Baltic states, Geographic region in Northern Europe
The three countries sit side by side on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, with Estonia in the north, Latvia in the middle, and Lithuania in the south. Their capitals, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, serve as cultural and administrative centers, each surrounded by farmland, pine forests, and networks of lakes and rivers.
All three countries regained independence in 1991 after peaceful protests and symbolic acts, including a human chain that stretched hundreds of miles across the region. Before that, they had been controlled by different powers, including the Teutonic Order, Sweden, Poland, and the Russian Empire.
Each country celebrates song and dance festivals that bring together thousands of performers in regional costume, preserving melodies and steps handed down through families. Midsummer bonfires, craft fairs, and midwinter rituals are part of everyday life and remain open to travelers passing through.
Travelers move between the capitals by bus, train, or ferry, with overland connections running regularly and border checks absent within the European Union. English is understood in tourist areas and larger cities, though smaller towns rely more on the local languages.
Estonian shares roots with Finnish and Hungarian, while Latvian and Lithuanian belong to the Baltic branch and are among the oldest living Indo-European languages. Visitors often notice that none of the three languages can be understood by speakers of Slavic or Germanic tongues without prior study.
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