Images from Finland

As of January 22nd 2022, the Lithuania city of Kaunas along with two other cities – Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg and Novi Sad in Serbia – is holding the title of European Capital of Culture for one year, 12 years after the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, was European Capital of Culture in 2012. Kaunas, which is dating back to the 10th century, is the country’s second largest city with almost 600.000 inhabitants. It was the temporary capital of Lithuania during the two world wars and has changed dramatically into a modern and smart city over the last three decades.

While Kaunas, the 2nd largest city in Lithuania, is European Capital of Culture 2022, Vilnius starts preparing for its 700th anniversary in 2023. The world learned about Vilnius for the first time in 1323 from the letters written by Gediminas, the Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.