"Oh Lithuania, My Country..." - A Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth

The first tribal states in Lithuania formed in the early 13th century. In the 14th century Lithuania began to rule over enormour regions that were ethnically and culturaly Ruthenian.

In 1385 pagan Lithuania, being threatened by attacks of the Teutonic crusaders from the west, chose to accept Christianity from Poland and draw up a legal union of the two nations. This union would last for over four centuries, and was to remain something unique within Europe. The Lithuanian Duke Jogaila became the King of Poland and the founder of a dynasty that ruled the Commonwealth until 1572 (first election), and in the 15th and 16th centuries also occupied the Bohemian and Hungarian thrones.

This video is a part of the "Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures" series:
http://commonwealth.pl/

See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish-Lithuanian_Commonwealth

POLSKA WERSJA (Polish version):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdINO6dZnZg

Category:

Education

Tags:

• poland
• lithuania
• polish
• lithuanian
• commonwealth
• history
• xvi
• xvii
• xviii
• 16th
• 17th
• 18th
• century
• republic

[bigrobcanuck]

@PvPcleric

Poland had many kings from different countries, as did many other European nations. Jagiełło was just one of them. Polish nobles were Poles, as Lithuanian ones were Lithuanian. Over the years many Lithuanian nobles came to consider themselves as Poles.

Your "cavemans" comment is funny at best and ignorant at worst. If you really think like this then you are the last person who should be telling others that they need to go learn history.

[szagrir]

mógłby ktoś znający język litewski przetłumaczyć słowa piosenki śpiewanej w filmie?

could somebody who speaks Lithuanian translate lyrics of the song from this video, please?

[Nacionalistas1994]

A Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was good only for poles. Before union, untill Vytautas death we haved bigger teritory than Poland. But poles were older catholics and when we have becamed like them, we were incfluenced by poles. If we wouldn't becomed catholics we would be pagans, thats means that polish culture wouldn't had any influence to uor culture, and we would created modern paganism. We should recreate paganism and create modern paganism.

[bigrobcanuck]

@lithuanian12

You are incorrect on all your points except that where Lithuanians have a seemingly hate-on for Poles. Many Lithuanian nobles came to consider themselves Poles, just as Belorussian and Ukrainian ones did. Ever read about Jeremy Wisniowiecki? You should.

Poland and then the commonwealth was the most tolerant and inclusive (read: sharing) nation in all of Europe. By the 1940s only Germans and Russians were clamouring for Vilnius. Someone has taught you history very poorly.

[lithuanian12]

@bigrobcanuck And you wonder why so many lithuanians hate poles, with comments like that you are seen as an enemy, someone trying to destroy the history the pride of the Lithuanian people. Lithuanian nobles didn't consider themselves poles, Poles gained political favor and relations soured after the death of vytautas, fact is poles were controlling most of the land previously owned by Lithuania and refused to share, by the 1940s even attempting to take there capital a symbol of lithuanian pride

[LemurekPL]

@ixonixas Poles, which live there are descendants of polonized Lithuanians. Basicly nobility and majority of citizens of big cities were polonized. Census from 1916 is very good example, made by Germans, who had no bisnes to manipulate it. You aren't able to understand that through Commonwealth, heritage of medieval Lithuania became as well polish.

[ixonixas]

@LemurekPL maybi becouse i'm talking about Lithuania's HISTORY!? You saying that polish was the first citizens in Vilnius... what the hell? How this even possible? Lithuanians founded Vilnius, lithuanians lived there for ages, but it was a big, capital city, so obviously there lived different nationality people. So look, if Warsaw would be full of germans it means it should belong to German? I don't think so. The point is that lithuanians are a conservative nation and polish are liberals.

[LemurekPL]

@ixonixas It doesn't matter what it was in medieval. Go and read what is so called modern polish nation. Modern polish nation was born in XVIII century as nation of Commonwealth. You talk about Gedimin, his descendants, Czartoryski family is polish. Modern polish nation was created sa well from people with many different origins like german, lithuanian, ruthenian, armenian, jewish, french and many others. Your main problem is that you mentally stopped on medieval times.

[ixonixas]

@LemurekPL What? You beeing brainwashed by your OWN nationalists, bro. Gediminas founded Vilnius. Polish was just an imigrants. If so Suwalki should be Lithuania's, becouse its a capital to our region called "suvalkija" (you don't need to be professor to find similarity in words)

[LemurekPL]

@ixonixas Majority of that Poles live longer in Vilnius than Lithuanians. In 1916 Lithuanians were less 2% of population, this census was made by Germans. This is their home, but some airhead lithuanian nationalists aren't able to understand it.

[ixonixas]

@LemurekPL well these Kashubians don't have their own country, but polish DO!!! If someone don't like my country, they can emigrate. Borders are open, noone is keeping enyone here. And my explanation is right. You cant compare two way too different natios (size, history, maniers, thinking), you can't compare population without their own country and emigrants. So we will never let any kind of minority or watever to do what they wan on our soil. Get used to it or get the fuck out. Peace.

[LemurekPL]

@ixonixas Everybody want to protect their culture, but your explanation is nonsens. There are ethnic groups, which don't have own country and are able to save their culture. Example of this are Kaszubians, for ages they live between Poles. They are learning own language in schools and they have their own media. Even our primeminister is Kashubian. You have own country and you still need hatred to unite you as Lithuanians?