Study in Lithuania: Language & Culture

How many things do you already know about Lithuania’s culture? Did you know that during the 15th century Lithuania was one of the biggest countries in Europe? Lithuania is a nation with rich history and traditions. 

To begin with, basketball. In Lithuanian culture, basketball is not just a sport, but mostly something like...a religion! After the country won the gold in the 1937 Eurobasket, basketball became the national sport of the country with a significant presence in major events like the FIBA World Championship or the Olympic Games. 

Throughout the centuries, Lithuania has been occupied by its neighboring countries, with the last one by the Soviet Union which lasted 50 years. As a result, the Lithuanian people value freedom since their nation has gone through a lot in order to regain their freedom and independence. 

Another aspect of the Lithuanian culture is the strong bond to nature. Lithuania is known for its green landscapes and the country has 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the historic center of Vilnius, the Curonian Spit, the Kernavė archeological site and cultural reserve and the Struvė Geodetic Arc. 

Not to mention the long history of folk, popular and classical musical development. The Lithuanian cultural heritage list also includes Lithuania’s song and dance festival traditions and the traditional polyphonic songs, the sutartinės, are still sung today.

Lithuanian Food

Lithuanian food is rich in flavor and entirely synchronized with the moist northern climate of the country. It is based on rye bread, pork, potatoes, beets, berries and mushrooms. Soups and potato based dishes are widely cooked to keep Lithuanians warm during the winter and pickling of products is very common as well. The dish strongly associated with the Lithuanian nation is Cepelinai, named after Graff von Zeppelin because this dumpling dish looks like the airship he invented! 

Salted herring or Silke is another famous dish served with potatoes, vegetables and bread. Kugelis is a potato pancake dish very popular as well along with Žemaičių blynai, the Samogitian pancakes which are filled with minced meat. Famous Lithuanian desserts include the šakotis, an impressive large circular cake and the žagarėliai cookies, especially common during festivities like weddings. 

What is the favorite beverage of the Lithuanian nation? Beer of course! Over 90% of the beer sold in Lithuania is made by local brands and they are considered top quality ones. Some of the well-known Lithuanian beer brands include Utenos, Kalnapilis, Švyturys and Volfas-Engelman.

The Lithuanian Language

The official language of the country is Lithuanian, which is also an official language of the European Union. Nowadays the language is spoken by almost 3 million people around the world. It is a Baltic language written in Latin script.

The Lithuanian language is the oldest Indo-European language still spoken and is considered one of the oldest languages in the entire world with a linguistic history of 5,000 years! In addition, Russian and Polish are also spoken in Lithuania. 

You might not need to be good at Lithuanian in order to get admitted and study in Lithuania, but learning such a unique historic language could teach you a lot about the country and enrich your linguistic skills!