What is and where is Vilnius?

In one the recent surveys conducted by French scientists, it was discovered that the centre of Europe is situated in Lithuania. The borders of Europe were decided in the 18th century alongside the invention of a measuring unit – the metre: the European continent stretches from the Ural Mountains near the Arctic Ocean to the Portuguese islands in the Atlantic. According to the measurements by French geographers Vilnius really is the geographical centre of Europe.

Vilnius is directly in a straight line that can be drawn between Moscow and Berlin, roughly 800 km to the East from Vilnius is Moscow, and 800 km to the West is Berlin. For centuries this axis was the direction of Eastern–Western fights. Among others, who led their armies in this direction, where Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin (soldiers from all these armies are buried in Vilnius).

The population of Vilnius is approximately 560 thousand people. By nationality Vilnius citizens are Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusians, Russians, Jewish, Tatars, Karaites; by religion – Catholic, Greek-Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed Church, Judaists, Muslim and Karaite.

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. Also, through the centuries Vilnius was and still is a border point between East European Greek and Western Latin civilisation.