The Baltics

The Baltics are the three former Soviet republics on the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. These are small countries and have historically been under a lot of influence of neighboring powers Russia, Poland, Germany and, Sweden.

Lithuania is the Baltic country that is immediately north of Poland. After the Great Schism of 1054 and then the Reformation, in 1517, Poland and Lithuania formed an "island" of  Catholicism in northeastern Europe, with Russia to the east being Eastern Orthodox and the other two Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, being more affected by the Reformation.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is believed to have once been the largest nation in Europe. Poland and Lithuania later united to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The capital of Lithuania was Vilnius and the capital of Poland was Krakow. Warsaw is now the capital of Poland because the capital was moved there as it was halfway between Krakow and Vilnius. My observation is that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth somewhat resembles the later Austro-Hungarian Empire in that the two states formed a partnership that was short of outright unity.

Vilnius is a city from the Thirteenth Century. Like the other major cities of the three Baltic nations, it was built around a castle. The following image from Google Street View is of Gediminas Tower, within the castle.

Vilnius Cathedral, adjacent to the castle, is the building with the pillars. Images from Google Street View.

The following image from Google Street View is of Pilies Street, in the Old Town of Vilnius adjacent to the castle.

The following scenes are of the Old Town of Vilnius.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.6783521,25.2871091,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5X8-eY24VGM50MWGX7eqQQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This more of Vilnius Old Town. The founding myth of Vilnius is a dream of Gedaminas of an iron wolf. The main street of Vilnius Old Town is Pilies Street, which runs between two squares.

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.6860982,25.2888485,3a,75y,95.8h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP6HA4ntugi_EffUVYqo7Zg_hSb4qsGh4Ds4QFK!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP6HA4ntugi_EffUVYqo7Zg_hSb4qsGh4Ds4QFK%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya8.972-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Kaunas is another large city in Lithuania. It was also built around a castle, one from the Fifteenth Century. This is the Old Town of Kaunas. Image from Google Street View.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8974621,23.8894095,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQgj-xDw1PRq_Pc5aV98bPQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Klaipeda is Lithuania's primary port city, which also grew up around a castle. It could be seen as Lithuania's version of Gdansk.

https://www.google.com/maps/@55.7082679,21.1327047,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgDsQh-A_2re84CtQ4RI_TA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

In Lithuania there is the "Hill of Crosses". This is a hill where many tens of thousands of crosses have been placed and it is a site of pilgrimage. It was also the focal point of Lithuanian national identity during the time of Communist control. The Communists reportedly bulldozed the site several times and even made plans to build a dam so that the site would be underwater. Two images from Google Street View.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@56.0152359,23.4160576,3a,75y,206.06h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNrD3gkWGiGW28KmRUBkNX34nYIBorfzwfVsSfo!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNrD3gkWGiGW28KmRUBkNX34nYIBorfzwfVsSfo%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0.65164214-ya156.39983-ro1.8365992-fo100!7i7200!8i3600

Riga is the capital and largest city of the neighboring nation of Latvia. Riga Castle is now the home of the country's president. Image from Google Street View.

 

This is the historical center of Riga, known as Veoriga. The towering structure with the statue atop is the Freedom Monument. The Brotherhood of Blackheads building is a guildhall. The image from Google Street View is of Riga's Freedom Monument.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@56.9495138,24.1053073,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgY11h1dS0pLVvBDDKC_NxQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is Riga away from oldest part of the city.

https://www.google.com/maps/@56.9580213,24.1248103,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgYrukLyLy2LR9p6h4AqMgQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Daugavpils is a Latvian city from the Thirteenth Century.

https://www.google.com/maps/@55.8727519,26.5185822,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjeDI7XuE5Z3lVl9lpWpAYw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia, the northernmost of the three Baltic nations. Like a number of other cities in the Baltic nations, it dates from the Thirteenth Century, and is also built around a castle, Toompa Castle on Cathedral Hill, which is where the Estonian Parliament is now located. Here is the Old Town of Tallinn, from Google Street View.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@59.4375341,24.7452704,3a,75y,268.86h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN0c9wvOXC0f76NrH6o2pSebkUVSVLttyY7ZLs3!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN0c9wvOXC0f76NrH6o2pSebkUVSVLttyY7ZLs3%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya234.7666-ro0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

This is a residential area of Tallinn.

https://www.google.com/maps/@59.4169309,24.7156405,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sc3v0YxnxfA268pwGQpVxeg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Tartu is the university city of Estonia.

https://www.google.com/maps/@58.3816184,26.7203114,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNvPlHaqQEGqTnCK07uR8DA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656