Lithuanian National Revival in the context of "Kaunas, Lithuania"

Kaunas (/ˈkaʊnəs/; Lithuanian: [ˈkɒʊ̯ˑnˠɐs] ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth-largest city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county [pl] in the Duchy of Trakai of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Trakai Palatinate since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.

Between 1920 and 1939, when (through military action in the Polish–Lithuanian War) Vilnius was seized and controlled by Poland (at that time, Poles constituted 66% of the city's population, and Lithuanians 0.8%), Kaunas served as the temporary capital of Lithuania. During the interwar period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Revival architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city's interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. This contributed to Kaunas being designated as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe as a UNESCO City of Design, and also to becoming a World Heritage Site in 2023 as the only European city displaying large-scale urbanization during the interwar period and a range of modernist architecture.

Vytautas the Great (/vɪˈtaʊtəs/; c. 1350 – 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites.

In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revered as a national hero and was an important figure in the national rebirth in the 19th century. Vytautas is a popular male given name in Lithuania. In commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of his death, Vytautas Magnus University was named after him. Monuments in his honour were built in many towns in independent Lithuania during the interwar period from 1918 to 1939. Vytautas knew and spoke the Lithuanian language with his cousin Jogaila.

Antanas Smetona (Lithuanian: [ɐnˈtǎːnɐs sʲmʲɛtoːˈnɐ] ; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist, and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940. Referred to as the "Leader of the Nation" during his presidency, Smetona is recognised as one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II, and a prominent ideologist of Lithuanian nationalism and the movement for national revival.

Born into a farming family in the village of Užulėnis, Kovno Governorate, Smetona exhibited a strong interest in education and Lithuanian cultural identity from an early age. He attended Palanga Progymnasium and later graduated from Jelgava Gymnasium. He pursued higher education at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University, where he studied law and became involved in nationalist and cultural movements. During this time, he contributed to the Lithuanian press, advocating for national self-determination and the preservation of Lithuanian culture under Russian imperial rule. After completing his studies, he worked as a teacher and journalist, eventually becoming one of the key intellectual leaders of the Lithuanian National Revival.