Pasvalys Panevėžys
- 458: Rokiškis Panevėžys
- 459: Kupiškis Panevėžys
- 45x: Panevėžys Panevėžys
- 460: Palanga Klaipėda
- 469: Neringa Klaipėda
- 46x: Klaipėda Klaipėda
- 528: Elektrėnai Vilnius
- 528: Trakai Vilnius
- 5xx: Vilnius Vilnius
Roads, Markings, and Signage
Highways & Road Numbering Schemes
Lithuania has a three-tiered road numbering system with main (magistralinis), regional (krasto), and municipal (rajoniniu) roads.
Main roads (Magistralinis kelias)
These highways are the highest tier of the Lithuanian highway network, and mostly exist on top of the E-road network. They are signposted with white text on a red background A12, and the number is often shown with the E-road number. A1-A4 radiate outwards from Vilius, arranged clockwise. A5-A13 are further west and north, with larger numbers being further away from Vilnius. A14-A16 are upgraded regional roads from Vilnius, and the A17-A19 are partial ring routes around Panevėžys, Šiauliai, and Vilnius, respectively.
Regional Roads (Krasto kelias)
These are smaller routes, and are numbered starting from 101 around Vilnius, and generally increase going west and north, although there are some higher numbers to the southwest of Vilnius. Most are numbered in the 100s, although there are a few in the 200s, mostly in the northwest. They are signposted with black text on a yellow background: 123.
Municipal Roads (Rajoniniu kelias)
These are the lowest tier of the Lithuanian road network, but are not organized very well. Numbered with up to 4 digits, those beginning with a one (1) are mostly in the center or the east, those beginning with a two (2) are mainly in the west, but 3-, 4-, and 5-series highways are spread out all across the country. They are signposted with white text on a blue background: 1234.
Architecture
Language
Lithuanian is the primary language used in Lithuania, and is one of two major Baltic languages in use today (the other being Latvian). It is fairly unique compared to other European languages, as Baltic languages occupy their own branch of the Indo-European language family.
Script
The Lithuanian alphabet consists of 32 letters, including 23 of the standard Latin alphabet, five digraphs, and several versions of traditional characters with diacritics:
Aa Ąą Bb Cc Čč Dd Ee Ęę Ėė Ff Gg
Hh Ii Įį Yy Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo
Pp Rr Ss Tt Uu Ųų Ūū Vv Zz Žž
(Digraphs)
ch dz dž ie uo
Sample
Visi žmonės gimsta laisvi ir lygūs savo orumu ir teisėmis. Jiems suteiktas protas ir sąžinė ir jie turi elgtis vienas kito atžvilgiu kaip broliai.