Lithuania is a small Baltic country measuring 280km from north to south and 360km from east to west. It is located along the Baltic sea coast, bordering Poland to the south and Latvia to the north. Despite being a small country of 3 million inhabitants today, in the 14th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. Over the centuries Lithuania experienced mixed fortunes, being again an independent country between 1918 and 1940 and finally again in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nowadays Lithuania is a member of the European Union and has an advanced economy.