The Latvia–Lithuania border is the state border between the

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. The length of the land border is with additional of sea border. It is an internal border of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

Schengen Zone The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

. The border starts from the triple junction of the borders with Belarus to the north of Lake Drūkšiai () and stretches to the coast of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, where it ends between

Palanga Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...

and Rucava. For the border follows the Šventoji River.

History

The border started to exist after the

Battle of Saule The Battle of Saule (; ; ) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the ea ...

on 22 September 1236 and then was later solidified after the

Battle of Durbe The Battle of Durbe (, , ) was a medieval battle fought near Durbe, east of Liepāja, in present-day Latvia during the Livonian Crusade. On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians soundly defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from Prussia (r ...

on 13 July 1260. There were some disputes on the exact location of the border but these were settled. Later, for centuries, it was an approximate boundary between the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Following the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

and, separately, the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the border became partially defunct when the territories were incorporated into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The de facto border was re-established following the independence of both countries in 1918. The Treaty of Latvia-Lithuania border was signed on 30 March 1921 and the land border demarcation was carried out during the 1929–1930. Following the Soviet

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

, it became an internal state border. The international border was restored in 1991, following the restoration of Lithuanian and Latvian independence. After prolonged negotiations, in July 1999, the border between the

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

was drawn as a straight line between and .

Border crossing

There were border checkpoints between the countries between 1991 and 2007. They are now abandoned, since both nations joined the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

in December 2007, allowing unrestricted border crossing.

Gallery

File:Latvija_ar_Palangu_un_Roņu_salu_Harmsworth_1920.jpg, Map of Latvia before the final demarcation of the borders with

, 1920 File:Border stone - Latvia.JPG, Border post on the Lithuanian-Latvian border File:Lithuanian Border Sign near Šalnaičiai (LT-LV Border).jpg, Lithuanian Border Sign near Šalnaičiai File:Latvian Border Sign near Grenctāle (LT-LV Border).jpg, Latvian Border Sign near Grenctāle File:Граница-4_-_panoramio.jpg, Entry into Lithuania at Germaniškis

References

European Union internal borders Borders of Latvia Borders of Lithuania International borders

External links

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