Polish–Lithuanian War in the context of "Vilnius Region"

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.

54°30′N 25°45′E / 54.500°N 25.750°E / 54.500; 25.750The Republic of Central Lithuania (Polish: Republika Litwy Środkowej, Lithuanian: Vidurio Lietuvos Respublika), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania (Polish: Litwa Środkowa, Lithuanian: Vidurinė Lietuva, Belarusian: Сярэдняя Літва, romanized: Siaredniaja Litva), was an unrecognized short-lived puppet state of Poland, that existed from 1920 to 1922. It was founded on 12 October 1920, after the successful Żeligowski Mutiny, during which the volunteer 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division under the command of general Lucjan Żeligowski seized the Vilnius Region that Lithuania made claims to. It was incorporated into Poland on 18 April 1922.

Vilnius, the historical capital of Lithuania, had a majority Polish-speaking population with a Lithuanian-speaking minority of only 2–3%. Therefore, the Polish authorities decided that the region should belong to the newly-established Polish state, and attempted to implement this idea using military force, ignoring the Curzon Line and taking advantage of the fact that victorious Poles after the Battle of Warsaw were advancing to the East against the Bolsheviks in the Polish–Soviet War. The Poles reasoned that they were justified in seizing as many mixed areas as possible, as well as to protect the Catholic, predominantly Polish-speaking population in disputed areas. Being utterly militarily outmatched, Lithuania did not stand a chance to maintain control of the region. This led to the renewal of Polish–Lithuanian War, where the so-called Żeligowski Mutiny, secretly ordered by Józef Piłsudski, was part of the military operation, fully supported and backed on the flanks by the Polish army, and consequently to the establishment of the so-called Republic of Central Lithuania.

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (Lithuanian: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.

Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but in 1930 the university was renamed to Vytautas Magnus University, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of the Lithuanian ruler Vytautas the Great, who is known for the nation's greatest historical expansion in the 15th century.

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.