Trakai Castle

People come here to walk, swim, sail and enjoy kibinai (little meat pies). In winter the lakes are covered in ice. The ice is so thick that some cars drive on the lakes.

Trakai is a small town not far from Vilnius. It was the capital of Lithuania 600 years ago. The Grand Duke of Lithuania lived in the castle of Trakai. Now there is a museum in the castle. Castle is pilis in Lithuanian.

The waves of the Baltic Sea bring wonderful yellow stones to the shore. They are called amber. It is

fossilized resin.

Amber – the Lithuanian gold

Photo by Elisabeth from the Netherlands

Can you see a spider in the amber?

Amber is the symbol of Lithuania

Some people think they are the tears of gods. Others say it’s the sun in stones. Amber jewelry is a traditional gift for brides from their parents. Amber is gintaras in Lithuanian. It can be yellow, orange and brown.

Children walk along the coast and collect pieces of amber. Adults make beautiful jewelry: necklaces, rings, earrings.

Some historical facts

• 1240 Duke Mindaugas unites Lithuania

• 1323 first mention of Vilnius in documents

• 1569-1795 Lithuania and Poland are united in a Commonwealth

• 1918 Lithuania declares independence after tsarist Russian rule

• 1991 Lithuania declares independence after Soviet rule

• 2004 Lithuania becomes member of EU

Famous People of Lithuania

 President Dalia GrybauskaitėPhoto by Augustas Didžgalvis

Arvydas Sabonis Credits to "Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com"  http://www.basketballphoto.com/NBA_Basketball_Photographs.htm

Potatoes, beetroot, pork, different kinds of mushrooms and berries, brown bread, garlic are the main ingredients of Lithuanian cuisine.

Mushrooms and berries

picked in the forest

Shakotis wedding cake

Cepelinai (potato

dumplings)

Brown bread

Cold beetroot soup

(photo by Bearas)

(photo by RsAzevedo)

(photo by Jpatokal)

(photo by Phillip Capper)

Our school is situated in the outskirts of Vilnius not far from the

TV Tower.

There is a café with great views on top

TV Tower “dressed” as a Christmas tree

Photo by SfuPhoto by M.Lucenko

Views from the TV Tower café

This is our school, “Svaja”. It’s pronounced “Svaya”. It means “dream” in Lithuanian.

Thank you for your attention!

This presentation was made by class 4A, 2012 and their English teacher Raisa Shapiro for Comenius Project Legends of Our Region. Special thanks to 4a pupils Laura Krulikovska and Arina Kostusiova.Photos from Wiki Commons and by parents and friends of our school. Special thanks to Marina Lucenko, Olga Gulko, Daniel Milner.