Lithuania

The Baltic republic of Lithuania has fluctuated in size dramatically over the past 1,000 years. It’s hard to imagine today, but in the Middle Ages, the state once sprawled across a huge swath of northeastern Europe: from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Of more modest proportions these days, Lithuania is still a fascinatingly historic country—and one that boasts a great deal of timeworn tradition.

Ultimately the great state weakened and fell apart, and by the late 1700s much of the country had become part of the Russian Empire. After World War I, Lithuania enjoyed sovereignty, but it was not to last: During the Second World War, the Soviet Union took over, and Lithuania did not regain its independence until 1990 (via the famous Singing Revolution).

Lithuania has numerous historical landmarks, the monumental medieval and Renaissance architecture of the capital Vilnius’s old-town core prominent among them. But much of the country’s charm derives from powerfully alive cultural traditions, be it polyphonic singing, cross-making, or local cuisine.

It may not have any attention-grabbing mountains or canyons, but Lithuania is not without mesmerizing natural beauty—much of it holistically fused with traditional rural lifeways. Consider the Curonian Spit, a mighty arm of Baltic sand built atop a glacial moraine. Or how about the country’s globally important nesting grounds of the magnificent white stork, a symbol of Lithuania? Here, too, are precious Baltic populations of one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring mammals: the wisent, or European bison. Near Stelmuze, meanwhile, a hoary English oak that may be 2,000 years old ranks as a national treasure.

From vintage trees to vintage castles, Lithuania puts Baltic beauty and soul front and center. Pass seamlessly between urban, rural, and semi-wild realms, and discover some of Europe's unjustly overlooked landscapes.